S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10536
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 28, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Eichenstein)
   -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN  ACT to authorize Rickly Dear, the widow of Noach Dear, 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

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
 Rickly  Dear,  the  widow of Noach Dear, who was a member of the unified
 court system and member of the  New  York  state  and  local  employees'
 retirement  system,  who  died  on  April 19, 2020 from COVID-19 related
 complications prior to filing for retirement,  shall  be  authorized  to
 file a new service retirement application and an option election form on
 behalf  of  her deceased husband with a joint allowance full option, if,
 within one year from the effective date of this act, she shall submit  a
 request  therefor  to  the  state  comptroller. In addition, his date of
 retirement shall be deemed to have been April 18, 2020. Once such appli-
 cation is received, any rights or benefits to the  pre-retirement  ordi-
 nary  death benefit payable upon the death of a member in service pursu-
 ant to section 448 of the retirement and social security  law  shall  be
 waived.  Any  amounts  paid  by  the New York state and local employees'
 retirement system as the result of the death of Noach Dear prior to  the
 filing  of the request for a service retirement benefit pursuant to this
 section shall be deducted from the service retirement benefit payable on
 an actuarially equivalent basis over the  expected  future  lifetime  of
 Rickly Dear.
   §  2.  Any additional costs for this act shall be paid by the state of
 New York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would authorize Rickly Dear to  file  a  service  retirement
 application  with  a  date of retirement of April 18, 2020 and an option
 election form with a joint  allowance  full  option  on  behalf  of  her
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16472-02-0

 A. 10536                            2
 
 deceased  husband  Noach  Dear,  who died on April 19, 2020. Any amounts
 paid as a result of Mr. Dear's death will be deducted from  the  service
 retirement benefit payable on an actuarially equivalent basis.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2020 legislative session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of  approximately  $1.06  million
 that would be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This
 estimate  is  based on the assumption that payment will be made on March
 1, 2021.
   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.
   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  May 26, 2020, and intended for use only during
 the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-119,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.