N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 604-e: Twenty-five year retirement program for dispatcher members

* § 604-e. Twenty-five year retirement program for dispatcher 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. "Dispatcher member" shall mean a member (as defined in subdivision

e of section six hundred one of this article) who is employed by the

city of New York as a fire alarm dispatcher, a supervising fire alarm

dispatcher, level one, a supervising fire alarm dispatcher, level two,

director of dispatch operations, or deputy director of dispatch

operations.

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

conditions of this section.

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

mean that date of enactment of this section.

4. "Participant in the twenty-five year retirement program" shall mean

any dispatcher 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-five year

retirement program, as applicable to him or her.

5. "Discontinued member" shall mean a participant in the twenty-five

year retirement program who, while he or she was a dispatcher member,

discontinued service as such a member and has a right to a deferred

vested benefit under subdivision d of this section.

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

city of New York.

7. "Allowable service as a dispatcher member" shall mean (i) service

as a dispatcher member and all service in the following civil service

titles: chief fire alarm dispatcher, administrative fire alarm

dispatcher, bus operator (transit), train dispatcher (transit),

firefighter, police officer, correction officer, fire marshal, probation

officer, police communications technician, supervising police

communications technician, principal police communications technician,

police administrative aide, senior police administrative aide, emergency

medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician, emergency

medical service specialist level I, emergency medical specialist level

II, fire prevention inspector, fire protection inspector, senior fire

prevention inspector, principal fire prevention inspector, associate

fire protection inspector, county detective, detective (NYPD), detective

investigator, senior detective investigator, deputy sheriff, senior

deputy sheriff, inspector of fire alarm boxes, radio operator, radio

repair technician, supervisor of radio repair operations, taxi and

limousine inspector, senior taxi and limousine inspector, triborough

bridge and tunnel officer; and (ii) a member of the retirement system

who is employed by the city of New York in a title whose duties require

the supervision of employees whose civil service title is included in

subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.

b. Participation in twenty-five year retirement program. 1. Subject to

the provisions of paragraphs six and seven of this subdivision, any

person who is a dispatcher member on the starting date of the

twenty-five year retirement program and who, as such a dispatcher member

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

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

twenty-five year retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty

days after the starting date of the twenty-five 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

dispatcher member on the date such application is filed.

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs six and seven of this

subdivision, any person who becomes a dispatcher member after the

starting date of the twenty-five year retirement program and who, as

such a dispatcher member or otherwise, last became subject to the

provisions of this article prior to such starting date, may elect to

become a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program by

filing, within one hundred eighty days after becoming such a dispatcher

member, a duly executed application for such participation with the

retirement system for which such person is a member, provided he or she

is such a dispatcher member on the date such application is filed.

3. Each dispatcher member, other than a dispatcher member subject to

paragraph one or two of this subdivision, who becomes subject to the

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

twenty-five year retirement program shall become a participant in the

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

dispatcher member. Provided, however, a person subject to this

paragraph, and who has exceeded age thirty upon employment as a

dispatcher member, shall be exempt from participation in the improved

twenty-five year retirement program if such person elects not to

participate by filing a duly executed form with the retirement system

within one hundred eighty days of becoming a dispatcher member.

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

program shall be irrevocable.

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

shall cease to be employed by the city of New York as a dispatcher

member, he or she shall cease to be such a participant and, during any

period in which such person is not so employed, he or she shall not be a

participant in the twenty-five year retirement program and shall not be

eligible for the benefits of subdivision c of this section.

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

terminates service as a dispatcher member and returns to such service as

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

participant on that date.

7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any

person who is eligible to elect to become a participant in the

twenty-five year retirement program pursuant to paragraph one or two of

this subdivision for the full one hundred eighty day period provided for

in such applicable paragraph and who fails to timely file a duly

executed application for such participation with the retirement system,

shall not thereafter be eligible to become a participant in such

program.

