NY State Senate Bill 2023-S7955

Senate Bill S7955

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Authorizes the widow of Peter Sistrom to file a retirement option election on behalf of her deceased husband

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 04, 2024	referred to civil service and pensions

2023-S7955 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7825
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S8594, A9484

2023-S7955 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the widow of Peter Sistrom to file a retirement option election on behalf of her deceased husband.

2023-S7955 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7955

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to authorize the widow of Peter Sistrom to file a retirement
option election form on behalf of her deceased husband

 
PURPOSE:

To allow Leanne Burney, the widow of Peter Sistrom, to file a new
service retirement application and option election form on behalf of her
deceased husband with a joint allowance full option.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Authorizes Leanne Burney, the widow of Peter Sistrom, 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 with a joint allowance full option.

Section 2: All past service costs associated with the implementation of

this act shall be borne by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Section 3: Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Peter Sistrom was a dedicated public servant for nearly half of his
life. An attorney who briefly worked in private practice during the
early years of his career, Peter began his state government service in
1992. Initially, Peter served in the Executive Chamber as an Assistant
Counsel; he then founded and was a committed employee of the New York
State Capital Defender's Office for a decade; and in 2005 he joined the
Office of the New York State Attorney General.  Three years later, he
joined the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's counsel's office,
eventually becoming Deputy General Counsel in 2014. He continued to
serve at the MTA until his sudden and untimely death in 2021. Peter was
eligible for service retirement benefits, but he continued working given
the expressed need for his skills and his dedication to both the MTA and
his colleagues. At the time of his death, he was preparing, but had not
yet filed the requisite retirement benefit paperwork.

This legislation would authorize his spouse to file for the benefit he
rightly deserved given the many years of dedicated hard work for the
State of New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S8594 - Referred to Governmental Employees

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Fiscal Note attached to this bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S7955 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7955
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to authorize the widow of Peter  Sistrom  to  file  a  retirement
   option election form 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 the provisions of any  general  or  special
 law,  rule  or  regulation  to the contrary, Peter Sistrom, who was last
 employed by the metropolitan transportation authority and had over twen-
 ty-eight years of public service credited in  the  New  York  state  and
 local  employees'  retirement system and exceeded the age of sixty-five,
 shall be deemed eligible for a service retirement benefit, notwithstand-
 ing the fact that he died on September 10, 2021. On or before  one  year
 from  the  effective  date of this act, the spouse of Peter Sistrom, may
 file with the retirement system an application  for  service  retirement
 benefits on behalf of Peter Sistrom with an effective date of retirement
 of  September  9,  2021  and an option election form electing to receive
 retirement benefits pursuant to the terms of the  joint  allowance  full
 option  with Peter Sistrom's spouse as the beneficiary. Once such appli-
 cation is received, any rights or benefits payable  to  Peter  Sistrom's
 spouse  shall  be  retroactive  to  September  9,  2021. The filing of a
 service retirement application will constitute a waiver of 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 New York state  and  local
 employees' retirement system as the result of the death of Peter Sistrom
 prior  to  the  filing  of  the request for a service retirement benefit
 pursuant to this section shall be deducted from the pension reserve  and
 the  pension payable thereafter shall be the actuarial equivalent of the
 pension reserve as so reduced.
   § 2. All past service costs associated with the implementation of this
 act shall be borne by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03172-04-3
 S. 7955                             2
 
   This bill would deem deceased member Peter Sistrom eligible to receive
 a  service  retirement  benefit  effective  September  9,  2021.   Peter
 Sistrom's spouse shall be authorized to file for this service retirement
 benefit  with an option election form electing to receive a joint allow-
 ance full option. Upon filing of the service application, all rights and
 benefits  to the ordinary death benefits the beneficiary would otherwise
 be entitled to receive will be waived. Any payments received  from  such
 ordinary  death benefit will be deducted from the benefits payable under
 this legislation.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2023  legislative  session,  there
 will  be  an  immediate past service cost of approximately $1.01 million
 which will be borne by the Metropolitan Transportation  Authority  as  a
 one-time  payment.  This  estimate  assumes that payment will be made on
 February 1, 2024.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2022 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2022 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2022 Report of the Actuary and the 2022 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020,
 2021, and 2022 Annual Report to the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial  Assump-
 tions,  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, 2022
 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  June 7, 2023, and intended for use only during
 the 2023 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-163,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.

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