S 10590

                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
                                   10590
                             I N  S E N A T E
                               May 27, 2026
                                ___________
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- (at request of the Unified Court System)
   -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
   the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   eligibility for retirement benefits for certain members of the unified
   court system
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   Section 1. Subdivision a of section 503 of the retirement  and  social
 security  law,  as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended
 to read as follows:
   a. The normal service retirement benefit  specified  in  section  five
 hundred  four of this article shall be payable to general members, other
 than elective members, who have met  the  minimum  service  requirements
 upon  retirement  and  attainment of age sixty-two, provided, however, a
 general member who is a peace officer  employed  by  the  unified  court
 system  or  a member of a teachers' retirement system may retire without
 reduction of [his or her] SUCH MEMBER'S retirement benefit upon  attain-
 ment  of  at  least  fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or
 more years of service. For members who become members of  the  New  York
 state  and  local  employees' retirement system on or after April first,
 two thousand twelve, the normal service retirement benefits specified in
 section five hundred four of this article shall be  payable  to  general
 members,  other  than elective members, who have met the minimum service
 requirements upon retirement and attainment of age sixty-three; PROVIDED
 THAT, A MEMBER WHO IS A PEACE OFFICER  EMPLOYED  BY  THE  UNIFIED  COURT
 SYSTEM  MAY RETIRE WITHOUT REDUCTION OF SUCH MEMBER'S RETIREMENT BENEFIT
 UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE  AND  COMPLETION  OF
 THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE.
   § 2. Subdivision a-1 of section 603 of the retirement and social secu-
 rity law, as added by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
 as follows:
   a-1.  For  members  who  first  become a member of a public retirement
 system of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve, EXCEPT
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07851-06-6
 S. 10590                            2
 FOR UNIFORMED COURT OFFICERS OR PEACE OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY  THE  UNIFIED
 COURT  SYSTEM,  the  service retirement benefit specified in section six
 hundred four of this article shall be payable to members  who  have  met
 the  minimum  service requirements upon retirement and have attained age
 sixty-three.
   § 3. Subdivisions a and b-1 of  section  604  of  the  retirement  and
 social  security  law,  subdivision  a as amended and subdivision b-1 as
 added by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
   a. The service retirement benefit  at  normal  retirement  age  for  a
 member  with  less  than  twenty years of credited service, or less than
 twenty-five years credited service for a member who joins the  New  York
 state  teachers'  retirement system on or after January first, two thou-
 sand ten, shall be a retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of final
 average salary times years of credited service.  Normal  retirement  age
 for  members  who  first become members of a public retirement system of
 the state on or after April first, two  thousand  twelve  shall  be  age
 sixty-three;  EXCEPT  THAT  THE NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE SHALL BE SIXTY-TWO
 FOR A MEMBER WHO IS A PEACE OFFICER OR UNIFORMED COURT OFFICER  EMPLOYED
 BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM.
   b-1.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law to the contrary, the
 service retirement benefit for members with  twenty  or  more  years  of
 [credit]  CREDITED service who first become a member of a public retire-
 ment system of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve at
 age sixty-three, OR AT AGE SIXTY-TWO FOR  UNIFORMED  COURT  OFFICERS  OR
 PEACE  OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, shall be a pension
 equal to the sum of thirty-five per centum  and  one-fiftieth  of  final
 average  salary for each year of service in excess of twenty times final
 average salary times years of credited service. In no  event  shall  any
 retirement  benefit  payable  without optional modification be less than
 the actuarially equivalent annuitized value  of  the  member's  contrib-
 utions  accumulated  with  interest at five percent per annum compounded
 annually to the date of retirement.
   § 4. Paragraph 3 of subdivision i of section 603 of the retirement and
 social security law, as added by chapter 18 of  the  laws  of  2012,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   3. A member of a public retirement system of the state who has met the
 minimum  service  requirement,  but  who  is not a New York city transit
 authority member, as defined  in  paragraph  one  of  subdivision  a  of
 section  six  hundred four-b of this article, may retire prior to normal
 retirement age, but no earlier than attainment  of  age  fifty-five,  in
 which event, the amount of [his or her] SUCH MEMBER'S retirement benefit
 computed  without optional modification shall be reduced by six and one-
 half per centum for each year by which  early  retirement  precedes  age
 sixty-three;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  FOR A MEMBER WHO IS A UNIFORMED
 COURT OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, THE
 RETIREMENT BENEFIT  COMPUTED  WITHOUT  OPTIONAL  MODIFICATION  SHALL  BE
 REDUCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   §  5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
 of the provisions of this act shall  be  subject  to  the  appropriation
 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow any Tier 6 member who is a uniformed court offi-
 cer  or  peace  officer  employed  by the unified court system to retire
 without an early age reduction upon attaining age 55 with  30  years  of
 creditable  service. It would also reduce the normal retirement age from
 S. 10590                            3
 63 to 62 and lessen the reductions in  benefits  for  those  who  retire
 prior to normal retirement age.
   We  estimate  that  the  state of New York's annual contributions will
 increase $5.5 million beginning FYE 2027, with near-term costs  increas-
 ing  1.7%  of salary for the affected participants, from 13.9% to 15.6%.
 Subsequent costs will vary annually but are expected to average 1.4%  of
 salary, long-term.
   In  addition,  there  will  be an immediate past service cost of $41.7
 million borne by the state of New York as a one-time payment. This  cost
 assumes that payment will be made on March 1, 2027.
   These  estimated costs are based on 3,515 affected members employed by
 the state of New York, with annual salary of approximately $265  million
 as of March 31, 2025.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
 the  bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
 2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
 of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial  Report.  The
 actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
 Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
 and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and  Control.  The  fair
 value  of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
 Statements and Supplementary Information.
   Assumptions, demographics, and  other  considerations  may  have  been
 modified  to  better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
 change(s).
   This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
 sional judgment of an attorney.
   This  estimate, dated March 10, 2026, and intended for use only during
 the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-137.  As  Chief
 Actuary  of  the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), I,
 Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this  analysis  complies  with
 applicable  Actuarial  Standards  of  Practice  as  well  as the Code of
 Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for  Actuaries  Issuing
 Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
 which  I  am  a  member.  I  am a member of NYSLRS but do not believe it
 impairs my objectivity.