§ 656. Managerial/confidential survivor's benefit. 1. a. The term
"managerial/confidential employee" as used in this section shall mean a
full time employee or officer in the executive branch of the state whose
position has been designated managerial or confidential pursuant to
article fourteen of the civil service law, an employee covered by
section nineteen of the correction law, an employee in the professional
service in the state university who is designated, stipulated or
excluded from negotiating units as managerial or confidential as defined
pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, an employee
covered by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section two hundred
fifteen of the executive law or who has been excluded from
representation rights under such article pursuant to rules and
regulations of the public employment relations board, or who is a
civilian state employee of the division of military and naval affairs in
the executive department whose position is not in, or is excluded from
representation rights in, any recognized or certified bargaining unit,
and whose salary is paid directly by the state, judges and justices of
the unified court system and nonjudicial employees thereof not in
collective negotiating units. Managerial/confidential employees may be
considered state employees for the purposes of section six hundred
fifty-five of this article provided, however, an employee shall be
eligible for the greater of the benefits afforded by this section or
section six hundred fifty-five of this article and shall in no event
receive benefits pursuant to both such sections.

b. "Full time" as used in this section shall mean employment on a work
schedule of at least twenty hours per week and at a rate of salary of at
least that of the hiring rate of the M/C-3 pay grade or equivalent.

2. A survivor's benefit shall be payable upon the death of a
managerial/confidential employee who has served as a
managerial/confidential employee for thirty or more days exclusive of
days of leave and dies before the effective date of retirement provided
that such employee:

a. Was on the state payroll as a managerial/confidential employee for
thirty or more days of the sixty days immediately prior to his or her
death, or

b. Had at least one year of service as a managerial/confidential
employee and died while on the payroll following his or her return from
an authorized leave of absence, or

c. Had at least one but less than five years of service as a
managerial/confidential employee since last entering state service and
died while off the payroll and while on an authorized leave of absence,
provided such person was not otherwise gainfully employed since ceasing
to be on the state payroll, and provided such person was on the state
payroll as a managerial/confidential employee within six months prior to
his or her death, or

d. Had five or more years of service as a managerial/confidential
employee since last entering state service and died while off the
payroll and while on an authorized leave of absence, provided such
person was not otherwise gainfully employed since ceasing to be on the
state payroll, and provided such person was on the state payroll as a
managerial/confidential employee within one year prior to his or her
death.

e. For the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits under this
section, previous service rendered as an employee in a position
designated as managerial or confidential pursuant to article fourteen of
the civil service law of an authority or commission established under
the public authorities law shall be credited to a state employee as
state service, provided such authority or commission has in effect, at
the time of death of such employee, a provision for a survivor's benefit
which is substantially equivalent to that provided in this section and
in which previous state service is credited to authority or commission
employees toward eligibility for such survivor's benefit.

f. For the purposes of this subdivision, a managerial/confidential
employee holding a position having an annual salary payable over a
period of less than twelve months shall be considered to be on the
payroll during any period in which he or she would otherwise be on the
payroll if the annual salary of that position were paid over the full
twelve months. For purposes of paragraphs c and d of this subdivision,
an employee shall not be deemed to have been gainfully employed solely
on account of the performance of military duty in any capacity in the
armed forces of the United States or of any reserve thereof or in the
national guard.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary and
solely for the purpose of determining eligibility for a survivors
benefit, a member shall be considered to have died while on the state
payroll provided such member was on such payroll or was on the payroll
in the service upon which membership is based at the time he or she was
ordered to active duty pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code,
with the armed forces of the United States or to service in the
uniformed services pursuant to Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the United
States Code and died while on such active duty or service in the
uniformed services on or after June fourteenth, two thousand five.

Provided, further, that any such member ordered to active duty
pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code, with the armed forces of
the United States or to service in the uniformed services pursuant to
Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the United States Code who died prior to
rendering the minimum amount of service necessary to be eligible for
this benefit shall be considered to have satisfied the minimum service
requirement.

3. The survivor's benefit shall be payable from the survivor's benefit
fund established pursuant to subdivision seven of section six hundred
fifty-five of this article. The survivor's benefit shall be an amount
which when added to the ordinary death benefit provided under any public
pension plan to which the deceased managerial/confidential employee
belonged, equals the annual rate of compensation of the
managerial/confidential employee as of the date he or she was last on
the payroll prior to death; provided, however, that such survivor's
benefit, when added to any ordinary death benefit payable from a public
pension plan to which such employee belonged, shall not exceed the
lesser of fifty thousand dollars or if the ordinary death benefit
payable is reduced due to the age of a member five times the ordinary
death benefit for which the employee is eligible or, if no such benefit
is payable, would have been eligible had he or she remained in state
service for one year. Any benefit, other than an accidental death
benefit, payable by a public pension plan in lieu of the ordinary death
benefit shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be an
ordinary death benefit.

4. The survivor's benefit payable under this section shall be paid to
such person or persons as the managerial/confidential employee shall
have last nominated to receive the ordinary death benefit of the
retirement system or pension plan supported by funds of the state of
which such employee last became a member, or if such employee did not
nominate such a beneficiary, or if such beneficiary has died, or if the
employee was not a member of such a retirement system or pension plan,
to the person last specifically designated by such employee to receive
the survivor's benefit under this section on a form prescribed by the
department of audit and control and filed with the department or agency
in which such employee was last employed prior to death. In the event
such a designated beneficiary does not survive such employee, or if a
beneficiary was not designated, the survivor's benefit shall be payable
to the estate of the state employee or as provided in section thirteen
hundred ten of the surrogate's court procedure act.

5. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, in the case
of a managerial/confidential employee on whose account an accidental
death benefit is payable from a public pension plan to which the
employee belonged, and regardless of the length of service of the
deceased employee, the survivor's benefit shall be five thousand dollars
and shall be payable to the person or persons first receiving the
accidental death benefit.

6. If the survivor's benefit is paid for a deceased employee or
officer whose salary or compensation is paid from a special or
administrative fund other than the general fund or other than an income
fund of the state university or other than the mental hygiene services
fund, the cost of such benefit shall be charged against such other fund
or funds. If the amounts appropriated or allocable from such special or
administrative fund or funds are insufficient for such purpose, the
director of the budget may allocate such additional sums from such fund
or funds as may be necessary therefor; provided however, that no
transfer shall be made between two or more of such funds. Such amounts
shall be paid at such times as required, to the state comptroller and
shall be credited to the survivor's benefit fund.

7. The state comptroller shall prescribe such regulations as may be
required for the effective administration and implementation of the
provisions of this section including the establishment of criteria for
determining eligibility of managerial/confidential employees. The state
comptroller may enter into agreements with other agencies to perform
such duties as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.

8. The provisions of this section shall apply to
managerial/confidential employees who die on or after October first,
nineteen hundred eighty and on or before June thirtieth, nineteen
hundred eighty-one.