§ 343 — Transfer of members between systems

§ 343. Transfer of members between systems. a. Notwithstanding any\nother provision of law providing for transfers, any member of any\nretirement system maintained by the state or a municipality thereof,\noperating on a sound financial basis and subject to the supervision of\nthe department of financial services of this state may transfer his or\nher membership pursuant to this section to the New York state and local\nemployees' retirement system, the New York city board of education\nemployees' retirement system, the New York state teachers' retirement\nsystem, the New York state and local police and fire retirement system\nor to the New York city employees' retirement system. Any member of the\nNew York state and local police and fire retirement system may transfer\nhis or her membership to any retirement system, other than the hospital\nretirement system, which is operating on a sound basis and is subject to\nthe supervision of the department of financial services of this state.\nAny police officer employed by the metropolitan transportation authority\nwho is a member of the MTA police twenty year retirement program of the\nmetropolitan transportation authority defined benefit pension plan\n(hereinafter referred to in this section as the "MTA police retirement\nprogram") may transfer his or her membership in the New York state and\nlocal police and fire retirement system and/or the New York city police\npension fund to the MTA police retirement program. Any police officer\nwho was employed by the metropolitan transportation authority, the Long\nIsland Railroad Company or the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company and\nwho is a member of the MTA police retirement program may transfer his or\nher membership in the MTA police retirement program to the New York\nstate and local police and fire retirement system. Any transfer pursuant\nto this section may be effectuated only if the member has accepted a\nposition in another branch of the state or municipal service which would\nmake it:\n 1. Impossible for him or her to continue in the retirement system of\nwhich he or she has been a member, and\n 2. Possible for him or her to participate in another such system.\n Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision, any\nemployee who would be eligible to avail himself or herself of the\nprovisions of this section but for being on leave of absence status from\na prior employment while in his or her present employment, shall be\npermitted to transfer his or her retirement system membership pursuant\nto the provisions of this section.\n b. 1. In order to effect such a transfer, a member must give notice to\nthe administrative head of the retirement system of which he or she is a\nmember, prior to his or her withdrawal therefrom, of his or her\nintention to enter such other retirement system within one year.\n 2. If a member of the New York city police pension fund is trying to\neffect a transfer from such pension fund to the MTA police retirement\nprogram, the member must give notice to the administrative head of the\nNew York city police pension fund, prior to his or her withdrawal\ntherefrom, of his or her intention to enter such other retirement system\nwithin one year or within one year of the effective date of this\nparagraph.\n 3. In the case of a person who has withdrawn from a retirement system\nand has been entitled to at least thirty years of total service credit\nin such system, however, such notice may be given within three years\nfrom the time of such withdrawal. In the case of a person who was a\nmember of a retirement system, and who while under such status becomes a\nmember of such second retirement system, and who has not withdrawn his\nor her contributions to the first such retirement system, any provisions\nof law notwithstanding, such notice may be given on or before June\nthirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-seven. A person so transferring from\none retirement system to another shall be deemed to have been a member\nof the system to which he or she has transferred during the entire\nperiod of membership service credited to him or her in the system from\nwhich he or she has transferred. Such transferee, however, shall not\nreceive more than three percent interest on his or her contributions and\naccumulated contributions unless he or she has continuously been a\nmember in either the system from which or to which he or she is\ntransferring since a date prior to July first, nineteen hundred\nforty-three. This shall not be construed to prevent a change in the\ninterest rate to such member if the interest rate payable to other\nmembers of the system to which he or she has transferred is changed. Any\nmember who heretofore transferred from one retirement system to another\nshall, commencing with the effective date of this subdivision, be\nentitled to the same rights, privileges and benefits, and shall be\nsubject to the same obligations, as a transferee who hereafter\ntransfers. He or she shall receive no credit for prior service, except\nas hereinafter provided. He or she shall be permitted to deposit in the\nsecond retirement system the total amount of his or her contributions\nwithdrawn from the first retirement system. Upon such deposit within one\nyear or within three years, or on or before June thirtieth, nineteen\nhundred sixty-seven, as the case may be, he or she or the administrative\nhead of the system to which he or she desires to transfer, shall request\nthe administrative head of the first retirement system to transfer to\nthe second retirement system a credit on account of his or her\nmembership in such system.\n c. Upon the request for a transfer of credit, the reserve on such\nmember's benefits, computed as though he had not discontinued\nmembership, shall be determined by the actuary of the first system in\nthe following manner:\n 1. The total present value of all benefits allowable under the\nretirement system as the result of contributions made or to be made by\nhis employer shall be computed.