N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 604-a: Twenty-year retirement program for New York city sanitation members

§ 604-a. Twenty-year retirement program for New York city sanitation

members. a. Definitions. The following words and phrases as used in this

section shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is

plainly required by the context.

1. "New York city sanitation member" shall mean a member (as defined

in subdivision e of section six hundred one of this article) who is a

member of the uniformed force of the New York city department of

sanitation.

2. "Twenty-year retirement program" shall mean all the terms and

conditions of this section.

3. "Starting date of the twenty-year retirement program" shall mean

the commencement date of the payroll period which includes July first,

nineteen hundred ninety-two.

4. "Enactment date of the twenty-year retirement program" shall mean

the date of enactment of the act which added this section, as such date

is certified pursuant to section forty-one of the legislative law.

5. "Participant in the twenty-year retirement program" shall mean any

New York city sanitation member who, under the applicable provisions of

subdivision b of this section, is entitled to the rights, benefits and

privileges and is subject to the obligations of the twenty-year

retirement program, as applicable to him or her.

6. "Allowable service in the uniformed sanitation force" shall mean:

(i) credited service which was rendered as a member of the uniformed

force of the New York city department of sanitation; and

(ii) credited service which was rendered in another uniformed force

(as defined in paragraph seven of this subdivision) immediately prior to

becoming a member of the uniformed force of the New York city department

of sanitation; and

(iii) credited service which was rendered in the uniformed force of

the New York city police department or the uniformed force of the New

York city fire department immediately prior to becoming a member of the

uniformed force of the New York city department of sanitation and which

was transferred to the New York city employees' retirement system

pursuant to section forty-three of this chapter.

7. "Another uniformed force" shall mean (i) the uniformed transit

police force maintained by the New York city transit authority and by

its predecessor, the board of transportation; or (ii) all of the

positions in the New York city housing authority which are included in

the housing police service of the classification of the New York city

department of personnel; or (iii) the uniformed force of the New York

city department of correction.

8. "Minimum period" shall mean the minimum period of twenty years of

allowable service in the uniformed sanitation force that is required in

order for a participant in the twenty-year retirement program to be

eligible for early service retirement pursuant to paragraph one of

subdivision c of this section.

9. "Final compensation" shall mean the average compensation earned by

a member during any five consecutive years which provide the highest

average compensation. Where the period used to determine final

compensation is the period which immediately precedes the date of

retirement, any month or months (not in excess of twelve) which would

otherwise be included in computing final compensation but during which

the member was on authorized leave of absence at partial pay or without

pay shall be excluded from the computation of final compensation and the

month or an equal number of months immediately preceding such period

shall be substituted in lieu thereof.

10. "Discontinued member" shall mean a participant in the twenty-year

retirement program who, while he or she was a New York city sanitation

member, discontinued service in the uniformed force of the New York city

department of sanitation and has a right to a deferred vested benefit

under subdivision d of this section.

11. "Administrative code" shall mean the administrative code of the

city of New York.

b. Participation in twenty-year retirement program.

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph six of this subdivision, any

person who is a New York city sanitation member on the enactment date of

the twenty-year retirement program and who, as such a sanitation member

or otherwise, last became subject to the provisions of this article

prior to such enactment date, may elect to become a participant in the

twenty-year retirement program by filing, within ninety days after the

enactment date of the twenty-year retirement program, a duly executed

application for such participation with the retirement system of which

such person is a member, provided he or she is such a sanitation member

on the date such application is filed.

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph six of this subdivision, any

person who becomes a New York city sanitation member after the enactment

date of the twenty-year retirement program and who, as such a sanitation

member or otherwise, last became subject to the provisions of this

article prior to such enactment date, may elect to become a participant

in the twenty-year retirement program by filing, within ninety days

after becoming such a sanitation member, a duly executed application for

such participation with the retirement system of which such person is a

member, provided he or she is such a sanitation member on the date such

application is filed.

3. Any election to be a participant in the twenty-year retirement

program shall be irrevocable.

4. Each New York city sanitation member who becomes subject to the

provisions of this article on or after the enactment date of the

twenty-year retirement program shall become a participant in the

twenty-year retirement program on the date he or she becomes such a

sanitation member.

5. Where any participant in the twenty-year retirement program shall

cease to hold a position in the uniformed force of the New York city

department of sanitation, he or she shall cease to be such a participant

and, during any period in which such person does not hold such a

uniformed sanitation position, he or she shall not be a participant in

the twenty-year retirement program and shall not be eligible for the

benefits of subdivision c of this section.

