Click on the
categories below to view our responses to questions of general
interest.
Have a question for OMCE? Email us:
nysomce@gmail.com.
| Salary/Compensation | Pension/Retirement |
| OMCE Membership and Benefits | Litigation/Legal Representation |
| M/C Benefits/Health Insurance | Legislation |
| Civil Service | Other |
● I am a retiree re-employed under Section 212 of the Retirement and Social Security law. How do I know what year my earnings are allocated to? Is it based on when I earn the money or when I am paid?
The Section 212 earnings limit ($30,000) is the amount a retiree can earn in a year, not the amount received in payment in the year. It’s when the work is done, not when it’s paid. The Retirement System, in a 2009 Retiree Newsletter article Working After Retirement—Understanding Earnings Limits, explains: "Money is allocated to the year it is earned, regardless of when it was paid. For example, money earned for payroll period 12/13/07–12/27/07 is part of the $30,000 earnings limit for 2007, even though it would be paid in 2008."
● In 2004 the maximum number of sick leave days that can be used
for additional service credit was increased from 165 to 200
days for PEF, CSEA and MC employees. Is that a result of legislation? Does
it apply to all MC employees (classified or not)?
The increase in the number of sick leave days that
may be used for retirement service credit was provided for in
the 2004 pay bill. The bill amended Section 41 of the Retirement
and Social Security law by increasing the 165 days limitation
contained therein to 200 days for executive branch employees
in specified negotiating units or in positions designated managerial
or confidential pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service
law. Section 41 limits participation to "members in the
employ of the state who, prior to retirement, were subject to
a plan established by law, rule, regulation, written order or
written policy which provided for the regular earning and accumulation
of sick leave." But, that's been a long-standing requirement.
Generally, as a rule of thumb, if you are an M/C employee and
you were eligible to participate before, then you should be eligible
now.
● I worked for the city
in 1970 and was not asked to join a union. I am in the process
of buying back the time. Can I then apply to be reinstated back
to Tier one?
You can apply for reinstatement only to your former
retirement tier; that is, to a tier in which you were previously
enrolled. So, unless you were actually enrolled in Tier 1, as
it appears from your question you were not, then you cannot now
be reinstated to that tier. You may apply to purchase prior service
credit, of course, as you are now in the process of doing.
● Will late Tier 1 employees
be able to add vacation credits to their salary at retirement?
Late Tier 1 members (that is, those who joined the
retirement system after March 31, 1972 and before July 1, 1973)
and all Tier 2 members cannot add vacation credits into their
final average salary calculation at retirement. Legislation to
change that has been stalled in the Legislature but, as we have
for the past several years, we continue to press for its
passage. We encourage late Tier 1 and Tier 2 members
to contact Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate and Senator Diane J. Savino, Chairs respectively of the Assembly Government Employees
Committee and Senate Civil Service and Pensions Committee, urging
action on the bills that have been reintroduced each year.
● Tier 2 inequities discriminates
against Tier 2 employees. Why has this problem not been taken
to court? After all, other tiers can get a final average salary (FAS) for the rest
of their lives that we can't. The legislature appears not to
care about state employees and equality. And if the state is
an equal opportunity employee, where is this equal?
Before answering your question, we consulted with OMCE
counsel. Sustaining a charge of discrimination or claim of equal
protection would require that employees be similarly situated.
A Tier 2 member, while similarly situated with respect to other
Tier 2 members, is not similarly situated with respect to members
of other tiers. State employees have a constitutionally protected
right to their retirement benefits, but employees in one or another
retirement tier do not have a constitutional right to the benefits
applicable to members of other tiers. Therefore, the remedy is
not with the courts, but with the Legislature and, specifically,
the tier equity legislation we continue to pursue vigorously
with the Legislature.
●
Not all Tier 1 employees can get vacation pay added to their final average
salary (FAS). Isn't this discrimination as they are all members of the same tier
but treated differently. You replied to the previous question that it is not
discriminatory if two tiers are involved.
The point we were making was that sustaining a charge of discrimination or claim
of equal protection with respect to retirement benefits would require that
members be similarly situated, since members do not have a constitutionally
protected right to the benefits of members with whom they are not similarly
situated. Retirement system members had a constitutionally protected right to
inclusion of up to 30 days' vacation pay in the calculation of their final
average salary until the Legislature removed the benefit for those members
joining the system on or after the April 1, 1972 effective date of the
legislation. As a result, members joining after April 1, 1972 (late Tier 1) and
members affected by the legislation creating a second retirement tier in 1973
(Tier 2) do not have a constitutionally protected right to inclusion of vacation
pay in their final average salary calculation. Legislation to restore a benefit
that was legislated away is the only course available to us, with respect both
to late Tier 1 and Tier 2.
● Is location pay included
in your FAS?
Location pay is included in compensation for retirement
purposes, including FAS (Final average salary). FAS is defined
as the highest average of wages earned during any three consecutive
years.
● Have you information
on how we will be compensated for the money we contributed into
our retirement system before they stopped it?
The 2000 amendment to the Retirement and Social Security
Law that provided for the cessation of contributions by Tier
3 or Tier 4 members after ten years also provided that contributions
made prior to an employees' cessation date cannot be refunded.
Bills have been introduced in the Legislature to amend the latter
provision. A Senate/Assembly bill would entitle Tier 3 and 4
members to a refund, upon retirement, of contributions made in
excess of ten years together with accumulated interest. An Assembly
bill would allow Tier 3 and 4 members who contributed for a period
of ten years or more to receive an additional month of service
credit for each year of service in excess of the 10 years of
service for which they contributed. The Assembly bills have been
referred to the Governmental Employees Committee; the Senate
bill is with the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Pensions.
As for the likelihood of passage, that remains to be
seen.
● My question has to do with buying back time and what it affects. I currently am a M/C employee. Previous to being a full time M/C employee I worked for 6 years on a temporary status (sometimes full-time/sometimes part-time). I have recently been awarded credit time for this service. When I buy this time back will it affect my years of service as far as vacation time is concerned? While working as a temporary employee I did not receive any benefits and did not contribute to the retirement system.
Purchasing prior retirement service credit will not add to the number of years that are credited to you for vacation accumulation purposes, since the latter benefit does not arise from your retirement system membership, but from your status as a state employee covered by the Attendance Rules for the Classified Service.