2023 New York Laws › RSS - Retirement and Social Security › Article 11 - Limitations Applicable to New Entrants › 445-E - Optional Twenty-Five Year Improved Benefit Retirement Program for Dispatcher Members

* §  445-e.  Optional  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit retirement
program for dispatcher members. a. Definitions. The following words  and
phrases as used in this section shall have the following meanings unless
a different meaning is plainly required by the context.
1.  "Retirement  system"  shall  mean  the  New  York  city employees'
retirement system.
2. "Dispatcher member" shall mean a member of  the  retirement  system
who is subject to the provisions of this article, who is employed by the
city  of  New  York as a fire alarm dispatcher, a supervising fire alarm
dispatcher, level one, a supervising fire alarm dispatcher,  level  two,
director   of  dispatch  operations,  or  deputy  director  of  dispatch
operations.
3. "Twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program"  shall  mean
all the terms and conditions of this section.
4.  "Starting date of the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement
program" shall mean the date of enactment of this section.
5. "Participant in the twenty-five year  improved  benefit  retirement
program"  shall  mean  any  dispatcher  member who, under the applicable
provisions of subdivision b of this section, is entitled to the  rights,
benefits  and  privileges  and  is  subject  to  the  obligations of the
twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program, as  applicable  to
him or her.
6.  "Administrative  code"  shall  mean the administrative code of the
city of New York.
7. "Accumulated  deductions"  shall  mean  accumulated  deductions  as
defined  in  subdivision  eleven of section 13-101 of the administrative
code of the city of New York.
8. "Optional retirement provisions" shall mean the right to retire and
receive a retirement allowance under this section upon the completion of
twenty-five years of allowable service as a dispatcher member.
9. "Allowable service as a dispatcher member" shall mean  (i)  service
as  a  dispatcher  member and all service in the following civil service
titles:  chief  fire  alarm  dispatcher,   administrative   fire   alarm
dispatcher,   bus   operator   (transit),  train  dispatcher  (transit),
firefighter, police officer, correction officer, fire marshal, probation
officer,   police   communications   technician,   supervising    police
communications  technician,  principal police communications technician,
police administrative aide, senior police administrative aide, emergency
medical technician, advanced  emergency  medical  technician,  emergency
medical  service  specialist level I, emergency medical specialist level
II, fire prevention inspector, fire protection  inspector,  senior  fire
prevention  inspector,  principal  fire  prevention inspector, associate
fire protection inspector, county detective, detective (NYPD), detective
investigator, senior  detective  investigator,  deputy  sheriff,  senior
deputy  sheriff,  inspector  of  fire alarm boxes, radio operator, radio
repair technician, supervisor  of  radio  repair  operations,  taxi  and
limousine  inspector,  senior  taxi  and limousine inspector, triborough
bridge and tunnel officer; and(ii) a member of the retirement system who
is employed by the city of New York in a title whose duties require  the
supervision  of  employees  whose  civil  service  title  is included in
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
b. Election of twenty-five year improved benefit  retirement  program.
1.    Subject  to  the  provisions  of  paragraphs  five and six of this
subdivision, any person who is a dispatcher member on the starting  date
of the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program may elect to
become a participant in the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement
program  by  filing,  within one hundred eighty days after such starting
date, a duly  executed  application  for  such  participation  with  the

retirement system, provided he or she is such a dispatcher member on the
date such application is filed.
2.  Subject  to  the  provisions  of  paragraphs  five and six of this
subdivision, any person  who  becomes  a  dispatcher  member  after  the
starting  date  of  the  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit retirement
program may elect to  become  a  participant  in  the  twenty-five  year
improved benefit retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty
days   after   becoming  such  a  dispatcher  member,  a  duly  executed
application for such participation with the retirement system,  provided
he  or  she  is such a dispatcher member on the date such application is
filed.
3. Any election to be a participant in the twenty-five  year  improved
benefit retirement program shall be irrevocable.
