NY PML Sec 105 does not pass the laugh test let alone the Opinion of the Attorney General.
Let's bet.
DiNapoli on pension plan: 'Unacceptable'
Photo credit: Daniel Acker | An undated file photo of NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Thomas DiNapoli, NYS Comptroller 
Andrew M. Cuomo Web links
Blog: The Spin Cycle DiNapoli, speaking at a gathering of pension officials in Washington, decried efforts to "dismantle" public pension systems just two days after Cuomo unveiled a plan to offer future government hires the option of a cheaper state pension package or participation in a 401(k)-style retirement plan. The Nassau County-based comptroller said he thought it "unacceptable . . . [to promote the] extreme change of replacing [state pensions] with 401(k)s."
"Defined contribution plans, 401(k)-style savings accounts do not provide the same level of security" as defined benefit plans, DiNapoli said in an interview after the speech.
PHOTOS: Andrew Cuomo through the years
PDFs: 2012-13 budget | State of the State speech
Conventional pension "plans have proven to be, over the long haul, an effective way to provide retirement security," he said, "and we need to keep that in mind in the context of the debates and discussions that are going on right now about pensions."
Even though he didn't directly address Cuomo's initiative, DiNapoli's comments were sharpest yet by a public official in opposition to the idea of moving to a 401(k) system. Cuomo's office declined to comment Thursday on DiNapoli's remarks. Both are Democrats.
In his budget address Tuesday, the governor called the current pension system "unsustainable" and offered a less generous "Tier VI" pension plan that would give employees the option of choosing a 401(k)-type retirement plan like the one available to State University of New York professors.
Cuomo said that the 401(k) would be less expensive for taxpayers. It would offer employees who leave government service after a few years the benefit of matching contributions and a portable retirement account.
State employees in the plan now who leave government before the vesting period now 10 years for new employees, get back what they contribute plus interest and can roll that over into another retirement plan so they don't face a tax penalty.
DiNapoli said he needed to see more details of Cuomo's proposal before he could comment on whether having the option for a defined contribution plan was acceptable.
The Civil Service Employees Association, the state's largest union, has called Cuomo's proposal an "assault on the middle class."
CSEA spokesman Stephen Madarasz said the proposed changes to the pension system with the creation of a Tier VI plan for new employees were so "onerous" that people might choose the 401(k) based on a false promise.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) hasn't completely embraced Cuomo's proposal. "I think the governor has put a lot of options out there and there is probably a basis on which we can find agreement," Silver said. "But we have a long way to go on pensions."
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) was more positive, saying it's what's available in the private sector. "There are a lot of people that go into the public sector, for example, young attorneys go into the DA's office for training, why shouldn't they have portability?" Skelos said.
With Yancey Roy
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