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

year retirement program:

(i) who has completed twenty-five or more years of allowable service

as a dispatcher member; 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,

not less than thirty days subsequent to the execution and filing

thereof, he or she desires to be retired; and

(iv) who shall be a participant in the twenty-five 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. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, and

subject to the provisions of paragraph six of subdivision e of this

section, the early service retirement benefit for participants in the

twenty-five year retirement program who retire pursuant to paragraph one

of this subdivision shall be a retirement allowance consisting of:

an amount, on account of the required minimum period of service, equal

to fifty percent of his or her final average salary; plus

an amount on account of allowable service as a dispatcher member, or

fraction thereof, beyond such required minimum period of service equal

to two percent of his or her final salary for such allowable service as

a dispatcher member during the period from completion of twenty-five

years of allowable service as a dispatcher member to the date of

retirement but not to exceed more than five years of additional service

as a dispatcher member.

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

program:

(i) who discontinues service as such a participant, other than by

death or retirement; and

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

twenty-five years of allowable service as a dispatcher member; and

(iii) who, subject to the provisions of paragraph seven of subdivision

e of this section, has paid, prior to such discontinuance, all

additional member contributions and interest (if any) required by

subdivision e of this section; and

(iv) who 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; 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) In the case of a participant who is not a New York city revised

plan member, 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 or, in the case of a participant

who is a New York city revised plan member, such vested benefit shall

become payable at age sixty-three.

3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph seven of subdivision e of

this section, such deferred vested benefit shall be a retirement

allowance consisting of an amount equal to two percent of such

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

years of allowable service as a dispatcher member.

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-five year retirement program shall

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

(subject to the applicable provisions of subdivision d of section six

hundred thirteen of this article) an additional six percent of his or

her compensation earned from (i) all allowable service, as a participant

in the twenty-five year retirement program, rendered on or after the

starting date of the twenty-five year retirement program, and (ii) all

allowable service after such person ceases to be a participant, but

before he or she again becomes a participant pursuant to paragraph six

of subdivision b of this section. The additional contributions required

by this subdivision shall be in lieu of additional member contributions

required by subdivision (d) of section six hundred four-c of this

chapter as added by chapter ninety-six of the laws of nineteen hundred

ninety-five, and no member making additional contributions pursuant to

this section shall be required to make contributions pursuant to such

subdivision (d) of section six hundred four-c of this chapter.

2. A participant in the twenty-five year retirement program shall

contribute additional member contributions until the later of (i) the

first anniversary of the starting date of the twenty-five year

retirement program, or (ii) the date on which he or she completes thirty

years of allowable service as a dispatcher member.

3. Commencing with the first full payroll period after each person

becomes a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program,

additional member contributions at the rate specified in paragraph one

of this subdivision shall be deducted (subject to the applicable

provisions of subdivision d of section six hundred thirteen of this

article) from the compensation of such participant on each and every

payroll of such participant for each and every payroll period for which

he or she is such a participant.

4. (i) Each participant in the twenty-five year retirement program

shall be charged with a contribution deficiency consisting of the total

amounts of additional member contributions such person is required to

make pursuant to paragraphs one and two of this subdivision which are

not deducted from his or her compensation pursuant to paragraph three of

this subdivision, if any, together with interest thereon, compounded

annually, and computed in accordance with the provisions of

subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph.

(ii) (A) The interest required to be paid on each such amount

specified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall accrue from the

end of the payroll period for which such amount would have been deducted

from compensation if he or she had been a participant at the beginning

of that payroll period and such deduction had been required for such

payroll period, until such amount is paid to the retirement system.

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

period for which interest accrues on that amount shall be equal to the

rate or rates of interest required by law to be used during that same

period to credit interest on the accumulated deductions of retirement

system members.

(iii) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph five of this

subdivision, no interest shall be due on any unpaid additional member

contributions which are not attributable to a period prior to the first

full payroll period referred to in paragraph three of this subdivision.

5. (i) Should any person who, pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of

paragraph ten of this subdivision, has received a refund of his or her

additional member contribution including any interest paid on such

contributions, again become a participant in the twenty-five 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 subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph) for any credited

service for which such person received a refund of such additional

member contributions (including any amount of an unpaid loan balance

deemed to have been returned to such person pursuant to paragraph twelve

of this subdivision), as if such additional member contributions never

had been paid.

(ii) (A) Interest on a participant's additional member contributions

included in such participant's contribution deficiency pursuant to

subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be calculated as if such

additional member contributions had never been paid by such participant,

and such interest shall accrue from the end of the payroll period to

which an amount of such additional member contributions is attributable,

until such amount is paid to the retirement system.

(B) 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.

