S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10546
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 3, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Maher) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing Michael Winston Hoard, the widower  of
   Kathy  Marie Dwyer-Hoard, 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 ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
 Michael Winston Hoard, the widower of Kathy Marie Dwyer-Hoard, who was a
 member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system, who
 died after she commenced the filing  of  paperwork  for  retirement  but
 prior to her selected retirement date, shall be authorized to file a new
 service  retirement application and an option election form on behalf of
 his deceased wife with a joint allowance full  option,  if,  within  one
 year  from  the  effective  date  of this act, he shall submit a request
 therefor to the state comptroller. In addition, her date  of  retirement
 shall be deemed to have been October 21, 2019.  Once such application is
 received,  any  rights  or benefits to the pre-retirement ordinary death
 benefit payable upon the death  of  a  member  in  service  pursuant  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 Kathy Marie Dwyer-Hoard prior to
 the filing of the request for a service retirement benefit  pursuant  to
 this section shall be deducted from the service retirement benefit paya-
 ble thereafter.
   §  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  Michael  Winston  Hoard,  the  widower  of
 deceased  member  Kathy Marie Dwyer-Hoard, to file a new service retire-
 ment application and option election form on behalf of the deceased with
 the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS). The
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15629-03-4
 A. 10546                            2
 
 date of retirement will be October 21, 2019, four days prior to the date
 of death of Kathy Marie Dwyer-Hoard. The option election will be a joint
 allowance full. Any rights and benefits to  an  ordinary  death  benefit
 payable  upon  the death of Kathy Marie Dwyer-Hoard shall be waived. Any
 such death benefit paid by the NYSLERS prior to  the  filing  of  a  new
 service  retirement application will be deducted from the benefits paya-
 ble under this legislation.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2024  Legislative  Session,  there
 will  be  an immediate past service cost of approximately $458,000 which
 will be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This esti-
 mate assumes that payment will be made on March 1, 2025.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
 al  valuation.    Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
 2023 Report of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2023
 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, 2023
 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 29, 2024, and intended for use only during
 the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-187,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.