N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 360-b: Guaranteed ordinary death benefit for participating employers

§ 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.