N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 501: Definitions

§ 501. Definitions. The following words and phrases as used in this

article shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is

plainly required by the context.

1. "Active service" shall mean service while being paid on the payroll

of a participating employer.

2. "Cost-of-living index" shall mean the consumer price index (all

items--United States city averages) published by the United States

bureau of labor statistics.

3. "Credited service" shall mean all service which has been credited

to a member pursuant to section five hundred thirteen or which was

credited to such member in a public retirement system of the state

before such member became subject to this article and which is allowable

as previous service pursuant to section five hundred thirteen.

4. "Creditable service" is service which qualifies to be counted as

credited service pursuant to section five hundred thirteen.

5. "Early retirement age" shall mean age fifty-five, for general

members, and the age on which a member completes or would have completed

twenty years of service, for police/fire members, New York city

uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and investigator

revised plan members.

6. "Elective member" shall mean a member who is not subject to the

provisions of this article on a mandatory basis.

7. "Eligible beneficiary" for the purposes of section five hundred

nine of this article shall mean the following persons or classes of

persons in the order set forth: (a) a surviving spouse who has not

renounced survivorship rights in a separation agreement, until

remarriage, (b) surviving children until age twenty-five, (c) dependent

parents, determined under regulations promulgated by the comptroller,

(d) any other person who qualified as a dependent on the final federal

income tax return of the member or the return filed in the year

immediately preceding the year of death, until such person reaches

twenty-one years of age, (e) with respect to members of the New York

city employees' retirement system (other than a New York city uniformed

correction/sanitation revised plan member or an investigator revised

plan member) and the board of education retirement system of the city of

New York, a person whom the member shall have nominated in the form of a

written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with the head of the

retirement system for the purpose of section five hundred eight of this

article. In the event that a class of eligible beneficiaries consists of

more than one person, benefits shall be divided equally among the

persons in such class. For the purposes of section five hundred eight of

this article the term "eligible beneficiary" shall mean such person as

the member shall have nominated to receive the benefits provided in this

article. To be effective, such a nomination must be in the form of a

written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with the head of the

retirement system for this specific purpose. In the event such

designated beneficiary does not survive the member, or if such member

shall not have so designated a beneficiary, such benefits shall be

payable to the deceased member's estate or as provided in section one

thousand three hundred ten of the surrogate's court procedure act, (f)

notwithstanding any other provisions of law, "eligible beneficiary" of a

New York city uniformed sanitation revised plan member for the purposes

of section five hundred nine of this article shall mean the following

persons or classes of persons in the order set forth: (i) a surviving

spouse who has not renounced survivorship rights in a separation

agreement, (ii) surviving children until age twenty-five, (iii)

dependent parents, determined under regulations promulgated by the

comptroller and (iv) any other person who qualified as a dependent on

the final federal income tax return of the member or the return filed in

the year immediately preceding the year of death, until such person

reaches twenty-one years of age, and (g) notwithstanding any other

provisions of law, "eligible beneficiary" of a New York city police

pension fund member for the purposes of section five hundred nine of

this article shall mean the following persons or classes of persons in

the order set forth: (i) a surviving spouse who has not renounced

survivorship rights in a separation agreement, (ii) surviving children

until age twenty-five, (iii) dependent parents, determined under

regulations promulgated by the comptroller, and (iv) any other person

who qualified as a dependent on the final federal income tax return of

the member or the return filed in the year immediately preceding the

year of death, until such person reaches twenty-one years of age.

8. "Excess contributions" shall mean any contributions (and interest

thereon) made by a member prior to becoming subject to this article

which, if not withdrawn, would have been used to purchase an additional

annuity at retirement had the member continued in the plan of which he

was a member before becoming subject to this article.

9. "Federal social security program" shall mean the federal old age

and survivor's assistance program under the federal social security act.

10. "Federal social security primary insurance amount" shall mean the

primary insurance amount as defined in section 215 (a) (1) (A) of the

federal social security act.

11. "Federal social security benefit computation period" shall mean a

member's benefit computation years as determined pursuant to section 215

(b) of the federal social security act.

12. "General member" shall mean a member subject to the provisions of

this article who is not a police/fire member, a New York city uniformed

correction/sanitation revised plan member or an investigator revised

plan member.

13. "Head of the retirement system" shall mean the comptroller, with

respect to the state employees' retirement system and the state and

local police and fire retirement system, and the retirement board of the

other public retirement systems of the state.

