What's happening
This bill allows beneficiaries of state and local employees who die after filing for retirement to choose pension benefits instead of a death benefit.
Why it matters
Provides greater flexibility and fairness. for families of state and local workers who die after filing for retirement, allowing them to select the benefit option that gives the most financial security—either the standard death benefit or the pension benefit the retiree would have received.
Addresses a common timing issue. where a member dies shortly after filing for retirement but before the typical waiting period ends, which previously could prevent beneficiaries from receiving a potentially higher pension benefit.
Retroactively applies to deaths since January 1, 2017. , meaning families affected by this timing gap in recent years may also become eligible for revised benefits, potentially offering substantial relief to those who missed out under the old rules.
Could have significant financial implications. for both beneficiaries and the retirement system, as the cost per case could be as much as five times the deceased member’s salary, and about 450 families per year are estimated to benefit—spreading these costs among state and local employers.
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Who cares
Beneficiaries of deceased retirement system members
Eligible beneficiaries could choose the member’s elected pension benefit instead of a death benefit if the member died in active service after filing a retirement application less than 30 days before death and an option election form before death.
New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System
The system would administer the benefit choice, deem qualifying members retired the day before death and apply the change to deaths on or after January 1, 2017.
New York State and participating employers
They would share additional benefit costs, which the fiscal note estimates could reach five times a deceased member’s salary for standard options.
Headline styles
Let Beneficiaries Choose Pension
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Print number 7553b
- Amend and recommit to governmental employees
- Referred to governmental employees
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Print number 7553a
- Amend and recommit to governmental employees
- Referred to governmental employees
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Beneficiaries Pick Pension
In Senate Committee · Finance · Sponsor James Skoufis
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7553--B
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, BRABENEC -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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 application to choose pension benefits rather than a death benefit
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision a of section 70 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
a. Any member may retire if he or she shall have attained at least the minimum retirement age while in service as a member, or while in federal service, or in the service of the United Nations or other international organizations of which the United States is a member, as a member continued pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision f of section forty of this article, or while entitled to make application for a vested retirement allowance pursuant to section seventy-six of this title. Any such member desiring to retire shall execute and file with the comptroller an application for retirement, which shall specify the effective date of his or her retirement, which shall be not less than fifteen nor more than ninety days subsequent to such date of filing. An application for service retirement, filed hereunder in accordance with the provisions of subdivision c of section sixty-two or subdivision f of section sixtythree of this article, shall be processed in the regular manner, provided that if the application filed simultaneously therewith under
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11209-10-0
A. 7553--B 2
either of such subdivisions is granted, then and in that event the retirement allowance granted in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be appropriately adjusted. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any member who is eligible to retire and who has died while in active service, and who has filed an application for service retirement less than thirty days prior to death, the member's active beneficiary shall have the option to choose the death benefit or if such member filed an option election form prior to death, the benefit elected by the member on such form, in which case the member will be deemed to have retired the day prior to death.
§ 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2017.
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 and option election form
filed by the member, resulting in payment of a survivor's benefit in
lieu of the member's active death benefit, provided the member is (1)
eligible to retire (on the day before the date of death), (2) has died
in active service, (3) has filed an application for service retirement
less than thirty days prior to death, and (4) has filed an option
election form prior to death. The date used for the deemed service
retirement will be the day prior to the member's death. This bill will
include deaths which occurred on or after January 1, 2017.
If this bill is enacted, the cost will depend upon the deceased
member's age, service, salary, plan, and the optional form selected by
the member on the option election form filed with the New York State and
Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS). For standard options,
there will be an estimated additional cost of up to five (5) times the
salary of a deceased member. This cost assumes that the post-retirement
death benefit will be payable on behalf of eligible members only when
the service retirement form is selected.
The number of members and beneficiaries who could be affected by this
legislation cannot be readily determined, but it is estimated that
approximately 450 beneficiaries could benefit from this provision each
year. Those costs arising would be shared and spread by the State of New
York and the participating employers in NYSLERS.
In addition to the per person costs stated above, there will be an
administrative cost to implement the provisions of this legislation.
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, 2019 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2019
Report of the Actuary and the 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 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, 2019
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.
A. 7553--B 3
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.
This estimate, dated January 28, 2020, and intended for use only
during the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-45,
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.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.