THANK YOU — PEF Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum, left, listens as state Comptroller H. Carl McCall thanks labor for its help in getting the pension COLA and other reforms enacted this year. — Photo courtesy of the NYS AFL-CIO
Pataki signs Prior Service Credit, Tier Equity and Death Benefits bills
PEF scores pension ‘hat trick’ as 3 remaining bills become law
By SHERRY HALBROOK
Years of painstaking lobbying paid off again in October as three more PEF-backed bills — Prior Service Credit, Tier Equity and the Death Benefits Option — were signed into law by Gov. George Pataki.
This latest “triple-play” makes 2000 by far and away the union’s most successful year ever for enactment of pension- and tier-related legislation.
“PEF owes its dedicated activists and legislative staff a heart-felt thank you for all that they have achieved this year,” says PEF President Roger Benson, who was a guest at the bill-signing ceremony in New York City where Pataki presented him with the pen used to sign the Tier Equity bill into law.
“These three latest legislative victories come on the heels of others, such as the pension COLA, Veterans’ Buy Back, the early-retirement benefit for Tiers 1 and 2, and the elimination of the 3 percent pension contributions for members in Tiers 3 and 4 with at least 10 years of service. Amazingly, they have all been signed into law this year,” Benson says.
“But we all know,” he adds, “that it took many years of educating state lawmakers on the need for these changes before this year’s victories could be possible. For instance, we got Tier Equity through the Legislature last year, only to have it vetoed by the governor. But this year, the lawmakers supported it and so did the governor.”
“We did our work of educating and building consensus behind these bills,” says PEF Vice President Ken Brynien. “The strong economy made these improvements affordable, and we got bipartisan support from legislators, the comptroller and the governor. And, of course, it didn’t hurt that this was an election year for the Legislature.”
Get pension credit for prior service
The new Prior Service
Credit law provides the following benefits:
• Tier 2, 3 and 4 employees can get retirement
credit for public service performed before becoming
members of the NYS and Local Retirement Systems. However,
this does not change restrictions on credit for CETA
service after September 1, 1975.
• No more “continuous-service”
requirements and you can buy credit for your service that
would have been creditable in a public retirement system
in New York State.
• You only need two years, instead of five years, of
service credit in your current membership, before you can
receive credit for previous service.
To apply for this credit, complete and submit a
Supplemental Statement of Services (RS 5042) or a Request
for Service Determination (RS 6277). If you were
previously denied credit for non-continuous service, you
should reapply.
New
Death Benefits law looks out for your loved ones
The Death Benefits legislation
ensures that most members of the state’s public
retirement systems are covered by the most advantageous
death-benefit option.
If you are in Tier 2, 3 or 4 and die while you are in
service, but chose Death Benefit 1 when you joined the
Retirement System, your beneficiaries will not be
penalized for that choice. They will automatically
receive a lump-sum amount payable under Death Benefit 2,
if it is greater than their benefit would be under the
Benefit 1 option that you chose.
And, under this new legislation, if you join the
Retirement System on or after January 1, 2001, you will
automatically be covered by Death Benefit 2.
Usually, Benefit 2 provides the larger benefit. Benefit 1
could be better only if you have at least 36 years of
service credit or are eligible to retire without benefit
reduction at the time of your death.
Tier
Equity Law lowers penalty for retiring early
The Tier Equity Bill reduces the
level of penalties for early retirement from Tiers 3 and
4 to the same level of penalty as Tier 2.
Tier 3 and 4 members who retire under Article 15 of the
Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) will have their
benefit reduced at the same lower rate that continues to
apply to Tier 2 members.
To be eligible for the lower benefit-reduction rates,
Tier 3 and 4 members must retire: under Article 15 (RSSL)
Tier 4 provisions, be between the ages of 55 and 62, and
have less than 30 years of credited service.
As before, there is no penalty if you retire at age 55 or
older with at least 30 years of credited service.
Get information about these pension-law changes online at
www.osc.state.ny.us/retire.