ASSEMBLY, No. 1178

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman DALTON

An Act concerning special retirement benefits of veteran members of the Public Employees' Retirement System and amending P.L.1954, c.84.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. Section 61 of P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-61) is amended to read as follows:

    61. a. [Any public employee veteran member in office, position or employment of this State or of a county, municipality, public agency, school district or board of education on January 2, 1955, who remains in continuous service thereafter and who has or shall have attained the age of 60 years and who has or shall have been for 20 years in office, position or employment of this State or of a county, municipality, public agency, school district or board of education, shall have the privilege of retiring for service and of receiving, instead of the retirement allowance provided under section 48 of this act, a retirement allowance of one-half of the compensation received during the last year of employment upon which contributions to the annuity savings fund or contingent reserve fund are made.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. .)

    b. Any public employee veteran [becoming a member after January 2, 1955, who shall be] member in office, position or employment of this State or of a county, municipality, public agency, school district or board of education [and] who shall have attained [62] 55 years of age and who has 20 years of continuous or aggregate service credit in such office, position or employment[,] shall have the privilege of retiring for service and receiving, instead of the retirement allowance provided under section 48 of this act, a retirement allowance of one-half of the compensation received during the last year of employment, or one-half of the highest compensation received during any other year of employment, upon which contributions to the annuity savings fund or contingent reserve fund are made, whichever is greater. [The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to any veteran who was a member on January 2, 1955, but whose service was not continuous thereafter.]

    c. Any public employee veteran member who has been for 20 years in the aggregate in office, position or employment of this State or of a county, municipality, public agency, school district or board of education as of January 2, 1955, shall have the privilege of retiring for ordinary disability and of receiving, instead of the retirement allowance provided under section 45 of this act, a retirement allowance of one-half of the compensation received during the last year of employment, or one-half of the highest compensation received during any other year of employment, upon which contributions to the annuity savings fund or contingent reserve fund are made, whichever is greater. Such retirement shall be subject to the provisions governing ordinary disability retirement in sections 42 and 44 of this act.

    d. Any public employee veteran member who shall be in office, position or employment of this State or of a county, municipality, public agency, school district or board of education and who shall have attained [60] 55 years of age and who has at least 35 years of aggregate service credit in such office, position or employment, shall have the privilege of retiring for service and receiving a retirement allowance of one-sixtieth of the compensation he received during the last year of employment, or one-sixtieth of the highest compensation received during any other year of employment, upon which contributions to the annuity savings fund or contingent reserve fund are made, whichever is greater, for each year of creditable service.

    e. The death benefit provided in section 48 shall apply in the case of any member retiring under the provisions of subsections a., b. and d. of this section. The death benefit provided in section 45 shall apply in the case of any member retiring under the provisions of subsection c. of this section.

(cf: P.L.1985, c.220, s.1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill changes the age of eligibility for special retirement benefits for qualified veterans with 20 or more years of service in the Public Employees' Retirement System from age 60 and 62 to age 55. This bill also provides that (1) the retirement allowance for qualified veterans shall be either one-half of the compensation during the last year of employment or one-half of the highest compensation received during any other year of employment, whichever is greater, and (2) the retirement allowance for any public employee veteran member who attains 55 years of age and has at least 35 years of aggregate service credit shall be, for each year of creditable service, either one sixtieth of the compensation during the last year of employment or one-sixtieth of the highest compensation received during any other year of employment, whichever is greater. The current law states that the retirement allowance for veterans shall be one-half of the compensation during the last year of employment or, in the case of veterans with at least 35 years of service, one-sixtieth of the compensation during the last year of employment for each year of creditable service.

Changes certain special retirement benefits of veteran members of PERS.