§ 360-b. Guaranteed ordinary death benefit for participating
employers. (a) Pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred
thirty-three of this article, a participating employer may elect to
provide a guaranteed ordinary death benefit upon the death in service of
its employees who (i) meet all of the requirements of section three
hundred sixty of this title except that contained in paragraph three of
subdivision (a) thereof, and (ii) last entered or reentered the employ
of a participating employer prior to April first, nineteen hundred
eighty-five, and were in such employ on March thirty-first, nineteen
hundred eighty-five, and (iii) last joined or rejoined a public
retirement system of the state or a municipality thereof before July
first, nineteen hundred seventy-three, and (iv) had not attained age
sixty at the date of such entrance into such service, and (v) had
rendered ninety or more days of continuous service in the service of
such participating employer during the fifteen month period immediately
preceding death. For the purposes of this section an employee who dies
while off the payroll shall be considered to be in service provided he
or she (1) was on the payroll in such service and paid within a period
of twelve months prior to his or her death, or was on the payroll in the
service upon which membership is based at the time he or she was ordered
to active duty pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code, with the
armed forces of the United States or to service in the uniformed
services pursuant to Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the United States Code
and died while on such active duty or service in the uniformed services
on or after June fourteenth, two thousand five, (2) had not been
otherwise gainfully employed since he or she ceased to be on such
payroll and (3) had credit for one or more years of continuous service
since he or she last entered or reentered the service of his or her
employer. Provided, further, that any such member ordered to active duty
pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code, with the armed forces of
the United States or to service in the uniformed services pursuant to
Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the United States Code who died prior to
rendering the minimum amount of service necessary to be eligible for
this benefit shall be considered to have satisfied the minimum service
requirement.

(b) The guaranteed ordinary death benefit provided under this section
to the beneficiary of such employee shall be three times the
compensation earnable by him during his last twelve months of service as
a member, raised to the next higher multiple of one thousand dollars,
but in no event greater than twenty thousand dollars. Where such
employee dies before rendering one year of service, the death benefit
pursuant to this section shall be three times the compensation that the
member would have earned had he worked for twelve months prior to the
date of his death, raised to the next higher multiple of one thousand
dollars, but in no event greater than twenty thousand dollars.

(c) The beneficiary shall receive the benefits provided by this
section or those provided by section three hundred sixty of this
article, whichever are greater.

(d) The provisions of this section shall apply in the case of death
occurring on or after this section becomes law and prior to July first,
nineteen hundred seventy-four.