Grants retroactive membership with Tier IV status in the New York state and local employees' retirement system to Dawn Ward, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5928
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MARTINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT granting retroactive membership with Tier IV status  in  the  New
   York state and local employees' retirement system to Dawn Ward

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
 Dawn Ward, who was employed with the village of Kensington with a  start
 date  of November 1, 1993, and who is currently a member of the New York
 state and local employees' retirement system, who through  no  fault  of
 her  own did not become a member of the New York state and local employ-
 ees' retirement system on November 1, 1993 when first  employed  by  the
 village  of Kensington, shall be deemed to have been a member of the New
 York state and local employees'  retirement  system  on  such  date  she
 commenced  her  employment and shall be granted Tier IV status, provided
 that an application is filed with the head of the  New  York  state  and
 local  employees'  retirement  system within one year from the effective
 date of this act.   Upon the granting of  such  retroactive  membership,
 Dawn  Ward  shall  not  be granted a refund of any employee contribution
 made by her to the  New  York  state  and  local  employees'  retirement
 system.
   §  2.  All  past  services costs associated with the implementation of
 this act shall be borne by the village of Kensington.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would provide Dawn Ward with a date of membership of  Novem-
 ber  11,  1993, their date of first employment with the Village of Kens-
 ington, resulting in Tier 4 status in  the  New  York  State  and  Local
 Employees'  Retirement  System.  Dawn Ward is currently a Tier 5 member.
 There will be no refund of member contributions.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05951-02-5
 S. 5928                             2
 
   If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase  of  approximately  $2,900  in  the
 annual  contributions  of  the Village of Great Neck, $850 in the annual
 contributions of the Village of  Kensington,  and  $290  in  the  annual
 contributions  of  the  Village  of  Baxter  Estates for the fiscal year
 ending March 31, 2026. In the future years this cost will  vary  as  the
 billing rates and salary of Dawn Ward change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an  immediate  past  service cost of approximately $10,900 which will be
 borne by the Village of Kensington as a one-time payment. This  estimate
 assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2026.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2024  Report  of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the
 2024  Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.  The  Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March
 31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of  the  proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This estimate, dated February 3,  2025,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2025  Legislative  Session,  is Fiscal Note No. 2025-41. As
 Chief Actuary of the New York State  and  Local  Retirement  System,  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.