14. "In service" shall mean any period during which a member is on the

payroll of a public employer, in the service upon which membership is

based, and any period during which the member was not on the payroll if

he or she; (a) was on the payroll and paid within the previous twelve

months, (b) had not been gainfully employed since ceasing to be on such

payroll, (c) had credit for at least one year of continuous service

since last entering or reentering the service of the public employer and

(d) was not eligible for or receiving a service retirement or disability

benefit.

15. "Mandatory retirement age" shall mean age seventy, for general

members, and age sixty-two, for police/fire members.

16. "Member" shall mean any person included in the membership of a

public retirement system of this state as provided in section five

hundred of this article.

17. "Normal retirement age" shall be age sixty-two, for general

members, the age at which a member completes or would have completed

twenty-two years of service, for police/fire members, New York city

uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and investigator

revised plan members; except that for police/fire members of the New

York city police pension fund, normal retirement age shall be the age at

which a member completes or would have completed twenty years of

service, and the age at which a member completes twenty years of service

for police/fire members who are members of the New York city fire

department pension fund; and except that for New York city uniformed

correction/sanitation revised plan members, normal retirement age shall

be the age at which a member completes or would have completed twenty

years of service.

18. "Participating employer" shall mean a public employer who is

participating in a public retirement system of the state.

19. "Primary social security retirement benefit" shall mean the

benefit payable to a covered employee, at age sixty-two or later, under

the federal social security program, exclusive of any family benefits,

calculated as provided in subdivision c of section five hundred eleven.

20. "Primary social security disability benefit" shall mean the

benefit payable to a disabled covered employee under the federal social

security program, exclusive of any family benefits, calculated as

provided in subdivision c of section five hundred eleven.

21. "Police/fire member" shall mean a member subject to the provisions

of this article who, if employed in the same capacity on June thirtieth,

nineteen hundred seventy-six, would have been eligible for membership in

the New York state and local police and fire retirement system, the New

York city police pension fund or the New York city fire department

pension fund, or for participation in the uniformed transit police force

plan or housing police force plan in the New York city employees'

retirement system.

22. "Public employer" shall mean an employer who is eligible to

participate in a public retirement system of the state.

23. "Public retirement system of the state" shall mean the New York

state employees' retirement system, New York state and local police and

fire retirement system, New York state teacher's retirement system, New

York city employees' retirement system, New York city teacher's

retirement system, New York city police pension fund, New York city fire

department pension fund and the New York city board of education

retirement system.

24. (a) "Wages" shall mean regular compensation earned by and paid to

a member by a public employer, except that for members who first join

the state and local employees' retirement system on or after January

first, two thousand ten, overtime compensation paid in any year in

excess of the overtime ceiling, as defined by this subdivision, shall

not be included in the definition of wages.

(b) "Overtime compensation" shall mean, for purposes of this section,

compensation paid under any law or policy under which employees are paid

at a rate greater than their standard rate for additional hours worked

beyond those required, including compensation paid under section one

hundred thirty-four of the civil service law and section ninety of the

general municipal law.

* (c)(i) The "overtime ceiling" shall mean fifteen thousand dollars

per annum on January first, two thousand ten, and shall be increased by

three percent each year thereafter, provided, however, that for members

who first become members of the New York state and local employees'

retirement system on or after April first, two thousand twelve,

"overtime ceiling" shall mean fifteen thousand dollars per annum on

April first, two thousand twelve, and shall be increased each year

thereafter by a percentage to be determined annually by reference to the

consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all

items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor

statistics, for each applicable calendar year. Said percentage shall

equal the annual inflation as determined from the increase in the

consumer price index in the one year period ending on the December

thirty-first preceding the overtime ceiling adjustment effective on the

ensuing April first.

(ii) Commencing January first, two thousand eighteen, and each year

thereafter, the overtime ceiling percentage shall be increased by an

amount equal to the annual inflation as determined from the increase in

the consumer price index in the one year period ending on the September

thirtieth prior to the overtime ceiling adjustment effective on the

ensuing January first.

* NB Effective until January 1, 2027

* (c) The "overtime ceiling" shall mean fifteen thousand dollars per

annum on January first, two thousand ten, and shall be increased by

three percent each year thereafter, provided, however, that:

(i) For members who first become members of the New York state and

local employees' retirement system on or after April first, two thousand

twelve, "overtime ceiling" shall mean fifteen thousand dollars per annum

on April first, two thousand twelve, and shall be increased each year

thereafter by a percentage to be determined annually by reference to the

consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all

items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor

statistics, for each applicable calendar year. Said percentage shall

equal the annual inflation as determined from the increase in the

consumer price index in the one year period ending on the December

thirty-first preceding the overtime ceiling adjustment effective on the

ensuing April first.

