NY A08082

Allows members of any New York State public retirement system to purchase up to 3 years of service credit for volunteer firefighter or emergency service, at a rate of 1 year of credit for every 5 years of volunteer service

Members must pay 3% of their most recent annual compensation for each year of service credit purchased, with remaining costs shared by the state and participating employers (estimated at 22% of affected member's compensation per year purchased)

Requires members to have at least 5 years of credited service (excluding volunteer credit) before becoming eligible and must apply before their retirement effective date

Service credit is applicable to special 20-year and 25-year retirement plans and cannot exceed 3 years total when combined with any other volunteer fire/emergency service credit from other state provisions

If a member dies before retirement, payments made for volunteer service credit will be refunded with interest if the purchased credit did not result in a greater death benefit