N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 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.