4.  Where  any  participant  in  the twenty-five year improved benefit
retirement program shall cease  to  hold  a  position  as  a  dispatcher
member,  he  or she shall cease to be such a participant and, during any
period in which such a person does not hold such a dispatcher  position,
he  or  she  shall not be a participant in the twenty-five year improved
benefit retirement program and shall not be eligible for the benefits of
subdivision c of this section.
5. Where any participant in  the  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit
retirement program terminates service as a dispatcher member and returns
to  such service as a dispatcher member at a later date, he or she shall
again become such a participant on that date.
6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  any
person  who  is eligible to become a participant in the twenty-five year
improved benefit retirement program pursuant to paragraph one or two  of
this subdivision for the full one hundred eighty day period provided for
in  such  applicable  paragraph  and  who  fails  to  timely file a duly
executed application for such participation with the retirement  system,
shall  not  thereafter  be  eligible  to  become  a  participant in such
program.
c. Service retirement benefits. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law to the  contrary,  where  a  participant  in  the  twenty-five  year
improved  benefit  retirement  program, who is otherwise qualified for a
retirement allowance pursuant to the optional retirement provisions  set
forth  in  subdivision a of this section, has made and/or paid, while he
or she is a dispatcher member, all additional member  contributions  and
interest (if any) required by subdivision d of this section, then:
1.  that participant, while he or she remains a participant, shall not
be subject to the provisions of subdivision a of  section  four  hundred
forty-five of this article; and
2. if that participant, while such a participant, retires for service,
he or she shall not be subject to the provisions of section four hundred
forty-four of this article; and
3.  his  or her retirement allowance shall be an amount, on account of
the required minimum period of service, equal  to  the  sum  of  (i)  an
annuity  which  shall  be  the  actuarial  equivalent of the accumulated
deductions for his or her pay during such period,  (ii)  a  pension  for
increased-take-home-pay  which  shall be the actuarial equivalent of the
reserve for increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may  be  entitled
for  such  period, and (iii) a pension which, when added to such annuity
and such pension  for  increased-take-home-pay,  produces  a  retirement
allowance  equal  to  fifty  percent of his or her final average salary,
plus an amount for each  additional  year  of  allowable  service  as  a
dispatcher  member,  or  fraction  thereof, beyond such required minimum
period of service equal to two percent  of  his  or  her  final  average
salary  for  such  allowable  service  as a dispatcher member during the

period from completion of twenty-five years of allowable  service  as  a
dispatcher  member to the date of retirement but not to exceed more than
five years of additional service as a dispatcher member.
d.  Additional  member  contributions.  1.  In  addition to the member
contributions required pursuant to section 13-125 or section  13-162  of
the administrative code of the city of New York, each participant in the
twenty-five  year  improved benefit retirement program shall contribute,
subject  to  the  applicable  provisions  of  section  13-125.2  of  the
administrative  code  of the city of New York, an additional six percent
of his or her compensation earned  from  all  allowable  service,  as  a
participant in the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program,
rendered  on  and  after  the  starting  date  of  the  improved benefit
retirement program, and all allowable service after such  person  ceases
to  be  a  participant, but before he or she again becomes a participant
pursuant  to  paragraph  five  of  subdivision  b  of  this  section.  A
participant  in the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program
shall contribute additional member contributions until the later of  the
date  as  of  which he or she is eligible to retire with thirty years of
allowable  service  under  such  retirement  program,   or   the   first
anniversary  of  the  starting  date  of  the  twenty-five year improved
benefit retirement program. The  additional  contributions  required  by
this  paragraph  shall  be  in  lieu  of additional member contributions
required by subdivision (d) of section four hundred forty-five-d of this
chapter, as added by chapter ninety-six of the laws of nineteen  hundred
ninety-five,  and  no member paying additional contributions pursuant to
this section shall be required to pay additional contributions  pursuant
to  such  subdivision  (d)  of section four hundred forty-five-d of this
chapter.
2. Commencing with the first full payroll  period  after  each  person
becomes   a   participant  in  the  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit
retirement  program,  additional  member  contributions  at   the   rate
specified  in  paragraph  one  of  this  subdivision  shall be deducted,
subject  to  the  applicable  provisions  of  section  13-125.2  of  the
administrative  code  of  the city of New York, from the compensation of
such participant on each and every payroll of such participant for  each
and every payroll period for which he or she is such a participant.
