§ 23 — Employers' contributions and their use; pension accumulation fund

§ 23. Employers' contributions and their use; pension accumulation\nfund. a. Except as otherwise provided pursuant to this article, the\npension accumulation fund shall be the fund in which shall be\naccumulated:\n 1. All contributions made by employers, and\n 2. All income received from the investments of the retirement system,\nand\n 3. All monies received from all other sources and which are not\nrequired to be credited to any other fund.\n b. Each employer shall make three contributions annually. They shall\nbe known as the normal contribution, the deficiency contribution, and\nthe administration contribution. The rates thereof shall be computed by\nthe actuary.\n 1. Normal contribution. The rate of such contribution shall be applied\nto the members' annual compensation earned during the previous fiscal\nyear. Such rate shall be a uniform and constant rate per centum of\nannual compensation. When applied to the compensation of the average new\nentrant during the remaining period of his or her membership, such rate\nshall be computed to be sufficient to provide all the benefits, other\nthan those on account of prior service, granted by this article and\nwhich are payable from funds contributed to the pension accumulation\nfund.\n Such rate shall be computed each year by means of an actuarial\nvaluation as prescribed in section eleven of this article and as\nauthorized by section twenty-three-a of this title.\n 2. Deficiency contribution.\n (a) In the case of employers participating on July first, nineteen\nhundred forty-eight, the rate of such contribution shall continue to be\nthe rate theretofore determined pursuant to law. Such rate may be\nvaried, however, if an adjustment is necessitated by reason of the\nallowance of additional prior service credits.\n (b) In the case of an employer electing to participate after July\nfirst, nineteen hundred forty-eight and before March thirty-first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-nine, an initial actuarial valuation shall be\nmade to determine the accrued liability of such employer by reasons of\nthe prior service of those of its employees who are members of the\nretirement system. The rate of deficiency contribution for such employer\nshall then be determined. Such rate shall be that proportion of the\ntotal annual compensation of such employees as is equivalent to four per\ncentum of such accrued liability. Such rate shall be applied to the\nemployer's payroll of members, as used in the annual valuation. The cost\nof making such initial valuation shall be assessed against and paid by\nsuch employer.\n Notwithstanding the above, for employers who commence participation in\nthe retirement system on or after April first, nineteen hundred\nninety-nine, the accrued liability shall be amortized in equal annual\ninstallments over a twenty-five year period. With respect to such\nemployers the cost of making such initial valuation shall be assessed\nagainst and paid by the employer. The provisions of subdivisions c, d\nand e of this section shall not apply to employers who commence\nparticipation in the retirement system on or after April first, nineteen\nhundred ninety-nine.\n (c) The amount of each annual deficiency contribution payable by every\nemployer shall be at least three per centum greater than the amount for\nthe preceding year.\n (d) The comptroller shall approve the discontinuance of the state's\ndeficiency contribution on account of members employed by it when:\n (1) The total amount in the pension accumulation fund on account of\nall members, and\n (2) The present value of future deficiency contributions still to be\npaid by other employers, and\n (3) The present value of future normal contributions, on the basis of\nthe rate of normal contribution then in effect, shall equal the then\npresent value of the total liability of such fund on the basis of the\ntables then in use.\n (e) Unless previously discontinued, or unless hereafter discontinued\npursuant to other provisions of law, the deficiency contribution of a\nparticipating employer shall be discontinued when the total amount of\ndeficiency contributions paid by such employer at least equals or shall\nhereafter equal such percentum of its initial accrued liability computed\nby the actuary as shall equal that percentum of the state's initial\naccrued liability paid by deficiency contributions during the period\nequal to the period last determined by the actuary as the deficiency\npayment period. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to give any\nparticipating employer any valid claim or cause of action for refund or\ncredit for any sum or sums paid or to be paid for fiscal years prior to\nand including the fiscal year ending March thirty-first, nineteen\nhundred sixty-six nor to excuse any participating employer from the\npayment of any contributions for such fiscal years.\n 3. Administration contribution.\n (a) The expenses of the retirement system, including an amount\nallocated to amortize over a period of thirty years, with interest, the\ncost of construction of the retirement system building, and the cost of\nmaintenance of such building, for each fiscal year shall be determined\nat the close of each such year. The ratio of such expenses to the total\ncompensation of all members, as used in the actuarial valuation, shall\nbe the rate of such administration contribution. Such rate shall be\napplied to each employer's payroll of members, as used in the annual\nvaluation.\n (b) All such expenses shall be paid out of the pension accumulation\nfund which shall be reimbursed through administration contributions and\nother monies received from employers pursuant to this article.\n (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision or any\nother law, the administrative contribution for a year, as determined\npursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section, shall be\npaid from the pension accumulation fund if payment from such fund will\nnot affect the normal contribution for such year.\n c. Additional contributions shall be made in accordance therewith by\nemployers obligated to contribute to the retirement system pursuant to\nany other section of this article.\n d. When a pension or a pension-providing-for-increased-take-home-pay,\nif any, becomes payable to or on account of any member, a reserve, in an\namount computed by the actuary to be necessary to provide the pension or\npension-providing-for-increased-take-home-pay, if any, granted in each\nsuch case, shall be transferred from the pension accumulation fund to\nthe pension reserve fund.\n e. Whenever the comptroller, upon recommendation by the actuary, shall\ndetermine that it is necessary to increase the reserves held in the\nannuity reserve fund or the pension reserve fund, he may direct that the\namount so needed shall be transferred thereto from the pension\naccumulation fund.\n f. The amount of regular interest which is to be credited to the\nannuity savings fund, the annuity reserve fund and the pension reserve\nfund, and the amount of special interest, if any, which shall be\ncredited to the annuity savings accounts in the annuity savings fund,\nshall be determined after the close of each fiscal year. Each such\namount thereupon shall be transferred from the pension accumulation fund\nto each such fund.\n