Summary
of 2000 Legislation
The following is a summary of NYSTRS-related
legislation that was signed into law in 2000:
Death
Benefits
Highlights:
- Provides that beneficiaries of deceased Tier 2, 3 and
4 members who elected the Paragraph 1 Death Benefit will
receive the greater of either the Paragraph 1 Death Benefit
or the Paragraph 2 Death Benefit.
- Eliminates the Paragraph 1 Death Benefit option for members
joining after January 1, 2001.
Effective Date: October 31, 2000
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Tier
Equity
Highlights:
- Provides that the Tier 4 age reduction formula for those
retiring before age 62 with less than 30 years of service
will be the same as the Tier 2 formula.
Effective Date: October 31, 2000
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Prior
Service
Highlights:
- Allows members to receive credit for prior New York State
public service that predated membership and would have been
creditable at the time the service occurred.
- Enables members to have prior service credited (with
appropriate payment, if applicable) after earning two years of service credit under their present membership.
Effective Date:
October 31, 2000
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Military
Service Credit
Highlights:
- Allows qualified members to purchase a maximum of three
years of credit for designated military service. Active
members or those who retired on or after December 21, 1998
may be eligible.
- For those members who already have military credit, their
combined total military credit cannot exceed three years.
- The cost for each year purchased is 3% of salary earned
during the 12 months of credited service immediately preceding
the date the application is made.
Effective Date: October
19, 2000
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Earnings
After Retirement
Highlights:
- Increases the earnings limit for New York State public
employment under Section 212 of the Retirement &
Social Security Law to $18,500 a year for the calendar year
2001.
Effective Date:
January 1, 2001
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Article 19
/ Benefit
Enhancement
Highlights:
- Provides up to two years of additional service credit
for qualified Tier 1 and 2 members. To be eligible, members
must have been in active service from April 1, 1999 through
the end of the 1999-2000 school year. (Note: This eligibility
criteria was amended by
Chapter 353 of the Laws of 2002.) Any additional credit
received from Article 19 or a state retirement incentive
can be used in the pension calculation formula. As a result,
pension factors may exceed 75%.
- Effective October 1, 2000, mandatory 3% contributions
to the retirement system for Tier 3 and 4 members will cease
after they have 10 years of membership or 10 years of total
service credit.
Effective Date:
June 1, 2000 for additional service; October 1, 2000
for cessation of contributions
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Cost
of Living Adjustment (COLA)
Highlights:
-
Provides permanent and automatic COLA to
eligible members, based on 50% of the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) increase from one March to the next. The COLA
percentage can never be less than 1% nor greater than
3%, and is applied to the first $18,000 of a retiree's
maximum retirement benefit.
-
To be eligible, a retiree must be age 62
and be retired for at least five years, or age 55 and
be retired for at least 10 years. All NYSTRS disability
retirees, regardless of age, are eligible when they have
been retired for five years.
-
Phase One applies to those who retired
prior to January 1, 1997 who meet the above eligibility
requirements. They will receive the "catch-up" adjustment September 30, 2000, or when
first eligible.
-
Phase Two begins with the September 30,
2001 payroll and will include all dates of retirement
for those who meet the above eligibility requirements.
Effective Date: September 2000 payroll
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Retirement
Incentive
Highlights:
-
Provides one-twelfth of a year of additional
service credit to an eligible member for each year of
service credited at retirement, to a maximum of three
years of additional credit.
-
To be eligible, members must be age 50
with at least 10 years of service OR age 55 with five
years of service. In addition, their local district must
adopt the incentive.
-
Members younger than age 55 at retirement
will have their benefit reduced for each year their age
precedes 55, except for Tier 1 members with 35 or more
years of service.
Effective Date: June 23, 2000
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