3.  (i)  Subject  to  the  provisions  of  subparagraph  (ii)  of this
paragraph,  where  any  additional  member  contributions  required   by
paragraph  one  of  this  subdivision  are not paid by deductions from a
participant's  compensation  pursuant   to   paragraph   two   of   this
subdivision:
(A)  that  participant shall be charged with a contribution deficiency
consisting of such  unpaid  amounts,  together  with  interest  thereon,
compounded annually; and
(B)  such  interest  on  each amount of undeducted contributions shall
accrue from the end of the payroll period for which  such  amount  would
have been deducted from compensation if he or she had been a participant
at  the  beginning  of  that payroll period and such deductions had been
required for such payroll period  until  such  amount  is  paid  to  the
retirement system; and
(C)  (1)  interest  on each such amount included in such participant's
contribution  deficiency  pursuant  to  this   subparagraph   shall   be
calculated  as  if  such  additional member contributions never had been
paid by such participant, and such interest shall accrue from the end of
the payroll  period  to  which  an  amount  of  such  additional  member
contributions is attributable, compounded annually, until such amount is
paid to the retirement system.
(2)  the rate of interest to be applied to each such amount during the
period for which interest accrues on that amount shall be equal  to  the
rate  or  rates  of interest required by law to be used during that same
period to credit interest on the accumulated  deductions  of  retirement
system members.
(ii)  Except  as  provided in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, no
interest shall be due on any unpaid additional contributions  which  are
not  attributable  to  the period prior to the first full payroll period
referred to in paragraph two of this subdivision.
(iii) Should any person who,  pursuant  to  paragraph  seven  of  this
subdivision,  has withdrawn any additional member contributions (and any
interest paid thereon) again become a  participant  in  the  twenty-five
year  improved  benefit retirement program pursuant to paragraph five of
subdivision b of this section, an appropriate amount shall  be  included
in   such  participant's  contribution  deficiency  (including  interest
thereon as calculated pursuant  to  this  paragraph)  for  any  credited
service  with  respect  to  which  such  person  received  a  refund  of
additional member contributions (including any amount of an unpaid  loan
balance  deemed  to  have  been  returned  to  such  person  pursuant to
paragraph seven of this  subdivision),  as  if  such  additional  member
contributions never had been paid.
4. The board of trustees of the retirement system may, consistent with
the  provisions  of  this  subdivision,  promulgate  regulations for the
payment  of  the  additional  member  contributions  required  by   this
subdivision,   and  any  interest  thereon,  by  a  participant  in  the
twenty-five year improved  benefit  retirement  program  (including  the
deduction  of  such contributions, and any interest thereon, from his or
her compensation).
5.  Where  a  participant  who  is  otherwise  eligible  for   service
retirement  pursuant  to subdivision c of this section did not, prior to
the  effective  date  of  retirement,  pay  the  entire  amount   of   a
contribution  deficiency  chargeable to him or her pursuant to paragraph
three of this subdivision, or repay the entire amount of a loan  of  his
or  her  additional  member contributions pursuant to paragraph eight of
this  subdivision  (including  accrued  interest  on  such  loan),  that
participant,  nevertheless,  shall  be  eligible  to  retire pursuant to
subdivision c of  this  section,  provided,  however,  that  where  such
participant   is   not   entitled  to  a  refund  of  additional  member
contributions pursuant to paragraph  seven  of  this  subdivision,  such
participant's  service  retirement  benefit  calculated  pursuant to the
applicable provisions of subdivision c of this section shall be  reduced
by a life annuity (calculated in accordance with the method set forth in
subdivision  i  of section six hundred thirteen-b of this chapter) which
is actuarially equivalent to:
(i) the amount of any unpaid  contribution  deficiency  chargeable  to
such member pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision; plus
(ii)  the  amount  of  any  unpaid  balance  of  a  loan of his or her
additional member contributions pursuant  to  paragraph  eight  of  this
subdivision (including accrued interest on such loan).
