Establishes a twenty-five year retirement program for members of the NYC employees' retirement system employed as water supply police; provides for employer pick-up of certain additional member contributions required to be made by certain participants in the 25-year retirement programs.
This bill creates a new twenty-five-year retirement program for New York City Employees’ Retirement System members employed as water supply police, and it also creates a parallel “improved benefit” version of that program for certain members. Under the new provisions, eligible water supply police members may retire after 25 years of credited service with a benefit generally equal to 50% of final average salary for the first 25 years, plus 2% of final salary for each additional year of service, up to a 30-year maximum. The bill also sets out vesting rules for members who leave service before retirement, election deadlines for current and future members, and rules for returning to service after a break.
The bill requires participants to make additional member contributions of 6% of compensation for covered service, but it also authorizes the City of New York to “pick up” those contributions for tax purposes under Internal Revenue Code section 414(h). The measure amends both the Retirement and Social Security Law and the New York City Administrative Code to integrate the new water supply police retirement tier into existing pension and payroll systems, and it makes conforming changes to related retirement provisions so the new program fits within current public pension law.
Its practical impact is to create a special, more favorable retirement path for a narrow group of NYCERS members: water supply police officers employed by the City of New York. The bill changes retirement eligibility, benefit formulas, contribution treatment, refund and loan rules, and employer payroll administration for that group. It also has fiscal consequences for New York City, with the fiscal note projecting an initial increase in employer contributions and a long-term reduction in normal cost for future entrants, while shifting the entire employer cost to the City.
The general sentiment reflected in the available record is favorable and noncontroversial at the committee stage. The bill advanced unanimously in both the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Assembly Rules Committee, with no recorded dissent in the provided vote history. That suggests broad support for the proposal, at least among the committees that considered it.
The main points of contention, based on the bill text rather than recorded debate, are likely to be cost, pension design, and eligibility scope. The bill imposes additional contribution requirements on participants while also granting an enhanced retirement benefit, and it limits participation through strict election windows and service conditions. The fiscal note also highlights actuarial uncertainty and an upfront increase in employer contributions, which could be a concern for budget watchers, even though no opposition is shown in the committee votes.
The bill amends the Retirement and Social Security Law and the New York City Administrative Code to add a new special retirement tier for NYCERS water supply police members. It creates a new 25-year retirement program and a 25-year improved benefit retirement program, establishes benefit formulas, vesting rules, contribution requirements, refund and loan rules, and authorizes employer pickup of certain member contributions for federal tax treatment. It also makes conforming changes to existing pension provisions so water supply police are included in the list of occupations eligible for these retirement benefits and related disability/retirement calculations.
The available voting history shows strong support: the Assembly Ways and Means Committee voted favorably 32-0 to refer the bill to Rules, and the Assembly Rules Committee then voted favorably 29-0. No committee transcript is provided, but the unanimous votes indicate the bill was received positively and did not face recorded opposition at the committee stage.
No explicit opposition appears in the provided record, but the bill’s likely areas of concern are fiscal and structural. It creates a more generous retirement benefit for a limited employee group, requires a 6% additional contribution from participants, and shifts employer pickup obligations to the City of New York. The fiscal note projects an initial increase in employer contributions and actuarial liability, which could raise budget concerns. Another possible point of contention is the narrow eligibility and irrevocable election structure, which strictly limits who can join and when, and may affect members who miss the filing window or who later return to service.