2013 New York Consolidated Laws
RSS - Retirement & Social Security
Article 17 - (655 - 657) SURVIVORS BENEFITS
656 - Managerial/confidential survivor's benefit.

 
    §  656.  Managerial/confidential  survivor's  benefit.  1. a. The term
  "managerial/confidential employee" as used in this section shall mean  a
  full time employee or officer in the executive branch of the state whose
  position  has  been  designated  managerial  or confidential pursuant to
  article fourteen of the  civil  service  law,  an  employee  covered  by
  section  nineteen of the correction law, an employee in the professional
  service in  the  state  university  who  is  designated,  stipulated  or
  excluded from negotiating units as managerial or confidential as defined
  pursuant  to  article  fourteen  of  the  civil service law, an employee
  covered by paragraph (a) of  subdivision  one  of  section  two  hundred
  fifteen   of   the   executive   law  or  who  has  been  excluded  from
  representation  rights  under  such  article  pursuant  to   rules   and
  regulations  of  the  public  employment  relations  board,  or who is a
  civilian state employee of the division of military and naval affairs in
  the executive department whose position is not in, or is  excluded  from
  representation  rights  in, any recognized or certified bargaining unit,
  and whose salary is paid directly by the state, judges and  justices  of
  the  unified  court  system  and  nonjudicial  employees  thereof not in
  collective negotiating units. Managerial/confidential employees  may  be
  considered  state  employees  for  the  purposes  of section six hundred
  fifty-five of this article  provided,  however,  an  employee  shall  be
  eligible  for  the  greater  of the benefits afforded by this section or
  section six hundred fifty-five of this article and  shall  in  no  event
  receive benefits pursuant to both such sections.
    b. "Full time" as used in this section shall mean employment on a work
  schedule of at least twenty hours per week and at a rate of salary of at
  least that of the hiring rate of the M/C-3 pay grade or equivalent.
    2.  A  survivor's  benefit  shall  be  payable  upon  the  death  of a
  managerial/confidential    employee    who    has    served     as     a
  managerial/confidential  employee  for  thirty or more days exclusive of
  days of leave and dies before the effective date of retirement  provided
  that such employee:
    a.  Was on the state payroll as a managerial/confidential employee for
  thirty or more days of the sixty days immediately prior to  his  or  her
  death, or
    b.  Had  at  least  one  year  of service as a managerial/confidential
  employee and died while on the payroll following his or her return  from
  an authorized leave of absence, or
    c.  Had  at  least  one  but  less  than  five  years  of service as a
  managerial/confidential employee since last entering state  service  and
  died  while off the payroll and while on an authorized leave of absence,
  provided such person was not otherwise gainfully employed since  ceasing
  to  be  on  the state payroll, and provided such person was on the state
  payroll as a managerial/confidential employee within six months prior to
  his or her death, or
    d. Had five or more years  of  service  as  a  managerial/confidential
  employee  since  last  entering  state  service  and  died while off the
  payroll and while on an  authorized  leave  of  absence,  provided  such
  person  was  not otherwise gainfully employed since ceasing to be on the
  state payroll, and provided such person was on the state  payroll  as  a
  managerial/confidential  employee  within  one  year prior to his or her
  death.
    e. For the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits under  this
  section,  previous  service  rendered  as  an  employee  in  a  position
  designated as managerial or confidential pursuant to article fourteen of
  the civil service law of an authority or  commission  established  under
  the  public  authorities  law  shall  be credited to a state employee as
  state service, provided such authority or commission has in  effect,  at

