Bill Text: NY S07324 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Authorizes Robin Garfinkle, the widow of Howard Mahler, to file a retirement option election on behalf of her deceased husband.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-22 - PRINT NUMBER 7324A [S07324 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07324-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7324--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 19, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK  --  read  twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Civil
          Service  and Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service
          and Pensions in accordance with Senate Rule 6,  sec.  8  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  authorize  the  widow of Howard Mahler 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  Robin  Garfinkle,  the  widow  of Howard Mahler, who was employed by the
     3  Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and was  a  member  of
     4  the  New York state and local employees' retirement system, and who died
     5  on December 23, 2014 prior to filing a retirement election form with the
     6  New York state and local employees' retirement system and after 28 years
     7  and 11 months of state service, shall be authorized to file such  option
     8  election  form  on behalf of her deceased husband with a joint allowance
     9  full option, if on or before one year after the effective date  of  this
    10  act  she  shall  submit  a request therefor to the state comptroller. In
    11  addition, Howard Mahler's date of retirement shall  be  deemed  to  have
    12  been December 22, 2014.
    13    § 2. All costs shall be borne by the state of New York, and the amount
    14  payable  to  Robin  Garfinkle  shall  be  the full amount otherwise owed
    15  pursuant to the provisions of this act, except any amounts paid  by  the
    16  New  York  state and local employees' retirement system as the result of
    17  the death of Howard Mahler prior to the filing  of  the  request  for  a
    18  service  retirement  benefit pursuant to this act shall be deducted from
    19  the service retirement benefit payable thereafter.
    20    § 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.
                                                                   LBD09942-04-4
        S. 7324--A                          2

          This bill would deem Howard  Mahler  retired  effective  December  22,
        2014, notwithstanding their death on December 23, 2014. Robin Garfinkle,
        the  widow  of  Howard  Mahler,  shall  be  authorized to file an option
        election form selecting the joint allowance full  option  on  behalf  of
        their deceased husband. The amount paid to Robin Garfinkle shall be less
        any  sums  previously  paid  by  the New York State and Local Retirement
        System to any beneficiary of Howard Mahler.
          If this bill is enacted during the  2024  Legislative  Session,  there
        will  be  an  immediate past service cost of approximately $1.26 million
        which will be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This
        estimate 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 April 9, 2024, and intended for use only during
        the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-162,  prepared  by
        the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.