NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7397

Senate Bill S7397

2025-2026 Legislative Session

authorizing Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow of Daniel Clemente, to file a new service retirement application and option election form with the New York state and local employees' retirement system

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 14, 2025	referred to civil service and pensions

2025-S7397 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7571
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement

2025-S7397 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow of Daniel Clemente, to file a new service retirement application and option election form with the New York state and local employees' retirement system on behalf of such deceased member.

2025-S7397 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7397

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to authorizing Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow
of Daniel Clemente, to file a new service retirement application and
option election form with the New York state and local employees'
retirement system on behalf of such deceased member

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow of Daniel Clemente,
to file a new service retirement application and election form with the
New York state and local employees& 39; retirement system

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Authorizes Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow of Daniel
Clemente, who was a member of the New York state and local employees,
retirement system, to file a new service retirement application and an
option election form on behalf of her deceased husband with a joint

allowance full option. In addition, this section deems Daniel's date of
retirement to have been December 8, 2024.

Section 2: Establishes that additional costs for this act shall be paid
by the state of New York.

Section 3: Sets Effective Date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Before December 13, 2024, members of the State and Local Employees
Retirement System who filed a retirement application had to wait a mini-
mum of 15 days before their retirement would become active.  Unfortu-
nately, this waiting period led to tragic situations in which members
who submitted their retirement applications passed away before the
application became effective.

In such cases, their families were deprived of the pension benefits they
would have been entitled to, instead receiving only the death benefit,
which is a significantly lower payment. On December 13, 2024, Governor
Hochul signed legislation (chapter 593) that addressed the situation
described above, allowing beneficiaries of members who died during the
period between filing an application for retirement and the date on
which their retirement application became effective to choose pension
benefits.

Tragically, just days before that bill was signed into law, Daniel
Clemente of Orange County passed away. He was a devoted husband, father,
grandfather, and a dedicated public servant who gave nearly 35 years of
his life to the New York State Homes and Community Renewal. On February
21, 2024, Danny was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer with liver
metastases. Despite this devastating diagnosis, he continued working,
fueled by his love for his job and an unshakable belief that he could
overcome the disease.

After enduring multiple surgeries, numerous bouts of sepsis, and suffer-
ing a stroke, Danny made the heart-wrenching decision to submit his
retirement documents on November 29, 2024. Tragically, he passed away on
December 9, 2024-just six days short of completing the mandatory 15-day
processing period for retirement, which was set to take effect on Decem-
ber 15, 2024. Because he passed just six days before the mandatory
15-day processing period was completed, his retirement case was
canceled.

As a result, his wife, Liliana, is only entitled to the death benefit
rather than the pension benefits Danny had earned. This bill seeks to
rectify this injustice by allowing Liliana to receive the full pension
benefits she rightfully deserves, providing some relief during this
difficult time.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

See fiscal note.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S7397 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7397
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the  widow
   of  Daniel  Clemente, to file a new service retirement application and
   option election form with the New  York  state  and  local  employees'
   retirement system on behalf of such deceased member
 
   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,
 Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow of  Daniel  Clemente,  who  was  a
 member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system, who
 died after he commenced the filing of paperwork for retirement but prior
 to  his  selected  retirement  date,  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 December 8, 2024. Once such application  is
 received,  any  rights  or benefits to the pre-retirement ordinary death
 benefit payable upon the death  of  a  member  in  service  pursuant  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 Daniel Clemente 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 thereaft-
 er.
   § 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:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10114-02-5
 S. 7397                             2

 
   This  bill  would  authorize  Liliana Fernandez-Clemente, the widow of
 deceased member Daniel Clemente, to file a new service retirement appli-
 cation and option election form  with  the  New  York  State  and  Local
 Employees'  Retirement  System (NYSLERS). The date of retirement will be
 December 8, 2024, one day prior to the date of death of Daniel Clemente.
 The  option  election will be a joint allowance full. Any ordinary death
 benefit paid by NYSLERS prior to the filing of a new service  retirement
 application will be deducted from the benefits payable under this legis-
 lation.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of approximately  $634,000  which
 will be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This esti-
 mate assumes that payment will be made on March 1, 2026.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2024  Report  of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024 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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   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 March 12, 2025, and intended for use only during
 the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-92. As Chief Actu-
 ary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin
 Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable  Actu-
 arial  Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct
 and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuari-
 al Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.

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