Monday, October 28, 2013

FYI: Benefit Enhanacement Law and Twenty Five Year Detective Investigator Retirement Benefit (Tier 2)

The maximum benefit under the Twenty Five (25) Year Detective Investigator Plan is equal to the benefit based on 32 years of credited service (Section 444) plus the 2 years of added service provided by Section 911 for a total of 34 years.

The actual benefit limit is 55% times the member's final 12 months earnings + (1.7% * 9) times the member's final average salary (120% capped three year average salary).

In contrast there is no maximum benefit limit on the Twenty (20) Year Detective Investigator Plan (Tier 2) (see Section 157.4 below). This plan, however, is not eligible for the pension enhancement benefit (S.911).

Enhancement Statute

§ 911. Benefit enhancements.

a. 1. An eligible member other than a member of the New York city teachers' retirement system (i) with a date of membership in a retirement system prior to July twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-six and (ii) who was in active service on June first, two thousand and continued in active service until October first, two thousand, shall receive one-twelfth of a year of additional retirement credit for each year of retirement credit for service rendered as of the date of retirement, vesting, transfer or death, if applicable, up to a maximum of two years of retirement credit. Such additional credit shall be available for all purposes, including fulfilling the qualifying service requirements of Plans A and C, if applicable.

2. An eligible member who is a member of the New York city teachers' retirement system (i) with a date of membership prior to July twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-six and (ii) who was in active service on October first, two thousand and (A) continued in active service up to and including June thirtieth, two thousand one, shall receive one-twelfth of a year of additional retirement credit for each year of retirement credit for service rendered as of the date of retirement, vesting, transfer or death, if applicable, up to a maximum of one year of retirement credit or (B) continued in active service up to and including June thirtieth, two thousand two, shall receive one-twelfth of a year of additional retirement credit for each year of retirement credit for service rendered as of the date of retirement, vesting, transfer or death, if applicable, up to a maximum of two years of retirement credit. No eligible member shall receive more than two years of retirement credit pursuant to this section. Such additional credit shall be available for all purposes, including fulfilling the qualifying service requirements of Plan A or C, if applicable.

3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, if the service retirement benefit of an eligible member is subject to a maximum retirement benefit, including any limitation imposed by section four hundred forty-four of this chapter, the additional benefit authorized by this subdivision shall be computed by multiplying the pensionable salary base times the number of years of service credit granted by this subdivision times the benefit fraction of the plan under which the employee retires.

Tier 2 Section 444 Benefit Limitation Statute

§ 444. Maximum retirement benefits.

a. Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-a of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-b of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-c of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this article as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-h of this article, the maximum retirement benefit computed without optional modification provided to a member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions of this article, other than a police officer, a firefighter, an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a member of the uniformed personnel in institutions under the jurisdiction of the New York city department of correction who receives a performance of duty disability retirement allowance, a member of the uniformed personnel in institutions under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and community supervision or a security hospital treatment assistant, as those terms are defined in subdivision i of section eighty-nine of this chapter, who receives a performance of duty disability retirement allowance, a member of a teachers' retirement system, New York city employees' retirement system, New York city board of education retirement system or a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system or a member of the New York city employees' retirement system or New York city board of education retirement system employed as a special officer, parking control specialist, school safety agent, campus peace officer, taxi and limousine inspector or a police communications member and who receives a performance of duty disability pension, from funds other than those based on a member's own or increased-take-home-pay contributions, shall, before any reduction for early retirement, be sixty per centum of the first fifteen thousand three hundred dollars of final average salary, and fifty per centum of final average salary in excess of fifteen thousand three hundred dollars, and forty per centum of final average salary in excess of twenty-seven thousand three hundred dollars, provided, however, that the benefits provided by subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this article as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five based upon the additional member contributions required by subdivision d of such section four hundred forty-five-d shall be subject to the maximum retirement benefit computations set forth in this section. The maximum retirement benefit computed without optional modification payable to a police officer, an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement system or a firefighter shall equal that payable upon completion of thirty years of service, except that the maximum service retirement benefit computed without optional modification shall equal that payable upon completion of thirty-two years of service.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, a member employed as a uniformed court officer or peace officer in the unified court system granted accidental disability retirement benefits shall receive a pension of three-quarters of final average salary. The payment of such pension shall be subject to the provisions of section sixty-four of this chapter.

c. Notwithstanding section three hundred sixty-three-c of this chapter, accidentally disabled police officers and firefighters shall receive a pension of three-quarters of their final average salary. The payment of such pension shall be subject to the provisions of section three hundred sixty-four of this chapter.

d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, the retirement benefit payable to a member of the New York city police pension fund or the New York city fire department pension fund who has completed thirty or more years of service at the time of his or her retirement shall be based on the total service with which such member has been credited at retirement.

Tier 2 Twenty (20) Year Detective Investigator Plan - benefit description

Section 157.4 (NYC Admin Code)

2. 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 retirement allowance consisting of:
(i) an amount, on account of the required minimum period of service, equal to fifty percent of the salary earned in the year prior to his or her retirement; plus
(ii) an amount for each additional year of credited service as an investigator member, or fraction thereof, beyond such required minimum period of service equal to one-sixtieth of the average annual earnings from his or her date of eligibility for retirement to the actual date of retirement; plus
(iii) an amount for each year, or fraction thereof, of service credit not included in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of this paragraph equal to fifty-five percent of one-sixtieth of his or her final compensation if such service credit was for service rendered prior to October first, nineteen hundred fifty-one, or seventy-five percent of one-sixtieth of his or her final compensation if such service was rendered subsequent to October first, nineteen hundred fifty-one.

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