The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 3474--A

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 7, 2019
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
  and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT  in  relation  to  authorizing  the son of Barry M. Dennis to be
  designated the beneficiary of his retirement benefits

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
Gregory  Dennis,  who  had been named as the survivor beneficiary of his
father Barry M.  Dennis, a former employee of the Nassau County district
attorney's office, on June 7, 2017 by Bruce  M.  Dennis  acting  in  his
capacity  as  power  of  attorney for his brother Barry and who had been
confirmed as the beneficiary in a letter from the  New  York  state  and
local employees' retirement system dated June 19, 2017 and who was later
informed  in a letter dated July 14, 2017 which was received by Bruce M.
Dennis on July 19, 2017 that as a result  of  a  statutory  gifts  rider
pursuant  to section 5-1514 of the general obligations law not adjoining
the statutory short form power of attorney that the  paper  work  naming
Gregory  Dennis  as  the beneficiary was not properly submitted and as a
result the only option that was legally available to Barry M. Dennis was
"Option 0" wherein no beneficiary is selected and  the  pension  benefit
cease  upon  the death of the member, shall be deemed the beneficiary of
the retirement benefits of Barry M. Dennis as if such required statutory
gifts rider had been present, and shall  receive  the  option  that  was
selected  on the option election form that was rejected due to the unac-
ceptable power of attorney, if on or before six months after the  effec-
tive  date  of this act, Bruce M. Dennis shall submit a request therefor
to the state comptroller.
  § 2. Any amounts paid by the  New  York  state  and  local  employees'
retirement  system  to  Barry  M. Dennis, his estate or to his benefici-

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

                                                           LBD02363-05-0

S. 3474--A                          2

aries, which exceed those amounts that would have been payable  if  such
required  statutory  gift rider had been present, will be deducted on an
actuarially equivalent basis over the expected future lifetime of Grego-
ry Dennis from the benefits payable to him pursuant to this act.
  § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  Barry  M.  Dennis  was retired under an option 0, affording no contin-
uance upon his death, following a failure of his agent  to  provide  the
necessary and requested documentation to properly execute an election of
a  Joint  Survivor  100%, under which payments would continue to his son
Gregory Dennis upon his death. This bill would deem Gregory  Dennis  the
beneficiary  of  a  Joint  Survivor  100%  continuance, upon the written
request of the member's agent Bruce M. Dennis. Any overpayments  by  the
New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS) on behalf of
Barry  M.  Dennis  will  offset the future benefit payable via actuarial
reduction.
  If this bill is enacted during the  2020  legislative  session,  there
will  be  an immediate past service cost of approximately $833,000. This
cost would be shared by the State of  New  York  and  the  participating
employers in the ERS.
  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, 2019  actuarial  valu-
ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2019
Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2019  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
Report.
  The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 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, 2019
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 January 2, 2020, and intended for use only during
the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2020-21,  prepared  by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.