S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  7884

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 16, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT relating to allowing for the payment of certain retirement  bene-
  fits  to  the  spouse of Susan Kupferman who died while an employee of
  the metropolitan transportation authority

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Notwithstanding  the provisions of any general or special
law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Susan Kupferman, who  was  last
employed by the metropolitan transportation authority and had over thir-
ty  years  of  public  service  credited in the New York state and local
employees' retirement system, shall be deemed  eligible  for  a  service
retirement  benefit effective on her fifty-fifty birthday, September 17,
2013, notwithstanding the fact that she died on June  26,  2013.  On  or
before  December  31, 2014, the spouse of Susan Kupferman, may file with
the retirement system an application for service retirement benefits  on
behalf  of  Susan  Kupferman  with  an  effective  date of retirement of
September 17, 2013. Upon filing of  a  service  retirement  application,
benefits  shall  be paid by the retirement system pursuant to the option
election form filed by Susan Kupferman in connection with  her  applica-
tion  for  the Article 15 disability retirement benefit. The filing of a
service retirement application will constitute a withdrawal  of  Article
15  disability retirement application and a waiver of any and all rights
to the benefits payable pursuant  to  that  application,  including  any
post-retirement  death benefit payable thereunder, as well as 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 retirement system to  Susan
Kupferman, her estate or to her spouse prior to the filing of the appli-
cation for service retirement shall be deducted from the benefit payable
thereafter.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Section 50 of the Legislative Law:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15581-01-4
              

S. 7884                             2

  This  bill  would  deem  Susan Kupferman eligible to receive a service
retirement benefit effective on her 55th birthday, September  17,  2013,
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  died on June 26, 2013. Her spouse
shall be authorized to file for the service retirement  benefit  on  her
behalf.  Further,  her  spouse must waive all future rights and benefits
payable to him based upon a disability  benefit  previously  granted  to
Susan  Kupferman  and all payments received from such disability retire-
ment will be deducted from the benefits payable under this legislation.
  If this bill is enacted, there would be a one-time cost to the  Metro-
politan  Transportation  Authority of approximately $403,000. This esti-
mate is based on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1,
2015.
  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, 2013 actuarial valu-
ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2013
Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2013  Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2010,
2011,  2012  and  2013  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, 2013
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 March 21, 2014 and intended for use  only  during
the  2014  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2014-105, prepared by
the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Employees'  Retirement
System.