Bill > A09162

This bill establishes an optional twenty-five-year retirement plan for certain public safety dispatchers, telecommunicators, 911 operators, communications officers, police communication technicians, and emergency services operators and dispatchers employed by the state, or a county or municipal emergency services department, allowing them to retire after completing twenty-five years of creditable service with a retirement allowance equal to one-half of their final average salary, with additional benefits for service beyond twenty-five years, not to exceed three-fourths of their final average salary. This new retirement option, defined in Section 89-z of the Retirement and Social Security Law, is available only if the employer elects to provide it, and it also allows for the inclusion of certain other related services as creditable service, such as service in the state police, as a paid firefighter or police officer, or as a criminal investigator. The bill also amends existing law to include these specific job titles within the categories of employees eligible for retirement without regard to age after a specified period of service, and clarifies that members covered under Article 14 of the Retirement and Social Security Law have one year to make an irrevocable election to switch to this new twenty-five-year plan. The cost of implementing this act, including past service costs, will be borne by the electing employer, and the act takes effect on January 1st following its enactment.

Labor and Employment

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A9162