Senate Bill S8190

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8190
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 20, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  WEBER  -- 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 Thomas Collins to file a  request  for
   change  of  benefit coverage with the New York state teachers' retire-
   ment system

   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, Thomas Collins,
 who  is  currently  a  member of the New York state teachers' retirement
 system, who retired from Pearl River School District on  July  1,  2010,
 and  who  since  his  date  of retirement has been receiving the largest
 possible  retirement  benefit  under  the  maximum  retirement   benefit
 election,  and  who,  for  reasons not ascribable to his own negligence,
 even upon notice in 2010 from the retirement system of his  election  of
 the maximum retirement benefit election, failed to change his retirement
 option election prior to the expiration of the thirty days in accordance
 with  article  11  of  the education law and to nominate his wife as the
 beneficiary of the one hundred percent survivor option, shall be author-
 ized to change said maximum retirement option to the one hundred percent
 survivor option, if within one year of the effective date of  this  act,
 he  shall  file  a  written request on a form prescribed by the New York
 state teachers' retirement system  with  the  head  of  said  retirement
 system. Such change of benefit coverage shall be deemed to become effec-
 tive on July 1, 2010.
   §  2.  Any  costs  attributable  to  implementation  of the retirement
 election option change, authorized by section one of this act,  and  the
 recovery  for  the overpayment received by Thomas Collins since his date
 of retirement to change his election from the maximum benefit to the one
 hundred percent joint and survivor option with  Sandra  Collins  as  the
 beneficiary, shall be borne by Thomas Collins. The costs shall be calcu-
 lated from the date of his retirement, July 1, 2010, to the date his new
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03473-02-5
              

 S. 8190                             2
 
 retirement option election, filed in accordance with section one of this
 act, is deemed effective with the System and upon receipt of his payment
 for  making said election. Any other costs attributable to the implemen-
 tation of this act shall be borne by the employers of members of the New
 York state teachers' retirement system.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow Thomas Collins, a retired member of the New York
 State  Teachers'  Retirement System, who elected the maximum single life
 benefit upon his date of retirement of July 1, 2010 to undo  his  option
 election  and change his retirement benefit to the 100% joint and survi-
 vor option benefit designating his spouse Sandra Collins as  beneficiary
 of  such  optional  form of benefit. The 100% joint and survivor benefit
 would be effective as of his date of retirement. Mr.  Collins  would  be
 required  to  repay  to  the Retirement System the excess of the maximum
 single life benefit over the 100% joint and survivor option benefit that
 he has received from his date of retirement through the  effective  date
 of  the  change  in his benefit. Mr. Collins must file a written request
 with the head of the New York State Teachers' Retirement  System  within
 one year of the effective date of this act.
   The  total  cost of this benefit is estimated to be $203,000, which is
 equal to the increase in the present value of  future  benefit  payments
 plus  the  overpayments  Mr.  Collins  has received to date. Mr. Collins
 would be responsible for paying back these overpayments of approximately
 $139,000. The remaining cost of $64,000 would be borne by the  employers
 of  members  of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System. Allowing
 retired members to change their benefit option after retirement  weakens
 the  pooling  of longevity risk and the pricing of the options and would
 potentially result in actuarial losses.
   Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation files
 as of June 30, 2024, consisting of data provided by the employers to the
 Retirement System. The most recent data distributions and statistics can
 be found in the System's Annual Report for fiscal year  ended  June  30,
 2024. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements
 and  can  also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuarial assump-
 tions and methods will be provided in the System's  Actuarial  Valuation
 Report as of June 30, 2024.
   The  source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2025-21 dated May 19, 2025
 prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New  York  State  Teachers'
 Retirement  System and is intended for use only during the 2025 Legisla-
 tive Session. I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary for the New York
 State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy
 of Actuaries and I meet the  Qualification  Standards  of  the  American
 Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.