S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6553--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 26, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Civil  Service  and  Pensions  in
   accordance  with  Senate  Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
   amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
   tee
 
 AN ACT to authorize Susan Gillinder, the widow of Robert C.  Ritchie, 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,
 Susan Gillinder, the widow of Robert C. Ritchie, who was a member of the
 New York state and local employees' retirement system, who died after he
 filed for retirement but prior to his selected retirement date, 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 addi-
 tion, his date of retirement shall be deemed to  have  been  August  15,
 2016.  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 Robert C.
 Ritchie 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 thereafter.
   § 2. Any additional costs for this act shall be paid by the  state  of
 New York.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08909-03-4
              

 S. 6553--A                          2
 
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  authorize  Susan  Gillinder,  the widow of deceased
 member Robert C. Ritchie, to file a new service  retirement  application
 and option election form on behalf of their deceased spouse with the New
 York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS). The date of
 retirement  will  be August 15, 2016, one day prior to the date of death
 of Robert C. Ritchie. The option election  will  be  a  joint  allowance
 full.  Any rights and benefits to an ordinary death benefit payable upon
 the death of Robert C. Ritchie 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 payable under this legis-
 lation.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2024  Legislative  Session,  there
 will  be  an immediate past service cost of approximately $496,000 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  January  26,  2024,  and intended for use only
 during the  2024  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2024-71,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.