Permits an eligible retirement system member to receive, in lieu of an ordinary death benefit, a death benefit such member would otherwise be entitled to receive

7 Co-sponsors

• Audrey Pheffer
• Inez Barron
• Mike Spano
• Kenneth Zebrowski
• Joan Millman
• David Koon
• Helene Weinstein

BILL NUMBER:A8711

Title of bill

An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to death benefits for the beneficiaries of certain members of the retirement system

This measure is designed principally to cure an inequity arising under current provisions of the. Retirement and Social Security Law insofar as they govern entitlement to death benefits. Such provisions call for payment of death benefits in lieu of a pension to the beneficiary of a public employee when he or she dies in service. These death benefits generally are of lesser value than the pension to which such an employee and his or her beneficiaries would be entitled were the employee to have. retired before death. In recent years, this disparity has, to some extent, been buffered by the proliferation of early retirement opportu- nities extended to many, if not most public employees. Rather than having to remain in service for longer periods after they become eligi- ble. to retire, in order to beef up their pensions, employees have been able to retire early while adding significantly to their pension credit. By so doing, they have eliminated the need to gamble on living long enough, while remaining in employment, to earn an adequate pension.

Judges are among the few classes of public employees who have not been able to take advantage of the early retirement opportunities. They have been excluded as a group from each of the relevant statutes. The result is that many judges, most of whom first enter upon their judicial duties in their fifties, or even in their sixties, must continue in service at some risk to their families' financial welfare. Without an early retire- ment incentive by which to augment their eventual pension, they have no choice but to remain in service if they wish to earn additional retire- ment credit. By so doing, they chance death before retirement, in which event their beneficiaries likely will be entitled to less than if they were able to retire and then died thereafter. Given the benefits being made available to many others, this is unfair. Moreover, it is a disin- centive for many to undertake judicial service.

This measure would redress this problem. It would amend provisions of the Retirement and Social Security Law to permit State-paid judges and justices of the Unified Court System to elect to have their benefici- aries receive a pension, in lieu of the regular death benefit, upon their death while in service. Judges making this election would be required to identify which of the section 90 pension options should govern payment of this pension. If a judge did not make the election described here as of his or her death, the person designated as a bene- ficiary of the judge's death benefit would be authorized to make the election for him or her posthumously, and to choose the pension payment option as well.

This measure, which would take effect immediately, would have a minor fiscal impact upon the public treasury.

2004 Legislative History:Senate 7213 (Sen. DeFrancisco) (Civil Service and Pensions) Assembly 10550-A (M. of A. Weinstein) (Governmental Employees)

2005-06 Legislative History: OCA 2005-3 Senate 3969-A (Sen. DeFrancisco) (Civil Service and Pensions)

2007-08 Legislative History: OCA 2007-48 Senate 5852 (Sen. DeFrancisco) (Civil Service and Pensions)