Provides for eligibility of certain participants in the New York City employees retirement system to opt into the twenty-five year retirement program for EMT…

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Robert Jackson says this is needed

The Twenty-Five Year Retirement Program for EMT members provides EMTs and Paramedics with an opportunity to retire with a full pension after 25 years of service, regardless of age. The job performed by these covered emergency medical clinicians is hazardous and extremely stress- ful. The early retirement opportunity has been extended to the, as with other uniformed service workers, in recognition of the vital service they provide to members of the public. However, the right to participate in the program is conditioned on the member's paying substantial additional member contributions to the Retirement System, specifically 6.25% of their salary. While those hired into covered employment are mandated into the program, the law makes an exception for persons who were older than 25 years of age at the time of hire. These individuals have been permitted to opt out of the program, provided they elect to do so within 180 days of their hire date. Over the years since the law was enacted, a small group of covered employees have opted out. A number of these now recognize that this was a mistake - a mistake that was not apparent to them when they were young and first hired. If adopted, this bill will give these persons a one-time opportunity to reverse that choice and opt into the program, provided that they make that election with 180 days of the date of enactment and agreed to make all the additional member contributions that they would have made had they not opted out when they were hired, plus interest. Allowing these individuals to opt in will only put them in a position equivalent to their coworkers hired at the same time who did not opt out. Moreover, by conditioning the opt-in on the participant's payment of all of the past AMCs and interest, there should be no material fiscal impact on the plan.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.