S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7553
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   authorizing  the  beneficiaries  of  a  member  of the state and local
   employees' retirement system who die after filing a retirement  appli-
   cation to choose pension benefits rather than a death benefit
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision a of section 70 of the  retirement  and  social
 security  law, as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2011, is amended
 to read as follows:
   a. Any member may retire if he or she shall have attained at least the
 minimum retirement age while in service as a member, or while in federal
 service, or in the service of the United Nations or other  international
 organizations  of  which  the  United  States  is  a member, as a member
 continued pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision f of section forty of
 this article, or while entitled to make application for a vested retire-
 ment allowance pursuant to section seventy-six of this title.  Any  such
 member desiring to retire shall execute and file with the comptroller an
 application  for  retirement,  which shall specify the effective date of
 his or her retirement, which shall be not less  than  fifteen  nor  more
 than  ninety  days subsequent to such date of filing. An application for
 service retirement, filed hereunder in accordance with the provisions of
 subdivision c of section sixty-two or subdivision f  of  section  sixty-
 three  of  this  article,  shall  be  processed  in  the regular manner,
 provided that if the application filed  simultaneously  therewith  under
 either  of  such  subdivisions  is  granted,  then and in that event the
 retirement allowance granted in accordance with the provisions  of  this
 section  shall  be  appropriately  adjusted.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER
 PROVISION OF LAW, ANY MEMBER WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE AND WHO HAS  DIED
 WHILE  IN  ACTIVE  SERVICE, AND WHO HAS FILED AN APPLICATION FOR SERVICE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD11209-02-9

 A. 7553                             2
 
 RETIREMENT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS PRIOR TO DEATH, SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE
 RETIRED AND THE MEMBER'S DESIGNATED BENEFICIARY SHALL HAVE THE OPTION TO
 CHOOSE THE BENEFIT PROVIDED BY SERVICE RETIREMENT RATHER THAN THE  DEATH
 BENEFIT, PROVIDED, HOWEVER THAT IF THE DESIGNATED BENEFICIARY ELECTS THE
 SERVICE  RETIREMENT  BENEFIT  SUCH PERSON SHALL BE REQUIRED TO CHOOSE AN
 OPTION UNDER SECTION NINETY OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
 have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2017.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would allow a deceased member's designated beneficiary the
 option to choose the survivor's benefit provided by  service  retirement
 or  the member's active death benefit, provided the member is (1) eligi-
 ble to retire (on the day before the date of death),  (2)  has  died  in
 active  service, and (3) has FILED an application for service retirement
 less than thirty days prior to death.  The  date  used  for  the  deemed
 service  retirement  will  be  the day prior to the member's death. This
 bill will include deaths which occurred on or after January 1, 2017.
   If this bill is enacted,  the  cost  will  depend  upon  the  deceased
 member's  age,  service, salary, plan, and the optional form selected by
 the member's designated beneficiary. For certain alternative options, as
 permitted under the Retirement and Social Security Law §90, §447,  §514,
 and  §610, there will be an estimated additional cost of up to eight (8)
 times the salary of a deceased member. This cost assumes that the  post-
 retirement  death  benefit will be payable on behalf of eligible members
 only when the service retirement form is selected.
   The number of members and beneficiaries who could be affected by  this
 legislation  cannot  be  readily  determined,  but  it is estimated that
 approximately 250 beneficiaries could benefit from this  provision  each
 year.  Pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security Law,
 those costs arising would be borne solely by the State of New York.
   In addition to the per person costs stated above,  there  will  be  an
 administrative cost to implement the provisions of this legislation.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   The  membership  data  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
 change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2018  actuarial  valu-
 ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2018
 Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2018  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
 2016, 2017 and 2018  Annual  Report  to  the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial
 Assumptions,  and  the Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New
 York: Audit and Control.
   The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2018
 New York State and Local  Retirement  System  Financial  Statements  and
 Supplementary Information.
   I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
 fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
   This  fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
 of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a  substitute  for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This  estimate, dated April 30, 2019, and intended for use only during
 the 2019 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2019-104,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7553--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental  Employees  --  committee  discharged,  bill
   amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
   tee
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   authorizing  the  beneficiaries  of  a  member  of the state and local
   employees' retirement system who die after filing a retirement  appli-
   cation to choose pension benefits rather than a death benefit
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision a of section 70 of the  retirement  and  social
 security  law, as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2011, is amended
 to read as follows:
   a. Any member may retire if he or she shall have attained at least the
 minimum retirement age while in service as a member, or while in federal
 service, or in the service of the United Nations or other  international
 organizations  of  which  the  United  States  is  a member, as a member
 continued pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision f of section forty of
 this article, or while entitled to make application for a vested retire-
 ment allowance pursuant to section seventy-six of this title.  Any  such
 member desiring to retire shall execute and file with the comptroller an
 application  for  retirement,  which shall specify the effective date of
 his or her retirement, which shall be not less  than  fifteen  nor  more
 than  ninety  days subsequent to such date of filing. An application for
 service retirement, filed hereunder in accordance with the provisions of
 subdivision c of section sixty-two or subdivision f  of  section  sixty-
 three  of  this  article,  shall  be  processed  in  the regular manner,
 provided that if the application filed  simultaneously  therewith  under
 either  of  such  subdivisions  is  granted,  then and in that event the
 retirement allowance granted in accordance with the provisions  of  this
 section  shall  be  appropriately  adjusted.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER
 PROVISION OF LAW, FOR ANY MEMBER WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE AND  WHO  HAS
 DIED  WHILE  IN  ACTIVE  SERVICE,  AND  WHO HAS FILED AN APPLICATION FOR
 SERVICE RETIREMENT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS PRIOR TO  DEATH,  THE  MEMBER'S
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11209-08-9

