Bill Text: NY S03759 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes Janice Middlebrooks, the widow of William James Middlebrooks, to file a retirement option election on behalf of her deceased husband.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S03759 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S03759-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3759
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 13, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- 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 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:
     1    Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
     2  Janice Middlebrooks, the widow of William  James  Middlebrooks  who  was
     3  employed  by  the  Albion Correctional Facility, was a member of the New
     4  York state and local employees' retirement system,  was  diagnosed  with
     5  cancer in January of 2004, was advised on October 31, 2004 that he would
     6  be  unable  to  return to employment as the result of his malignancy and
     7  the treatment therefor, and died on December 3, 2006 prior to  filing  a
     8  retirement  election  form  with the New York state and local employees'
     9  retirement system, shall be authorized to file such option election form
    10  on behalf of her deceased husband with a joint allowance full option, if
    11  on or before December 31, 2019 she shall submit a  request  therefor  to
    12  the  state  comptroller.    In  addition, his application for disability
    13  retirement shall be deemed to have become effective on November 1, 2004.
    14  All retirement benefits payable pursuant to the provisions of  this  act
    15  shall  be  paid  to  Janice Middlebrooks and shall be in addition to any
    16  other death benefits paid.
    17    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill would authorize Janice  Middlebrooks  to  file  an  ordinary
        disability application with a date of retirement of November 1, 2004 and
        an  option election form with a joint allowance full option on behalf of
        her  deceased  husband  William  James  Middlebrooks.  Mr.  Middlebrooks
        received  a disability retirement which was paid beginning on 3/28/2005.
        Upon his death all payments ceased because no option election  form  was
        filed. By filing the disability application and an option election form,
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03586-02-9
        S. 3759                             2
        an  additional benefit will be paid for the period 11/1/04 - 3/28/05 and
        a benefit will continue to Janice Middlebrooks for her lifetime.
          If  this bill is enacted, there will be an immediate past service cost
        of approximately $257,000 which will be shared by the State of New  York
        and  all participating employers in the New York State and Local Employ-
        ees' Retirement System.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          The membership data used in  measuring  the  impact  of  the  proposed
        change  was  the same as that used in the March 31, 2018 actuarial valu-
        ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2018
        Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2018  Comprehensive Annual Financial
        Report.
          The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2015,
        2016,  2017  and  2018  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, 2018
        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 9, 2019, and intended for use only during
        the 2019 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2019-14,  prepared  by
        the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.