S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8714
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               July 10, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FELDER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to authorize Rickly Dear, the widow of Noach Dear, to file a  new
   service  retirement  application and option election form with the New
   York state and local employees' retirement system  on  behalf  of  her
   deceased husband

   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,
 Rickly Dear, the widow of Noach Dear, who was a member  of  the  unified
 court  system  and  member  of  the  New York state and local employees'
 retirement system, who died on April  19,  2020  from  COVID-19  related
 complications  prior  to  filing  for retirement, shall be authorized to
 file a new service retirement application and an option election form on
 behalf of her deceased husband with a joint allowance full  option,  if,
 within  one year from the effective date of this act, she shall submit a
 request therefor to the state comptroller.  In  addition,  his  date  of
 retirement shall be deemed to have been April 18, 2020. Once such appli-
 cation  is  received, any rights or benefits to the pre-retirement ordi-
 nary death benefit payable upon the death of a member in service  pursu-
 ant  to  section  448 of the retirement and social security law shall be
 waived. Any amounts paid by the New  York  state  and  local  employees'
 retirement  system as the result of the death of Noach Dear prior to the
 filing of the request for a service retirement benefit pursuant to  this
 section shall be deducted from the service retirement benefit payable on
 an  actuarially  equivalent  basis  over the expected future lifetime of
 Rickly Dear.
   § 2. Any additional costs for this act shall be paid by the  state  of
 New York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  authorize  Rickly Dear to file a service retirement
 application with a date of retirement of April 18, 2020  and  an  option
 election  form  with  a  joint  allowance  full  option on behalf of her
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16472-02-0

 S. 8714                             2
 
 deceased husband Noach Dear, who died on April  19,  2020.  Any  amounts
 paid  as  a result of Mr. Dear's death will be deducted from the service
 retirement benefit payable on an actuarially equivalent basis.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2020 legislative session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of  approximately  $1.06  million
 that would be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This
 estimate  is  based on the assumption that payment will be made on March
 1, 2021.
   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  May 26, 2020, and intended for use only during
 the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-119,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.