 A. 7553--A                          2
 
 ACTIVE  BENEFICIARY SHALL HAVE THE OPTION TO CHOOSE THE DEATH BENEFIT OR
 IF SUCH MEMBER FILED AN OPTION ELECTION FORM PRIOR TO DEATH, THE BENEFIT
 ELECTED BY THE MEMBER ON SUCH FORM, IN WHICH CASE  THE  MEMBER  WILL  BE
 DEEMED TO HAVE RETIRED THE DAY PRIOR TO DEATH.
   §  2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
 of the provisions of this act shall be subject  to  section  25  of  the
 retirement and social security law.
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
 have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2017.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow a deceased member's active death beneficiary the
 option to make effective the service retirement and option election form
 filed by the member, resulting in payment of  a  survivor's  benefit  in
 lieu  of  the  member's active death benefit, provided the member is (1)
 eligible to retire (on the day before the date of death), (2)  has  died
 in  active  service, (3) has FILED an application for service retirement
 less than thirty days prior to  death,  and  (4)  has  FILED  an  option
 election  form  prior  to  death.  The  date used for the deemed service
 retirement will be the day prior to the member's death. This  bill  will
 include deaths which occurred on or after January 1, 2017.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted,  the  cost  will depend upon the deceased
 member's age, service, salary, pan, and the optional  form  selected  by
 the member on the option election form filed with the New York State and
 Local  Employees'  Retirement  System  (NYSLERS).  For standard options,
 there will be an estimated additional cost of up to five (5)  times  the
 salary  of a deceased member. This cost assumes that the post-retirement
 death benefit will be payable on behalf of eligible  members  only  when
 the service retirement form is selected.
   The  number of members and beneficiaries who could be affected by this
 legislation cannot be readily  determined,  but  it  is  estimated  that
 approximately  450  beneficiaries could benefit from this provision each
 year. Those costs arising would be shared and spread by the State of New
 York and the participating employers in NYSLERS.
   In addition to the per person costs stated above,  there  will  be  an
 administrative cost to implement the provisions of this legislation.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   The  membership  data  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
 change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2018  actuarial  valu-
 ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2018
 Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2018  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
 2016, 2017 and 2018  Annual  Report  to  the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial
 Assumptions,  and  the Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New
 York: Audit and Control.
   The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2018
 New York State and Local  Retirement  System  Financial  Statements  and
 Supplementary Information.
   I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
 fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
   This  fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
 of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a  substitute  for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This  estimate,  dated June 12, 2019, and intended for use only during
 the 2019 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2019-140,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.