6. Where any participant in the twenty-year retirement program

terminates service in the uniformed force of the New York city

department of sanitation and returns to such service as a New York city

sanitation member at a later date, he or she shall again become such a

participant on that date.

c. Service retirement benefits. 1. A participant in the twenty-year

retirement program:

(i) who has completed twenty or more years of allowable service in the

uniformed sanitation force; and

(ii) who has paid, before the effective date of retirement, all

additional member contributions and interest (if any) required by

subdivision e of this section; and

(iii) who files with the retirement system of which he or she is a

member an application for service retirement setting forth at what time

he or she desires to be retired; and

(iv) who shall be a participant in the twenty-year retirement program

at the time so specified for his or her retirement; shall be retired

pursuant to the provisions of this section affording early service

retirement.

2. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the

early service retirement benefit for participants in the twenty-year

retirement program who retire pursuant to paragraph one of this

subdivision shall be a pension consisting of:

(A) an amount, on account of the required minimum period of service,

equal to one-half of his or her final average salary; plus

(B) an amount for each additional year of allowable service in the

uniformed sanitation force, or fraction thereof, beyond such required

minimum period of service equal to one and one-half percent of his or

her final compensation; plus

(C) an amount for each year, or fraction thereof, of credited service

other than allowable service in the uniformed sanitation force equal to

one percent of his or her final compensation.

(ii) The maximum pension computed without optional modification

payable pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall equal that

payable upon completion of thirty years of service.

d. Vesting. 1. A participant in the twenty-year retirement program

who:

(i) discontinues city-service and service as a member of the uniformed

force of the New York city department of sanitation, other than by death

or retirement; and

(ii) prior to such discontinuance, completed five but less than twenty

years of allowable service in the uniformed sanitation force; and

(iii) has paid, prior to such discontinuance, all additional member

contributions and interest (if any) required by subdivision e of this

section; and

(iv) does not withdraw in whole or in part his or her accumulated

member contributions pursuant to section six hundred thirteen of this

article unless such participant thereafter returns to public service and

repays the amounts so withdrawn, together with interest, pursuant to

such section six hundred thirteen of this article; shall be entitled to

receive a deferred vested benefit as provided in this subdivision.

2. (i) Upon such discontinuance under the conditions and in compliance

with the provisions of paragraph one of this subdivision, such deferred

vested benefit shall vest automatically.

(ii) Such vested benefit shall become payable on the earliest date on

which such discontinued member could have retired for service if such

discontinuance had not occurred.

3. Such deferred vested benefit shall be a pension consisting of:

(i) an amount equal to two and one-half percent of such discontinued

member's final average salary, multiplied by the number of years of

allowable service in the uniformed sanitation force credited to such

discontinued member on the date of such discontinuance; plus

(ii) an amount for each year, or fraction thereof, of credited service

other than allowable service in the uniformed sanitation force equal to

one percent of his or her final compensation.

e. Additional member contributions. 1. In addition to the member

contributions required by section six hundred thirteen of this article,

each participant in the twenty-year retirement program shall contribute

to the retirement system of which he or she is a member (subject to the

applicable provisions of section 13-125.1 of the administrative code) an

additional five and thirty-five one-hundredths percent of his or her

compensation earned from all allowable service in the uniformed

sanitation force rendered on and after the starting date of the

twenty-year retirement program. A participant in the twenty-year

retirement program shall contribute additional member contributions only

until he or she has twenty years of allowable service in the uniformed

sanitation force.

2. (i) Commencing with the payroll period which begins on the starting

date of the twenty-year retirement program (for a person who elects to

become a participant prior to such starting date), or commencing with

the first full payroll period after a person becomes such a participant

(for a person who becomes a participant on or after such starting date),

additional member contributions at the rate specified in paragraph one

of this subdivision shall be deducted (subject to the applicable

provisions of section 13-125.1 of the administrative code) from the

compensation of such participant on each and every payroll of such

participant for each and every payroll period.

(ii) (A) Where any additional member contributions required by

paragraph one of this subdivision are not paid by deductions from a

participant's compensation pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this

paragraph because such contributions are for service rendered in a

payroll period prior to the actual commencement of deductions pursuant

to such subparagraph (i), such amounts shall be paid by deductions from

the compensation of such participant pursuant to item (B) of this

subparagraph.

