S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7824
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to authorize the widow of William James Middlebrooks  to  file  a
   retirement option election form
 
   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,
 Janice Middlebrooks, the widow of William  James  Middlebrooks  who  was
 employed  by  the  Albion Correctional Facility, was a member of the New
 York state and local employees' retirement system,  was  diagnosed  with
 cancer in January of 2004, was advised on October 31, 2004 that he would
 be  unable  to  return to employment as the result of his malignancy and
 the treatment therefor, and died on December 3, 2006 prior to  filing  a
 retirement  election  form  with the New York state and local employees'
 retirement system, shall be authorized to file such option election form
 on behalf of her deceased husband with a joint allowance full option, if
 on or before December 31, 2025 she shall submit a  request  therefor  to
 the  state  comptroller.    In  addition, his application for disability
 retirement shall be deemed to have become effective on November 1, 2004.
 All retirement benefits payable pursuant to the provisions of  this  act
 shall  be  paid  to  Janice Middlebrooks and shall be in addition to any
 other death benefits paid.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would authorize Janice Middlebrooks, the widow  of  deceased
 retiree  William  James Middlebrooks, to file a new option election form
 with the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS)
 and revise the member's date of retirement. The option election will  be
 a joint allowance full for a disability retirement effective November 1,
 2004.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04512-02-5
 A. 7824                             2
              

 
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of approximately $472,000  as  of
 February  1, 2026, which will be shared by the State of New York and the
 local participating employers in NYSLERS.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2024  Report  of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024 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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   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 March 12, 2025, and intended for use only during
 the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal  Note  No.  2025-104.  As  Chief
 Actuary  of  the  New  York  State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron
 Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica-
 ble Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of  Professional
 Conduct  and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of
 Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am  a
 member.