S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  9631--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
   and recommitted to said committee
 
 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-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15629-02-4
 S. 9631--A                          2
 
 ment application and option election form on behalf of the deceased with
 the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS). The
 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.