6.  Subject  to  the provisions of paragraph five of this subdivision,
where a participant has not paid in  full  any  contribution  deficiency
chargeable   to   him  or  her  pursuant  to  paragraph  three  of  this
subdivision,  and  a  benefit,  other  than  a  refund  of  a   member's
accumulated  deductions  or  a refund of additional member contributions
pursuant to paragraph seven of this subdivision, becomes payable by  the
retirement  system  to  the  participant  or  to  his  or her designated
beneficiary or estate, the  actuarial  equivalent  of  any  such  unpaid
amount shall be deducted from the benefit otherwise payable.
7.   (i)   All   additional  member  contributions  required  by  this
subdivision (and  any  interest  thereon)  which  are  received  by  the
retirement  system  shall  be  paid into its contingent reserve fund and
shall be the property of the retirement system. Such  additional  member
contributions  (and  any  interest thereon) shall not for any purpose be
deemed to be member contributions or accumulated deductions of a  member
of  the  retirement system under section 13-125 or section 13-162 of the
administrative code of the city of  New  York  while  he  or  she  is  a
participant  in the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program
or otherwise.
(ii) Should a participant in the  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit
retirement program, who has rendered less than fifteen years of credited
service  cease  to hold a position as a dispatcher member for any reason
whatsoever, his or her accumulated additional member contributions  made
pursuant to this subdivision (together with any interest thereon paid to
the  retirement  system)  which  remain  credited  to such participant's
account  may  be  withdrawn  by  him  or  her  pursuant  to   procedures
promulgated  in  regulations  of the board of trustees of the retirement
system, together with interest thereon at the rate of interest  required
by  law  to  be used to credit interest on the accumulated deductions of
retirement system members compounded annually.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  (A)
no  person shall be permitted to withdraw from the retirement system any
additional member contributions paid pursuant to this subdivision or any
interest paid thereon, except pursuant to and  in  accordance  with  the
preceding  subparagraphs  of this paragraph; and (B) no person, while he
or she is  a  participant  in  the  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit
retirement  program,  shall be permitted to withdraw any such additional
member contributions or any interest paid thereon pursuant to any of the
preceding subparagraphs of this paragraph or otherwise.
8. A participant in the twenty-five year improved  benefit  retirement
program  shall  be permitted to borrow from his or her additional member
contributions, including any interest paid thereon, which  are  credited
to the additional contributions account established for such participant
in  the  contingent reserve fund of the retirement system. The borrowing
from such additional member contributions  pursuant  to  this  paragraph
shall  be  governed  by  the  same  rights,  privileges, obligations and
procedures set forth in section six hundred thirteen-b of  this  chapter
which govern the borrowing by members subject to article fifteen of this
chapter  of  member  contributions  made pursuant to section six hundred
thirteen of this chapter. The board of trustees of the retirement system
may,  consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  subdivision  and  the
provisions  of  section  six  hundred thirteen-b of this chapter as made
applicable to this subdivision,  promulgate  regulations  governing  the
borrowing of such additional member contributions.
9.  Wherever  a  person  has an unpaid balance of a loan of his or her
additional member contributions pursuant  to  paragraph  eight  of  this
subdivision at the time he or she becomes entitled to a refund of his or
her  additional  member  contributions  pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of
paragraph seven of this subdivision, the  amount  of  such  unpaid  loan
balance  (including  accrued  interest)  shall  be  deemed  to have been
returned to such member, and the refund of such additional contributions
shall be the net amount of such contributions,  together  with  interest
thereon in accordance with the provisions of such subparagraph.
10.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the contrary, the
provisions of section one hundred thirty-eight-b of this  chapter  shall
not  be  applicable  to  the  additional  member contributions which are
required by this subdivision.
11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to  the  contrary,  the
additional  member  contributions which are required by this subdivision
shall not be reduced under any program for increased-take-home-pay.
e.  The  provisions  of this section shall not be construed to provide
benefits to any participant in the  twenty-five  year  improved  benefit
retirement  program which are greater than those which would be received
by a similarly situated member who is entitled  to  benefits  under  the
provisions of section 13-157.2 of the administrative code of the city of
New York, but who is not governed by the provisions of this article.
* NB There are 2 § 445-e's