What's happening
This bill allows Elizabeth O'Meara, widow of Patrick J. O'Meara, to retroactively file for his retirement benefits as if he retired before his death, with costs paid by the Town of Wilna.
Why it matters
Sets a rare legal precedent. by allowing a deceased public employee’s spouse to retroactively file for retirement benefits, potentially opening the door to similar requests in the future and raising questions about the finality of benefit election deadlines.
Impacts survivor financial security. by enabling Elizabeth O’Meara to receive a lifetime pension under the joint allowance option, rather than a one-time death benefit, which could provide more sustained support for her as a widow.
Shifts the financial burden to local taxpayers. , since the Town of Wilna is required to cover the estimated $226,000 cost as a one-time payment, directly affecting the town’s budget and possibly its residents.
Waives ordinary death benefits. under existing law in favor of retirement benefits, highlighting the trade-off between different forms of survivor compensation and setting a case-specific rule about which benefit takes precedence when both could apply.
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Who cares
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Allow Widow to File Retirement
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8258
IN SENATE
April 24, 2018
Introduced by Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to authorize Elizabeth O'Meara, the widow of Patrick J. O'Meara, 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 Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Patrick J. O'Meara, who was last employed as Highway Superintendent for the Town of Wilna, New York, shall be deemed eligible for a service retirement benefit effective August 11, 2016, notwithstanding the fact that he died on August 12, 2016. Within one year from the effective date of this act, Elizabeth O'Meara, the widow of Patrick J. O'Meara, shall file with the retirement system an application for service retirement benefits on behalf of Patrick J. O'Meara with an effective date of retirement of August 11, 2016 and an option election form electing to receive retirement benefits pursuant to the terms of the joint allowance full option with Elizabeth O'Meara as the beneficiary. The filing of a service retirement application will constitute a waiver of any rights or benefits to the ordinary death benefit payable upon the death of a member in service pursuant to section 508 or 606 of the retirement and social security law. Any amounts paid by the New York state and local employees' retirement system as the result of the death of Patrick J. O'Meara prior to the filing of the request for a service retirement benefit pursuant to this section shall be deducted from the pension reserve and the pension payable thereafter shall be the actuarial equivalent of the pension reserve as so reduced.
§ 2. Any additional costs associated with the implementation of the provisions of this act shall be borne by the town of Wilna.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would deem Patrick J. O'Meara eligible for a service retire-
ment benefit effective August 11, 2016, notwithstanding the fact that he
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15357-05-8
S. 8258 2
died on August 12, 2016. Elizabeth O'Meara, the widow of Patrick J.
O'Meara shall be authorized to file a service retirement application
with a date of retirement of August 11, 2016 and an option election form
selecting the joint allowance full option on behalf of her deceased
husband. Any amounts paid as a result of Mr. O'Meara's death and prior
to the filing of the request for a service retirement shall be deducted
from the benefits payable under this legislation.
If this bill is enacted, there will be an immediate past service cost
of approximately $226,000 which will be borne by the town of Wilna as a
one-time payment. This estimate is based on the assumption that payment
will be made on February 1, 2019.
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial evalu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017
Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
tions, 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, 2017
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 estimate, dated April 23, 2018, and intended for use only during
the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-83, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to authorize Elizabeth O'Meara, the widow of Patrick J. O'Meara, 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 allow Elizabeth O'Meara, the widow of Patrick J. O'Meara, to file a new service retirement application and option election form on behalf of her deceased husband with a joint allowance full option.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Authorizes Elizabeth O'Meara, the widow of Patrick J. O'Meara, to file a new service retirement application and option election form with the New York state and local employees' retirement system on behalf of her deceased husband with a joint allowance full option.
Section 2: Provides that all costs associated shall be borne by the State of New York. Section 3: Effective date.
Justification
In July of 2016 Patrick O'Meara suffered a respiratory attack. Although he was expected to recover fully, on August 8, 2016 his family was called to the hospital because his condition had worsened. On that same date, Elizabeth O'Meara filed an application for retirement for her husband using her Power of Attorney and mailed that application on August 8 using overnight certified mail. Unfortunately, Patrick O'Meara passed away on August 12. Despite the fact that Patrick O'Meara's retirement paperwork was submitted prior to his death, since the paper- work was not on file for the statutorily required 15 day waiting period, his widow, Elizabeth is only eligible to receive the in-service death benefit. This bill addresses this unfortunate situation and allows Elizabeth O'Meara to file a new service retirement application and option election form on behalf of Patrick J. O'Meara with a retirement date of August 12, 2016 and a joint allowance full option.
Legislative history
This is a new bill.
Fiscal implications
Fiscal Note attached to this legislation.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.