\n 2. From such total present value there shall be deducted the present\nvalue of the future contributions which would be payable by his employer\non such member's account had he become a member of the retirement\nsystem, subsequent to its establishment, at the age at which he\noriginally entered the service of his employer. The result so obtained\nshall be considered as the reserve on his account in the first\nretirement system.\n d. Such reserve shall be transferred from the appropriate fund or\nfunds of the first system to the appropriate fund or funds of the second\nsystem within one year from the date of the request for a transfer of\ncredit. Such member, thereupon, shall be given such status and credited\nwith such service in the second retirement system as he was allowed in\nthe first retirement system. Such contributor, notwithstanding any other\nprovision of law, shall on retirement after three years of member\nservice in the second retirement system be entitled to a pension based\non salary earned during member service in either retirement system, or\nin both retirement systems together, whichever may produce the greater\npension pursuant to the statutory requirements of the second retirement\nsystem. No such contributor, however, shall be entitled, on retirement\nwithin three years of the date of his transfer, to a greater or lesser\npension for such service rendered before his transfer than he would have\nreceived had he remained under the pension provisions of the first\nretirement system.\n e. 1. A "New York city member," as defined in subdivision twenty of\nsection two hundred forty-three of the military law, who shall transfer\nto another retirement system pursuant to this section shall be given\ncredit, upon such transfer, for the period of military duty to which\nsuch member would have been entitled pursuant to such subdivision twenty\nif he had remained, until the time of death or retirement, in the\nretirement system from which he shall so transfer. The amount of\nreserves to be transferred under this section for such credit shall be\ncomputed in accordance with this section, shall include pension reserves\nfor such military duty, and shall be credited by the retirement system\nto which the member shall transfer in accordance with the provisions of\nsuch system governing credit for service in world war II, and the city\nof New York, or the authority, by which such member is employed\nimmediately prior to the transfer, shall pay to the retirement system\nthe amount of the reserve to be transferred on account of such military\nservice.\n 2. Any retirement system from which a member shall transfer pursuant\nto this subdivision shall have the right to require reasonable proof of\nmilitary service, pay status, and any other information relevant to\neligibility for such transfer of credit for military duty.\n 3. The provisions of this subdivision e shall apply only to a "New\nYork city member" who has rendered service as an officer or employee of\nthe city of New York (or any agency thereof) or public corporation, the\nofficers or employees of which are eligible for membership in a pension\nor retirement system maintained by such city, including performance of\nsuch military duty, for at least fifty per centum of the time between\nhis commencement of such service and the date upon which he has attained\nor shall attain age fifty-five.\n f. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, a member of the\nretirement system in the employ of the state on March thirty-first,\nnineteen hundred seventy, other than a member of the state police in\ncollective negotiating units established pursuant to article fourteen of\nthe civil service law, who would have been entitled to transfer service\ncredit from another retirement system pursuant to this section had he\nmade a timely election, may obtain such credit by depositing in the\nretirement system an amount equal to the contributions withdrawn from\nthe system of which he had been a member, with regular interest. Such\ndeposit shall be made on or before March thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nseventy-two, provided, however, such member may elect to deposit such\namount over a period of time no greater than the period for which credit\nis being claimed. Such payments must commence no later than March\nthirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-two. If the full amount is not\npaid to the retirement system, the amount of service credited shall be\nproportional to the total amount of the payments made.\n g. This subdivision shall apply only to individuals who, subsequent to\nvesting in a retirement system, transfer to a second retirement system\nwhose governing laws require a greater number of years of credit for\nvesting than those of the first system, and who, upon such transfer, do\nnot have the number of years of service credit that is ordinarily\nrequired to vest in such second retirement system.\n 1. Upon transfer, the number of years of service credit required for\nthe transferred individual to attain vested rights in the second\nretirement system shall be the same as the number of years of service\ncredit required, under applicable law, for vesting in the first\nretirement system.\n 2. In the event that an individual covered by this subdivision makes\napplication to retire from such second system prior to attaining the\namount of service credit that would otherwise be necessary to vest in\nsuch second retirement system, and such individual is otherwise eligible\nto retire from such second system, the application shall be granted, and\nbenefits shall be calculated pursuant to the applicable subdivisions of\nthis section on the basis of the actual amount of service credit the\nindividual has accrued at the time of retirement. Transferred service\ncredit shall not be creditable under any plan in the second retirement\nsystem that it would not otherwise be creditable under.