As the legislative session wraps up in Albany, State Legislators are negotiating the fate of important programs, such fas the property tax cap, rent regulation, and mayoral control of schools; however, the lofty policy decisions ahead have not distracted some legislators from introducing more than 50 bills to enhance benefits for State and local public employees.  Many of the bills do not include fiscal estimates, but collectively they would increase annual costs to New York taxpayers by at least $140 million. 

To prevent these lower profile legislative proposals from escaping public scrutiny and from advancing in the legislative process, the Citizens Budget Commission is keeping track of them in its Benefit Sweetener Scorecard. The bills, detailed in the scorecard and summarized below should be rejected; they would add to already costly pension expenses for the State and for local governments and would erode the landmark reforms enacted in 2012.

Disability and Death Benefits

Most of the bills introduced in this session enhance disability and death benefits for uniformed employees. Ten bills relating to New York City employees were discussed in a CBC blog post last week; the most expensive of these proposals, A.8032/S.5656, which improves the disability benefits provided to recently hired employees for on-the-job injuries to 75 percent of final average salary (FAS), would increase costs by $40 million in the first year.  Four bills introduced expand disability benefits for uniformed personnel in Nassau County; the immediate costs of these bills range from $300,000 for fire marshal personnel to $2.2 million for police ambulance medical technicians.

Three bills would expand presumptions that certain ailments, such as heart disease, were incurred as a result of the performance of duties, thereby entitling a retiree to more generous disability benefits. Another three bills would expand death benefits; two of these bills, A.7801 and S.5245, improve the death benefits for State correction officers who are retirement eligible and die while in service, at an upfront cost of $40 million.

Increasing Retirement Earnings

Ten bills increase retirement earnings.  A.5596/S.4644 would allow Tier 3 and 4 retirees who retired prior to 1999 to be reinstated in earlier tiers at a cost of $14 million. Two bills enhance cost-of-living adjustments (COLA): S.3919 provides for a COLA that begins five years after retirement at age 55, rather than age 62, at a cost of $8.4 million, and S.4342 increases the COLA for State and local retirees retired prior to 1973 at a cost of $300,000.

Fiscal estimates are not included for the other bills. Three increase the minimum retirement allowance available (A.6867/S.4117, A.6786-C/S.2447-C, and S.4345); two loosen or eliminate restrictions on public service earnings for retirees who would otherwise have their benefits offset or reduced (A.1776/ S.3168 and A.1098/S.3357); and two allow teachers to claim retirement credit for service rendered outside public schools (S.4623 and A.7007).  

Enhanced Retirement Plans

Six bills would improve the retirement plans available to employees, allowing for retirement at an earlier age, reducing required years of service, and/or eliminating employees’ contributions toward the plans.

Limiting Health Insurance Changes

Five bills prohibit public employers from reducing health benefits provided to retirees and their dependents. These bills are introduced perennially and are intended to restrict managerial discretion in adjusting benefits to achieve cost savings. To that end, another bill, A.5308/S.3202 establishes health insurance rates for the largest State health insurance plan and eliminates the authority of the President of the Civil Service Commission to establish contribution rates for retirees; furthermore, it reverts retiree contribution rates to those in effect on the last day of employment for those retired on or after January 1, 2012 and requires the return of “excess” contributions to retirees. No fiscal note is provided, but the bill would make significant changes to the administration of benefits and the ability to achieve savings in the future.

Other Bills

Other bills introduced include two granting excused absence for cancer screenings (A.0806, S.2749), one allowing for the transfer of MTA police to the State and local retirement system (A.7547/S.5785), one extending the rare variable supplement fund benefit to housing and transit police retirees (A.6988/S.5872), and one lifting mandatory hiring and retirement ages for State and municipal employees (A.2341/S.531), potentially opening the door to “double-dipping” by collecting a pension and a salary in a second public career.

These bills would enhance pension benefits—whose costs have only recently stabilized—and reduce administrative flexibility for controlling rapidly increasing retiree health insurance costs.  It is important that they do not advance to the Governor’s desk.

UPDATE - June 17, 2015

Over the past week, New York State legislators acted on eight of the bills featured in CBC’s 2015 Benefits Sweetener Scorecard. Two bills passed the Assembly, two passed the Senate, and four bills gained traction by being amended and recommitted or ordered to a third reading.

Passed the Assembly:

• A. 6771A/S. 4907 would enhance retirement plans of uniformed court or peace officers at a cost of $1.8 million.
• A. 6612/S. 4001 would allow counties to provide correction officers and deputy sheriffs an enhanced 20-year retirement plan, increasing employer costs by 5.6 percent to 7 percent of salaries.

Passed the Senate:

• S. 2447/A. 6786C would increase the amount a public retiree may earn in public employment without diminishing his or her retirement benefits.

• S. 3948B/A. 5327C would allow deputy sheriffs in Nassau, Suffolk, and other counties with police officer training to receive the retirement service credit awarded to police officers without proving at least 50 percent of activities were for criminal law enforcement.

Amended and Recommitted:

• A. 7854B/S. 5705B, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s revised disability pension proposal for New York City’s uniformed employees, was amended in the Senate to allow uniformed employees who qualify for Social Security Disability Allowance to receive benefits equal to 75 percent of FAS (up from 50 percent in an earlier version), increasing the bill’s first year costs from $5.6 million to $11.5 million.
• A. 7801A/S. 5936 would enhance death benefits for State correction officers at a cost of $13.9 million.

Ordered to Third Reading:

• A. 7547/S. 5785 would allow members of MTA police retirement to transfer membership to NYS and local police and fire retirement systems.
• A. 7490/S. 3010 would enhance retirement plans for certain State and local police and firefighters, increasing employer costs by 3.2 percent to 6.8 percent of salaries.

UPDATE - June 22, 2015

Since our last update, four bills featured in CBC’s Benefits Sweetener Scorecard 2015 are just a signature away from becoming New York State law. One bill, A. 6771/S. 4907, passed the legislature last year, but was ultimately vetoed by the governor. If Governor Cuomo chooses to sign these benefits sweeteners, State and local costs will increase.

The bills that passed both houses are:

• A. 7490/S. 3010 would enhance retirement plans for certain State and local police and firefighters, increasing employer costs by 3.2 percent to 6.8 percent of salaries.
• A. 6771A/S. 4907 would enhance retirement plans of uniformed court or peace officers at a cost of $1.8 million.
• A. 5327C/S. 3948B would allow deputy sheriffs in Nassau, Suffolk, and other counties with police officer training to receive the retirement service credit awarded to police officers without proving at least 50 percent of activities were for criminal law enforcement.
• A. 7547/S. 5785 would allow members of the MTA police retirement system to transfer membership to NYS and local police and fire retirement systems.

In addition to the above, six bills on the CBC Benefits Sweetener Scorecard passed one house before the end of session.