STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5876--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 20, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to authorizing the beneficiaries of a member of the state and local employees' retirement system who die after filing a retirement appli- cation to choose pension benefits rather than a death benefit The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision a of section 70 of the retirement and social 2 security law, as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2011, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 a. Any member may retire if he or she shall have attained at least the 5 minimum retirement age while in service as a member, or while in federal 6 service, or in the service of the United Nations or other international 7 organizations of which the United States is a member, as a member 8 continued pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision f of section forty of 9 this article, or while entitled to make application for a vested retire- 10 ment allowance pursuant to section seventy-six of this title. Any such 11 member desiring to retire shall execute and file with the comptroller an 12 application for retirement, which shall specify the effective date of 13 his or her retirement, which shall be not less than fifteen nor more 14 than ninety days subsequent to such date of filing. An application for 15 service retirement, filed hereunder in accordance with the provisions of 16 subdivision c of section sixty-two or subdivision f of section sixty- 17 three of this article, shall be processed in the regular manner, 18 provided that if the application filed simultaneously therewith under 19 either of such subdivisions is granted, then and in that event the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07498-04-4
S. 5876--A 2 1 retirement allowance granted in accordance with the provisions of this 2 section shall be appropriately adjusted. Notwithstanding any other 3 provision of law, for any member who is eligible to retire and who has 4 died while in active service, and who has filed an application for 5 service retirement less than thirty days prior to death, the member's 6 active beneficiary shall have the option to choose the death benefit or 7 if such member filed an option election form prior to death, the benefit 8 elected by the member on such form, in which case the member will be 9 deemed to have retired the day prior to death. 10 § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none 11 of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the 12 retirement and social security law. 13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would allow a deceased member's active death beneficiary the option to make effective the service retirement application and option election form filed by the member with the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS), resulting in payment of a survi- vor's benefit in lieu of an active death benefit, provided the member is 1) eligible to retire as of the day immediately prior to their death, 2) had died in active service, 3) has filed an application for service retirement less thirty days prior to their death, and 4) has filed an option election form prior to their death. If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, the cost will depend upon the deceased member's age, service, salary, plan, and the optional form of payment elected by the member. There will be an estimated additional cost of up to five (5) times the salary of the deceased member. This cost assumes that the post-retirement death bene- fit will be payable on behalf of any eligible member only in the event a survivor's benefit is to be paid. All costs arising would be shared by the State of New York and all participating employers in the NYSLERS. Further, we anticipate significant administrative costs to implement the provisions of this legislation. The number of members and beneficiaries who could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined. However, it is estimated that approximately 300 beneficiaries could have benefited from this provision in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. Summary of relevant resources: Membership data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari- al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2023 Report of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2023 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, 2023 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.
S. 5876--A 3 This estimate, dated February 6, 2024, and intended for use only during the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-68, prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.