S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6313
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
June 4, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- (at request of the State Comptroller) --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
extending the period of time to file an application for an accidental
death benefit after the death of a member of the New York state and
local employees' retirement system or the New York state and local
police and fire retirement system
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The section heading and the opening paragraph of subdivi-
sion a of section 61 of the retirement and social security law, as
amended by chapter 336 of the laws of 1960, are amended to read as
follows:
[Accidential] ACCIDENTAL death benefit.
An [accidential] ACCIDENTAL death benefit and the reserve-for-in-
creased-take-home-pay shall be payable upon the death of a member if,
upon application filed within [two] FIVE years after the death of such
member, the comptroller shall determine, on the basis of the evidence,
that such member:
§ 2. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 361 of the
retirement and social security law, as added by chapter 1000 of the laws
of 1966, is amended to read as follows:
An accidental death benefit and the reserve-for-increased-take-home-
pay shall be payable upon the death of a member if, upon application,
filed within [two] FIVE years after the death of such member the comp-
troller shall determine, on the basis of the evidence, that such member:
§ 3. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 509 of the
retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 489 of the
laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08969-04-9
S. 6313 2
The eligible beneficiary of a member in service, or a vested member
that dies as a result of a qualifying World Trade Center condition as
defined in section two of this chapter, shall be entitled to an acci-
dental death benefit in the form of a pension equal to fifty percent of
such member's final average salary if, upon application filed within
[two] FIVE years after the death of the member, the head of the retire-
ment system determines that such member:
§ 4. Subdivision a of section 607 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 582 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
read as follows:
a. The eligible beneficiary of a member in service, or of a vested
member who dies as a result of a qualifying World Trade Center condition
as defined in section two of this chapter, shall be entitled to an acci-
dental death benefit in the form of a pension equal to fifty percent of
such member's wages earned during his or her last year of actual service
or his or her annual wage rate if he or she was credited with less than
one year of service since last becoming a member, if, upon application
filed within [sixty days] FIVE YEARS after the death of the member, the
head of the retirement system determines that such member died before
the effective date of retirement, as the natural and proximate result of
an accident not caused by his or her own willful negligence sustained in
the performance of his or her duties in active service and while actual-
ly a member of the retirement system.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section two hundred forty-two, two
hundred forty-three or two hundred forty-four of the military law or the
provisions of any other law to the contrary and solely for the purpose
of determining eligibility for an accidental death benefit, a member
shall be considered to have died as the natural and proximate result of
an accident sustained in the performance of duty provided such member
was on the payroll in the service upon which membership is based at the
time he or she was ordered to active duty pursuant to Title 10 of the
United States Code, with the armed forces of the United States or to
service in the uniformed services pursuant to Chapter 43 of Title 38 of
the United States Code and died while on such active duty or service in
the uniformed services on or after June fourteenth, two thousand five.
Provided, however, the head of the retirement system in its sole
discretion may accept an application for an accidental death benefit
after the expiration of the [sixty day] APPLICABLE filing period, where,
but only where, an ordinary death benefit has not been previously paid.
§ 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
provisions of this act shall not be subject to the provisions of section
twenty-five of the retirement and social security law requiring an
appropriation in an amount equal to the value of the benefits associated
with prior service when enacted on a statewide basis. This act extends
the filing deadline for accidental death benefits from two to five years
following the death of an active member occurring on or after January 1,
2020. Since it is impossible to determine the number of members who
could be affected by this act specifically, the number of members who
participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
ations and who will qualify for a death benefit, it cannot be readily
determined the amount, if any, of an appropriation.
§ 6. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020 and shall apply to the
death of a member occurring on or after such date.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would extend the filing deadline for accidental death bene-
fits to 5 years following the death of an active member of certain
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public retirement systems. Currently the filing deadline is 2 years. The
filing extension will apply only to those deaths occurring on or after
January 1, 2020. The provisions of Section 25 of the Retirement and
Social Security Law (RSSL) will not apply.
If this bill is enacted, insofar as it would affect the New York State
and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS) and the New York State and
Local Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), it is estimated that
there would be an average per person cost of approximately 3.5 times
final salary on behalf of affected ERS members and 11 times final salary
on behalf of affected PFRS members whose applications are filed within
the extended period.
The number of members and retirees who could be affected by this
legislation cannot be readily determined. Those costs arising in ERS
would be borne by the State of New York and all the participating
employers in ERS. Those costs arising in PFRS would be borne by the
State of New York and all the participating employers in PFRS.
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, 2018 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2018
Report of the Actuary and the 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, 2017 and 2018 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, 2018
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 13, 2019, and intended for use only during
the 2019 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2019-113, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.