N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 360-a: Guaranteed ordinary death benefit payable upon death of state employees

§ 360-a. Guaranteed ordinary death benefit payable upon death of state

employees. a. Upon the death in service of a member who was in the

employ of the state on March thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine,

and whose beneficiary was eligible for the ordinary death benefit

pursuant to section three hundred sixty of this chapter, or would have

been eligible had the state employee had one year or more of service,

such beneficiary shall receive an ordinary death benefit payable

pursuant to section three hundred sixty, or, in lieu of such ordinary

death benefit, the benefit payable pursuant to this section, whichever

is greater.

aa. Upon the death in service of a member on or after April first,

nineteen hundred seventy, who (1) entered or reentered the employ of the

state after March thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine and prior to

April first, nineteen hundred eighty-five, and was in such employ on

March thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-five, (2) had not attained

age sixty at the date of such entrance into such service, (3) had

rendered ninety or more days of continuous state service during the

fifteen month period immediately preceding death, (4) last joined or

rejoined a public retirement system thereof before July first, nineteen

hundred seventy-three, and (5) whose beneficiary was eligible for the

ordinary death benefit pursuant to section three hundred sixty of this

chapter, or would have been eligible had the employee had one year or

more of state service, such beneficiary shall receive an ordinary death

benefit payable pursuant to section three hundred sixty of this chapter,

or, in lieu of such ordinary death benefit, the benefit payable pursuant

to this section, whichever is greater.

aaa. Provided further, notwithstanding any other provision of this

article to the contrary, where the member is an officer or member of the

state police and would have been entitled to a service retirement

benefit at the time of his or her death and where his or her death

occurs on or after July first, two thousand, the beneficiary or

beneficiaries may elect to receive, in a lump sum, an amount payable

which shall be equal to the pension reserve that would have been

established had the member retired on the date of his or her death, or

the value of the death benefit and the

reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay, if any, whichever is greater.

Provided further, that for the purpose of determining entitlement to the

benefit provided by this subdivision, and notwithstanding the provisions

of subdivision j of section three hundred forty-one of this article, the

total number of days of unused sick leave and accumulated vacation

credit accrued by the member at the time of his or her death shall be

considered in meeting the total creditable service required to qualify

for a service retirement benefit provided without regard to age where

his or her death occurs on or after July second, two thousand nine.

b. The guaranteed ordinary death benefit provided under this section

to such a beneficiary shall be three times the compensation earnable by

the state employee 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.

c. 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 at least one year 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.

d. The provisions of this section shall apply in any case where death

occurs on or after the date this section becomes law and prior to July

first, nineteen hundred seventy-four.