6. Where a participant who is otherwise eligible for service

retirement pursuant to subdivision c of this section did not, prior to

the effective date of retirement, pay the entire amount of a

contribution deficiency chargeable to him or her pursuant to paragraphs

four and five of this subdivision, or repay the entire amount of a loan

of his or her additional member contributions pursuant to paragraph

eleven of this subdivision (including accrued interest on such loan),

that participant, nevertheless, shall be eligible to retire pursuant to

subdivision c of this section, provided, however, that such

participant's service retirement benefit calculated pursuant to

paragraph two of such subdivision c shall be reduced by a life annuity

(calculated in accordance with the method set forth in subdivision i of

section six hundred thirteen-b of this article) which is actuarially

equivalent to:

(i) The amount of any unpaid contribution deficiency chargeable to

such member pursuant to paragraphs four and five of this subdivision;

plus

(ii) the amount of any unpaid balance of a loan of his or her

additional member contributions pursuant to paragraph eleven of this

subdivision (including accrued interest on such loan).

7. Where a participant who is otherwise eligible for a vested right to

a deferred benefit pursuant to subdivision d of this section did not,

prior to the date of discontinuance of service, pay the entire amount of

a contribution deficiency chargeable to him or her pursuant to

paragraphs four and five of this subdivision, or repay the entire amount

of a loan of his or her additional member contributions pursuant to

paragraph eleven of this subdivision (including accrued interest on such

loan), that participant, nevertheless, shall be eligible for a vested

right to a deferred benefit pursuant to subdivision d of this section,

provided, however, that the deferred vested benefit calculated pursuant

to paragraph three of such subdivision d shall be reduced by a life

annuity (calculated in accordance with the method set forth in

subdivision i of section six hundred thirteen-b of this article) which

is actuarially equivalent to:

(i) the amount of any unpaid contribution deficiency chargeable to

such member pursuant to paragraphs four and five of this subdivision;

plus

(ii) the amount of any unpaid balance of a loan of his or her

additional member contributions pursuant to paragraph eleven of this

subdivision (including accrued interest on such loan).

8. The head of a retirement system which includes participants in the

twenty-five year retirement program in its membership may, consistent

with the provisions of this subdivision, promulgate regulations for the

payment of such additional member contributions, and any interest

thereon, by such participants (including the deduction of such

contributions, and any interest thereon, from the participant's

compensation).

9. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs six and seven of this

subdivision, where a participant has not paid in full any contribution

deficiency chargeable to him or her pursuant to paragraphs four and five

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 subparagraph

(ii) of paragraph ten 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.

10. (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-five

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) Should a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program

who has rendered less than fifteen years of credited service cease to

hold a position as a dispatcher member 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.

(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, (A)

no person shall be permitted to withdraw from the retirement system any

additional member contributions paid pursuant to this subdivision or any

interest paid thereon, except pursuant to and in accordance with the

preceding subparagraphs of this paragraph; and (B) no person, while he

or she is a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program,

shall be permitted to withdraw any such additional member contributions

or any interest paid thereon pursuant to any of the preceding

subparagraphs of this paragraph or otherwise.

11. A participant in the twenty-five year retirement program shall be

permitted to borrow from his or her additional member contributions

(including any interest paid thereon) which are credited to the

additional contributions account established for such participant in the

contingent reserve fund of the retirement system. The borrowing from

such additional member contributions pursuant to this paragraph shall be

governed by the rights, privileges, obligations and procedures set forth

in section six hundred thirteen-b of this article which govern the

borrowing of member contributions made pursuant to section six hundred

thirteen of this article. The board of trustees of the retirement system

may, consistent with the provisions of this subdivision and the

provisions of section six hundred thirteen-b of this article as made

applicable to this subdivision, promulgate regulations governing the

borrowing of such additional member contributions.

12. Whenever a person has an unpaid balance of a loan of his or her

additional member contributions pursuant to paragraph eleven of this

subdivision at the time he or she becomes entitled to a refund of his or

her additional member contributions pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of

paragraph ten of this subdivision, the amount of such unpaid loan

balance (including accrued interest) shall be deemed to have been

returned to such member, and the refund of such additional contributions

shall be the net amount of such contributions, together with interest

thereon in accordance with the provisions of such subparagraph (ii).

* NB There are 2 § 604-e's