ASSEMBLY, No. 2574

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 12, 1996

By Assemblymen AUGUSTINE and BAGGER

An Act concerning the age of retirement for certain members of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey and amending P.L.1944, c.255.

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

    1. Section 5 of P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-5) is amended to read as follows:

    5. (1) (a) Any member in service who has attained age 55 years may retire on a service retirement allowance upon filing a written and duly executed application to the retirement system, setting forth at what time, not less than 1 month subsequent to the filing thereof, he desires to be retired.

    (b) Any member in service who attains age 65 years shall be retired on a service retirement allowance forthwith on the first day of the next calendar month.

    Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, an employer other than the State may authorize each member in service with that employer at the time of the reinstatement of the mandatory retirement age of 65 years pursuant to section 4(j) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C.§623(j), reenacted and amended by the Age Discrimination in Employment Amendments of 1996, Pub.L.104-208, to continue employment with the employer and enrollment in the retirement system until attainment of 70 years of age. Such authorization shall become effective upon adoption by the governing body of the employer of an appropriate ordinance or resolution, as the case may be, and the filing of a certified copy of that ordinance or resolution with the board of trustees of the retirement system, and upon such filing, the ordinance or resolution shall be irrevocable.

    (2) Upon retirement for service a member shall receive a service retirement allowance which shall consist of:

    (a) An annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his aggregate contributions and

    (b) A pension in the amount which, when added to the member's annuity, will provide a total retirement allowance of one-sixtieth of his average final compensation multiplied by the number of years of his creditable service, or 2% of his average final compensation multiplied by the number of years of his creditable service up to 30 plus 1% of his average final compensation multiplied by the number of years of creditable service over 30, whichever is greater.

    (3) Upon the receipt of proper proofs of the death of a member who has retired on a service retirement allowance, there shall be paid to his beneficiary an amount equal to one-half of the compensation upon which contributions by the member to the annuity savings fund were based in the last year of creditable service.

(cf: P.L.1973, c.109, s.1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill permits a local government employer of public safety officers covered by the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) to continue certain of those officers in service with the employer past the regular PFRS mandatory retirement age of 65.

    The section of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 that permitted a State or political subdivision of a State to impose a maximum hiring age or a mandatory retirement age with respect to employment as a firefighter or as a law enforcement officer was repealed on December 31, 1993. The Age Discrimination in Employment Amendments of 1996 reenact and amend that provision, permitting reinstatement of the regular PFRS mandatory retirement age of 65. In New Jersey, between December 31, 1993 and the date on which the State reimposes this age restriction as permitted by the 1996 amendments, firefighters and law enforcement officers are able to continue their PFRS-covered employment beyond age 65.

    Under the bill, an employer other than the State could authorize its PFRS-covered employees at the time of the reinstatement of the mandatory retirement age of 65 to continue employment with the employer and enrollment in the PFRS until age 70. The authorization would take effect upon adoption by the governing body of the employer of an appropriate ordinance or resolution and the filing of a certified copy of that ordinance or resolution with the PFRS board of trustees. Once the ordinance or resolution was filed, the authorization would be irrevocable.

Permits service in PFRS-covered employment until age 70 in certain cases.