S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
10355
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 26, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TAPIA, BRABENEC, GRAY, DeSTEFANO, BURDICK, CRUZ,
PALMESANO, LEVENBERG, MORINELLO, ALVAREZ, DE LOS SANTOS, REYES, HYND-
MAN, LUNSFORD, DAIS, DAVILA, KASSAY, K. BROWN, SANTABARBARA, LEMONDES
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
death benefits for the beneficiaries of certain members of the retire-
ment system
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
a new section 63-j to read as follows:
§ 63-J. DEATH BENEFITS FOR STATE-PAID JUDGES AND JUSTICES. A. AS USED
IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "JUDGE OR JUSTICE" SHALL MEAN A STATE-PAID
JUDGE OR JUSTICE OF THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM INCLUDING A RETIRED JUDGE
OF THE COURT OF APPEALS OR RETIRED JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT WHO IS
SERVING AS A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT PURSUANT TO CERTIFICATION BY
THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE COURTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION ONE
HUNDRED FOURTEEN OR ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN OF THE JUDICIARY LAW, OR A HOUS-
ING JUDGE OF THE CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A JUDGE
OR JUSTICE WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT
THE TIME OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S DEATH AND WHERE SUCH DEATH OCCURS ON
OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFI-
CIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE, IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH
SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE PENSION RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED
HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE DATE OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S DEATH, OR
THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENEFIT AND THE RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-
PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
§ 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
section 508-d to read as follows:
§ 508-D. DEATH BENEFITS FOR STATE-PAID JUDGES AND JUSTICES. A. AS
USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "JUDGE OR JUSTICE" SHALL MEAN A STATE-
PAID JUDGE OR JUSTICE OF THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM INCLUDING A RETIRED
JUDGE OF THE COURT OF APPEALS OR RETIRED JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02220-04-6
A. 10355 2
WHO IS SERVING AS A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT PURSUANT TO CERTIF-
ICATION BY THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE COURTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH
SECTION ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN OR ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN OF THE JUDICIARY
LAW, OR A HOUSING JUDGE OF THE CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A JUDGE
OR JUSTICE WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT
THE TIME OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S DEATH AND WHERE SUCH DEATH OCCURS ON
OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFI-
CIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE, IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH
SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE PENSION RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED
HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE DATE OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S DEATH, OR
THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENEFIT AND THE RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-
PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
§ 3. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
section 606-d to read as follows:
§ 606-D. DEATH BENEFITS FOR STATE-PAID JUDGES AND JUSTICES. A. AS
USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "JUDGE OR JUSTICE" SHALL MEAN A STATE-
PAID JUDGE OR JUSTICE OF THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM INCLUDING A RETIRED
JUDGE OF THE COURT OF APPEALS OR RETIRED JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT
WHO IS SERVING AS A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT PURSUANT TO CERTIF-
ICATION BY THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE COURTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH
SECTION ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN OR ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN OF THE JUDICIARY
LAW, OR A HOUSING JUDGE OF THE CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A JUDGE
OR JUSTICE WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT
THE TIME OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S DEATH AND WHERE SUCH DEATH OCCURS ON
OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFI-
CIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE, IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH
SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE PENSION RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED
HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE DATE OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S DEATH, OR
THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENEFIT AND THE RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-
PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
§ 4. All past service costs associated with implementing the
provisions of this act shall be borne by the state of New York and may
be amortized over a period of ten years.
§ 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
of the provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation
requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would modify the in-service death benefit for retirement
eligible members of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement
System (NYSLERS) who are employed as state-paid judges or justices of
the Unified Court System. The in-service death benefit will be the value
of the pension reserve as if the member had retired on their date of
death.
We estimate that the state of New York's annual contributions will
increase $310,000 beginning FYE 2027. Annual costs will vary but are
expected to average 0.1% of salary.
In addition, there will be an immediate past service cost of $4.17
million borne by the state of New York as a one-time payment. This cost
assumes that payment will be made on March 1, 2027. If the state of New
York elects to amortize this cost over 10 years, the cost for each year
will be $532,000.
A. 10355 3
These estimated costs are based on 1,261 affected members employed by
the state of New York, with annual salary of approximately $260 million
as of March 31, 2025.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated February 23, 2026, and intended for use only
during the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-125. As
Chief Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System
(NYSLRS), I, Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis
complies with applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the
Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries
Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actu-
aries, of which I am a member. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not
believe it impairs my objectivity.