  the time of death of such employee, a provision for a survivor's benefit
  which  is  substantially equivalent to that provided in this section and
  in which previous state service is credited to authority  or  commission
  employees toward eligibility for such survivor's benefit.
    f.  For  the  purposes  of this subdivision, a managerial/confidential
  employee holding a position having  an  annual  salary  payable  over  a
  period  of  less  than  twelve  months  shall be considered to be on the
  payroll during any period in which he or she would otherwise be  on  the
  payroll  if  the  annual salary of that position were paid over the full
  twelve months. For purposes of paragraphs c and d of  this  subdivision,
  an  employee  shall not be deemed to have been gainfully employed solely
  on account of the performance of military duty in any  capacity  in  the
  armed  forces  of  the United States or of any reserve thereof or in the
  national guard.
    Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to  the  contrary  and
  solely  for  the  purpose  of  determining  eligibility  for a survivors
  benefit, a member shall be considered to have died while  on  the  state
  payroll  provided  such member was on such payroll 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.
    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.
    3. The survivor's benefit shall be payable from the survivor's benefit
  fund established pursuant to subdivision seven of  section  six  hundred
  fifty-five  of  this  article. The survivor's benefit shall be an amount
  which when added to the ordinary death benefit provided under any public
  pension plan to  which  the  deceased  managerial/confidential  employee
  belonged,    equals   the   annual   rate   of   compensation   of   the
  managerial/confidential employee as of the date he or she  was  last  on
  the  payroll  prior  to  death;  provided, however, that such survivor's
  benefit, when added to any ordinary death benefit payable from a  public
  pension  plan  to  which  such  employee  belonged, shall not exceed the
  lesser of fifty thousand  dollars  or  if  the  ordinary  death  benefit
  payable  is  reduced  due to the age of a member five times the ordinary
  death benefit for which the employee is eligible or, if no such  benefit
  is  payable,  would  have  been eligible had he or she remained in state
  service for one year.  Any  benefit,  other  than  an  accidental  death
  benefit,  payable by a public pension plan in lieu of the ordinary death
  benefit shall, for the purposes of this section,  be  deemed  to  be  an
  ordinary death benefit.
    4.  The survivor's benefit payable under this section shall be paid to
  such person or persons as  the  managerial/confidential  employee  shall
  have  last  nominated  to  receive  the  ordinary  death  benefit of the
  retirement system or pension plan supported by funds  of  the  state  of
  which  such  employee  last became a member, or if such employee did not
  nominate such a beneficiary, or if such beneficiary has died, or if  the
  employee  was  not a member of such a retirement system or pension plan,
  to the person last specifically designated by such employee  to  receive
  the  survivor's  benefit  under this section on a form prescribed by the

  department of audit and control and filed with the department or  agency
  in  which  such  employee was last employed prior to death. In the event
  such a designated beneficiary does not survive such employee,  or  if  a
  beneficiary  was not designated, the survivor's benefit shall be payable
  to the estate of the state employee or as provided in  section  thirteen
  hundred ten of the surrogate's court procedure act.
    5.  Notwithstanding  any other provisions of this section, in the case
  of a managerial/confidential employee on  whose  account  an  accidental
  death  benefit  is  payable  from  a  public  pension  plan to which the
  employee belonged, and regardless  of  the  length  of  service  of  the
  deceased employee, the survivor's benefit shall be five thousand dollars
  and  shall  be  payable  to  the  person  or persons first receiving the
  accidental death benefit.
    6. If the survivor's benefit  is  paid  for  a  deceased  employee  or
  officer  whose  salary  or  compensation  is  paid  from  a  special  or
  administrative fund other than the general fund or other than an  income
  fund  of  the state university or other than the mental hygiene services
  fund, the cost of such benefit shall be charged against such other  fund
  or funds.  If the amounts appropriated or allocable from such special or
  administrative  fund  or  funds  are  insufficient for such purpose, the
  director of the budget may allocate such additional sums from such  fund
  or  funds  as  may  be  necessary  therefor;  provided  however, that no
  transfer shall be made between two or more of such funds.  Such  amounts
  shall  be  paid  at such times as required, to the state comptroller and
  shall be credited to the survivor's benefit fund.
    7. The state comptroller shall prescribe such regulations  as  may  be
  required  for  the  effective  administration  and implementation of the
  provisions of this section including the establishment of  criteria  for
  determining  eligibility of managerial/confidential employees. The state
  comptroller may enter into agreements with  other  agencies  to  perform
  such  duties  as  may  be  necessary to implement the provisions of this
  section.
    8.   The   provisions    of    this    section    shall    apply    to
  managerial/confidential  employees  who  die  on or after October first,
  nineteen hundred eighty  and  on  or  before  June  thirtieth,  nineteen
  hundred eighty-one.