(ii) Commencing January first, two thousand eighteen, and each year

thereafter, the overtime ceiling percentage shall be increased by an

amount equal to the annual inflation as determined from the increase in

the consumer price index in the one year period ending on the September

thirtieth prior to the overtime ceiling adjustment effective on the

ensuing January first.

(iii) Commencing January first, two thousand twenty-seven, for members

who first become members of such system on or after January first, two

thousand ten, the "over-time ceiling" shall mean thirty thousand dollars

per annum and shall be increased by three percent each year thereafter.

* NB Effective January 1, 2027

(d) For the purpose of calculation a member's primary federal social

security retirement or disability benefit, wages shall, in any calendar

year, be limited to the portion of the member's wages which would be

subject to tax under section three thousand one hundred twenty-one of

the internal revenue code of nineteen hundred fifty-four, or any

predecessor or successor provision relating thereto, if such member was

employed by a private employer.

(e) For members who first become members of the New York state and

local employees' retirement system on or after the effective date of

chapter eighteen of the laws of two thousand twelve, the following items

shall not be included in the definition of wages: (a) wages in excess of

the annual salary paid to the governor pursuant to section three of

article four of the state constitution, (b) lump sum payments for

deferred compensation, sick leave, accumulated vacation or other credits

for time not worked, (c) any form of termination pay, (d) any additional

compensation paid in anticipation of retirement, and (e) in the case of

employees who receive wages from three or more employers in a twelve

month period, the wages paid by the third and each successive employer.

(f) For New York city enhanced plan members who receive the ordinary

disability benefit provided for in subdivision c-1 of section five

hundred six of this article or the accidental disability benefit

provided for in paragraph three of subdivision c of section five hundred

seven of this article, the following items shall not be included in the

definition of wages: (a) lump sum payments for deferred compensation,

sick leave, accumulated vacation or other credits for time not worked,

(b) any form of termination pay, (c) any additional compensation paid in

anticipation of retirement, and (d) in the case of employees who receive

wages from three or more employers in a twelve month period, the wages

paid by the third and each successive employer.

25. "New York city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan

member" shall mean a member who becomes subject to the provisions of

this article on or after April first, two thousand twelve, and who is a

member of either the uniformed force of the New York city department of

correction or the uniformed force of the New York city department of

sanitation.

26. "New York city police/fire revised plan member" shall mean a

police/fire member who becomes subject to the provisions of this article

on or after April first, two thousand twelve, and who is a member of

either the New York city police pension fund or the New York city fire

department pension fund.

27. "Investigator revised plan member" shall mean an investigator

member of the New York city employees' retirement system who is a police

officer as defined in paragraph (g) of subdivision thirty-four of

section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, and who becomes subject to

the provisions of this article on or after April first, two thousand

twelve.

28. "New York city enhanced plan member" shall mean (a) a New York

city police/fire revised plan member who becomes subject to the

provisions of this article on or after June fifteenth, two thousand

sixteen and who is a member of the New York city fire department pension

fund, (b) a police/fire member who is a member of the New York city fire

department pension fund and who makes an election, which shall be

irrevocable and shall be duly executed and filed with the administrative

head of such pension fund no later than one hundred twenty days after

the effective date of this subdivision, to be subject to the provisions

of this article related to New York city enhanced plan members, (c) a

New York city police/fire revised plan member who became subject to the

provisions of this article before June fifteenth, two thousand sixteen,

who is a member of the New York city fire department pension fund, and

who makes an election, which shall be irrevocable and shall be duly

executed and filed with the administrative head of such pension fund no

later than one hundred twenty days after the effective date of this

subdivision, to be subject to the provisions of this article related to

New York city enhanced plan members, (d) a New York city police/fire

revised plan member who becomes subject to the provisions of this

article on or after April first, two thousand seventeen and who is a

member of the New York city police pension fund, (e) a police/fire

member who is a member of the New York city police pension fund and who

makes an election, which shall be irrevocable and shall be duly executed

and filed with the administrative head of such pension fund no later

than one hundred twenty days after the effective date of the chapter of

the laws of two thousand seventeen which amended this subdivision, to be

subject to the provisions of this article related to New York city

enhanced plan members, or (f) a New York city police/fire revised plan

member who became subject to the provisions of this article before April

first, two thousand seventeen, who is a member of the New York city

police pension fund, and who makes an election, which shall be

irrevocable and shall be duly executed and filed with the administrative

head of such pension fund no later than one hundred twenty days after

the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand seventeen

which amended this subdivision, to be subject to the provisions of this

article related to New York city enhanced plan members.