\n h. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, with\nrespect to transfers pursuant to this section which occur on or after\nthe effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand\ntwenty-three that amended this subdivision, no determination of a\nreserve pursuant to subdivision c of this section or transfer thereof\npursuant to the first sentence of subdivision d of this section shall be\nrequired in the case of any transfer pursuant to this section (other\nthan a transfer from the New York state and local police and fire\nretirement system to either (1) the New York city police department\nsubchapter two pension fund, (2) the New York city fire department\nsubchapter two pension fund or (3) the MTA police retirement program or\na transfer from either (i) the New York city police department\nsubchapter two pension fund or (ii) the New York city fire department\nsubchapter two pension fund to either (A) the New York state and local\npolice and fire retirement system or (B) the MTA police retirement\nprogram or a transfer from the MTA police retirement program to the New\nYork state and local police and fire retirement system) in the case of a\nmember with less than ten years of credited service with the\ntransferring retirement system at the time the transfer is initiated.\nWith respect to transfers pursuant to such subdivisions which occur on\nor after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand\ntwenty-three that amended this subdivision, the transfer of a pension\nreserve shall be required when the member is transferring ten or more\nyears of credited service from a public retirement system of the state\nto any other public retirement system of the state, excluding any\ntransfers within and between the New York city employees' retirement\nsystem, the New York city teachers' retirement system and the New York\ncity board of education retirement system. For the purpose of giving the\ntransferring member such status and crediting such service in the second\nretirement system as such member was allowed in the first retirement\nsystem in those cases to which this subdivision shall apply, the\ntransfer shall be deemed complete upon receipt by the second retirement\nsystem of:\n 1. a statement from the first retirement system of the transferring\nmember's date of membership in the first retirement system, tier status,\nservice credited to such membership being transferred, and such other\ninformation as the second retirement system may require to effectuate\nthe transfer;\n 2. such member's accumulated contributions from the first retirement\nsystem, if same had not been previously withdrawn, or notice from the\nfirst retirement system that such member had no accumulated\ncontributions, or notice from the first retirement system that such\nmember's accumulated contributions had been withdrawn and the amount\nthereof and, as applicable, receipt from such member of such member's\naccumulated contributions and interest; and\n 3. the pension reserve in the case of a member who transfers in ten or\nmore years of credited service, except when transferring within and\nbetween the New York city employees' retirement system, the New York\ncity teachers' retirement system and the New York city board of\neducation retirement system.\n i. 1. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the\ncontrary, for any police officer employed by the division of law\nenforcement in the department of environmental protection in the city of\nNew York transferring from the New York city employees' retirement\nsystem to the New York state and local police and fire retirement system\nafter the effective date of this subdivision and any police officer\nformerly employed by the division of law enforcement in the department\nof environmental protection in the city of New York having made such\ntransfer, such police officer's division of law enforcement in the\ndepartment of environmental protection in the city of New York service\ncredit shall be deemed creditable service, in such police officer's\ntwenty year or twenty-five year retirement plan, if such police officer\nhas served for at least two years in such employment and if, within one\nyear of the date on which he or she first became a member of the New\nYork state and local police and fire retirement system or within one\nyear of the effective date of this subdivision, such member elects to do\nso.\n 2. The amount of such service credited to the member in the New York\nstate and local police and fire retirement system plan shall not exceed\nthe amount of service credited to the member in the New York city\nemployees' retirement system plan.\n 3. If the member subsequently retires on an age-based retirement plan\nin the New York state and local police and fire retirement system\ninstead of a twenty year or twenty-five year plan, the full amount of\nservice credit earned, as a police officer employed by the division of\nlaw enforcement in the department of environmental protection in the\ncity of New York shall be granted.\n 4. In no event shall the division of law enforcement in the department\nof environmental protection in the city of New York service credited to\na member of the New York state and local police and fire retirement\nsystem pursuant to this subdivision exceed a total of ten years.\n 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law in this section to the\ncontrary, the reserve on such member's benefits shall be transferred\nfrom the New York city employees' retirement system to the New York\nstate and local police and fire retirement system in accordance with\nsubdivisions c and d of this section.\n 6. No member who receives service credit pursuant to this subdivision\nshall be eligible to receive additional service credit pursuant to\nsubdivision b of section three hundred eighty-four-e of this article if\nhis or her employer has elected to provide such service credit.\n