(B) Commencing with the payroll period in which deductions of

additional member contributions from a participant's compensation are

begun pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, in addition to

such deductions required by such subparagraph (i), there shall be

another deduction of additional member contributions made from the

compensation of such participant at the rate specified in paragraph one

of this subdivision (subject to the applicable provisions of section

13-125.1 of the administrative code) on each and every payroll period

until the total amount of unpaid additional member contributions

described in item (A) of this subparagraph, if any, has been paid by

deductions from compensation pursuant to this subparagraph.

3. (i)(A) Where any additional member contributions required by

paragraph one of this subdivision are not paid by deductions from a

participant's compensation pursuant to paragraph two of this

subdivision, that participant shall be charged with a contribution

deficiency consisting of such unpaid amounts, together with such

interest thereon as required by subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph,

compounded annually.

(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, no

participant shall be required to pay any interest on his or her

contribution deficiency.

(ii)(A) Should any person who, pursuant to paragraph eight of this

subdivision, has withdrawn any additional member contributions (and any

interest paid thereon) again become a participant in the twenty-year

retirement program pursuant to paragraph six of subdivision b of this

section, an appropriate amount shall be included in such participant's

contribution deficiency (including interest thereon as calculated

pursuant to item (B) of this subparagraph) as if such additional

contributions had never been made.

(B) Interest on the amounts of additional member contributions

included in a participant's contribution deficiency pursuant to item (A)

of this subparagraph shall be calculated as if such additional member

contributions had never been paid by a participant, and such interest

shall accrue from the end of the payroll period to which an amount of

additional member contributions is attributable, until such amount is

paid to the retirement system.

(C) The rate of interest to be applied to each such amount during the

period for which interest accrues on that amount shall be five percent

per annum, compounded annually.

4. A participant, while he or she is a New York city sanitation

member, shall pay the total amount of his or her contribution deficiency

to the retirement system in accordance with payment procedures which

shall be established by the executive director of the retirement system,

and approved by the board of trustees of the retirement system.

5. Where a contribution deficiency chargeable to a participant

pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision has not been paid in

full before the effective date of retirement, that participant shall not

be eligible to retire pursuant to subdivision c of this section.

6. Where a contribution deficiency chargeable to a participant

pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision has not been paid in

full before the date of discontinuance of service, that participant

shall not be entitled to a deferred vested benefit pursuant to

subdivision d of this section.

7. Where a participant has not paid in full any contribution

deficiency chargeable to him or her pursuant to paragraph three of this

subdivision, and a benefit, other than a refund of member contributions

pursuant to section six hundred thirteen of this article or a refund of

additional member contributions pursuant to paragraph eight of this

subdivision, becomes payable under this article to the participant or to

his or her designated beneficiary or estate, the actuarial equivalent of

any such unpaid amount shall be deducted from the benefit otherwise

payable.

8. (i) Such additional member contributions (and any interest thereon)

shall be paid into the contingent reserve fund of the retirement system

of which the participant is a member and shall not for any purpose be

deemed to be member contributions or accumulated contributions of a

member under section six hundred thirteen of this article or otherwise

while he or she is a participant in the twenty-year retirement program

or otherwise, except that, a surplus of such additional member

contributions that are paid into the retirement system's contingent

reserve fund may be used for the sole purpose of offsetting a deficit of

basic member contributions.

(ii) (A) Should a participant in the twenty-year retirement program

who has rendered less than fifteen years of allowable service in the

uniformed sanitation force cease to hold a position in the uniformed

force of the New York city department of sanitation for any reason

whatsoever, his or her accumulated additional member contributions made

pursuant to this subdivision (together with any interest thereon paid to

the retirement system) may be withdrawn by him or her pursuant to

procedures promulgated in regulations of the board of trustees of the

retirement system, together with interest thereon at the rate of five

percent per annum, compounded annually.

(B) Upon the death of a participant in the twenty-year retirement

program, there shall be paid to such person as he or she has nominated

or shall nominate to receive his or her accumulated member contributions

by written designation duly executed and filed with the retirement

system during the lifetime of such participant, or, to his or her estate

if no such person is nominated, his or her accumulated additional member

contributions made pursuant to this subdivision (including any interest

thereon paid to the retirement system), together with interest thereon

at the rate of five percent per annum, compounded annually.

(iii) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, no

member while he or she is a participant or otherwise, shall have a right

to withdraw such additional member contributions or an interest thereon

from the retirement system.

9. No member of a public retirement system shall be permitted to

borrow any portion of the additional member contributions (including any

interest paid thereon by the participant) which are subject to this

subdivision.