BILL NUMBER: S7714A
SPONSOR: CHU
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
the restoration of 20 year service retirement for New York city police
officers
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to restore the 20-year service retirement
for New York city police officers hired on or after July 2009
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision 17 of § 501 of the Retirement and Social
Security Law to state that for police/fire members of the New York city
police pension fund, normal retirement age shall be the age at which a
member completes or would have completed twenty years of service.
Section 2: Amends subdivision d of § 503 of the Retirement and Social
Security Law to state that the normal service retirement benefit speci-
fied in § 505 of this Article shall be paid to police/fire members of
the New York city police pension fund, after twenty years of service.
Section 3: Amends § 505 of the Retirement and Social Security Law to add
a new subdivision d that states that notwithstanding anything to the
contrary in any other law, police/fire members of the New York city
police pension fund shall be eligible for a normal service retirement
benefit in lieu of an early service retirement benefit upon completing
twenty years of service pursuant to subdivision d of
§ 503 of this Article.
Section 4: Provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill seeks to remedy a glaring inequity facing recently hired New
York City police officers. Throughout New York State, police officers
become eligible for a full-service retirement benefit of half of their
final salary after 20 years. And in New York City, police officers hired
prior to July 1.2009 become eligible for a full-service retirement bene-
fit after 20 years. However, under current law New York City police
officers hired on or after July 1, 2009 do not become eligible for a
full service retirement benefit until they have worked at least 22
years.
This inequity has played a role in the unprecedented crisis New York
City is experiencing in regarding the recruitment and retention of
police officers. With respect to retention, 2022 saw the most New York
City police officer resignations in at least two decades, including an
increase of more than 600% from 10 years ago. Departing police officers
regularly cite their inferior pensions and the additional service
requirement as reasons for joining other police departments.
With respect to recruitment, the NYPD has been unable to fill and gradu-
ate sufficient police academy classes.
These issues have a profound impact on both New York City police offi-
cers and New Yorkers. Many of the NYPD's best, brightest, and most
diverse officers are fleeing for neighboring jurisdictions, where they
not only are eligible for a 20-year service retirement, but can also
earn more wages, work less, and improve their quality of life. For simi-
lar reasons, promising young men and women interested in pursuing
careers in law enforcement are choosing to join other police agencies or
pursue other careers altogether. The loss of these talented individu-
als-and the attendant impact on remaining officers who are forced to
work overtime due to staffing shortages-makes New York City less safe.
And, it has a direct financial impact on the New York taxpayer, both
through the significant resources wasted on training officers who soon
depart (costs for such training are estimated to be in excess of
$100,000 per recruit), as well as the additional overtime costs incurred
due to lack of adequate staffing.
Finally, and importantly, this bill would merely restore the 20-year
service retirement for all New York City police officers as it existed
prior to the veto of the Tier 2 extender by Governor David Paterson in
2009, which was never intended to take away this meaningful benefit for
New York City police officers.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See fiscal note.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S7714: 505 retirement and social security law
S7714A: 505 retirement and social security law