N.Y. RSS Law § 656 — New York Code / Act RSS / Article 17 / Section 656
Managerial/confidential survivor's benefit
Status: in_force

§ 656. Managerial/confidential survivor's benefit. 1. a. The term\n"managerial/confidential employee" as used in this section shall mean a\nfull time employee or officer in the executive branch of the state whose\nposition has been designated managerial or confidential pursuant to\narticle fourteen of the civil service law, an employee covered by\nsection nineteen of the correction law, an employee in the professional\nservice in the state university who is designated, stipulated or\nexcluded from negotiating units as managerial or confidential as defined\npursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, an employee\ncovered by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section two hundred\nfifteen of the executive law or who has been excluded from\nrepresentation rights under such article pursuant to rules and\nregulations of the public employment relations board, or who is a\ncivilian state employee of the division of military and naval affairs in\nthe executive department whose position is not in, or is excluded from\nrepresentation rights in, any recognized or certified bargaining unit,\nand whose salary is paid directly by the state, judges and justices of\nthe unified court system and nonjudicial employees thereof not in\ncollective negotiating units. Managerial/confidential employees may be\nconsidered state employees for the purposes of section six hundred\nfifty-five of this article provided, however, an employee shall be\neligible for the greater of the benefits afforded by this section or\nsection six hundred fifty-five of this article and shall in no event\nreceive benefits pursuant to both such sections.\n  b. "Full time" as used in this section shall mean employment on a work\nschedule of at least twenty hours per week and at a rate of salary of at\nleast that of the hiring rate of the M/C-3 pay grade or equivalent.\n  2. A survivor's benefit shall be payable upon the death of a\nmanagerial/confidential employee who has served as a\nmanagerial/confidential employee for thirty or more days exclusive of\ndays of leave and dies before the effective date of retirement provided\nthat such employee:\n  a. Was on the state payroll as a managerial/confidential employee for\nthirty or more days of the sixty days immediately prior to his or her\ndeath, or\n  b. Had at least one year of service as a managerial/confidential\nemployee and died while on the payroll following his or her return from\nan authorized leave of absence, or\n  c. Had at least one but less than five years of service as a\nmanagerial/confidential employee since last entering state service and\ndied while off the payroll and while on an authorized leave of absence,\nprovided such person was not otherwise gainfully employed since ceasing\nto be on the state payroll, and provided such person was on the state\npayroll as a managerial/confidential employee within six months prior to\nhis or her death, or\n  d. Had five or more years of service as a managerial/confidential\nemployee since last entering state service and died while off the\npayroll and while on an authorized leave of absence, provided such\nperson was not otherwise gainfully employed since ceasing to be on the\nstate payroll, and provided such person was on the state payroll as a\nmanagerial/confidential employee within one year prior to his or her\ndeath.\n  e. For the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits under this\nsection, previous service rendered as an employee in a position\ndesignated as managerial or confidential pursuant to article fourteen of\nthe civil service law of an authority or commission established under\nthe public authorities law shall be credited to a state employee as\nstate service, provided such authority or commission has in effect, at\nthe time of death of such employee, a provision for a survivor's benefit\nwhich is substantially equivalent to that provided in this section and\nin which previous state service is credited to authority or commission\nemployees toward eligibility for such survivor's benefit.\n  f. For the purposes of this subdivision, a managerial/confidential\nemployee holding a position having an annual salary payable over a\nperiod of less than twelve months shall be considered to be on the\npayroll during any period in which he or she would otherwise be on the\npayroll if the annual salary of that position were paid over the full\ntwelve months. For purposes of paragraphs c and d of this subdivision,\nan employee shall not be deemed to have been gainfully employed solely\non account of the performance of military duty in any capacity in the\narmed forces of the United States or of any reserve thereof or in the\nnational guard.\n  Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary and\nsolely for the purpose of determining eligibility for a survivors\nbenefit, a member shall be considered to have died while on the state\npayroll provided such member was on such payroll or was on the payroll\nin the service upon which membership is based at the time he or she was\nordered to active duty pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code,\nwith the armed forces of the United States or to service in the\nuniformed services pursuant to Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the United\nStates Code and died while on such active duty or service in the\nuniformed services on or after June fourteenth, two thousand five.\n  Provided, further, that any such member ordered to active duty\npursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code, with the armed forces of\nthe United States or to service in the uniformed services pursuant to\nChapter 43 of Title 38 of the United States Code who died prior to\nrendering the minimum amount of service necessary to be eligible for\nthis benefit shall be considered to have satisfied the minimum service\nrequirement.\n  3. The survivor's benefit shall be payable from the survivor's benefit\nfund established pursuant to subdivision seven of section six hundred\nfifty-five of this article. The survivor's benefit shall be an amount\nwhich when added to the ordinary death benefit provided under any public\npension plan to which the deceased managerial/confidential employee\nbelonged, equals the annual rate of compensation of the\nmanagerial/confidential employee as of the date he or she was last on\nthe payroll prior to death; provided, however, that such survivor's\nbenefit, when added to any ordinary death benefit payable from a public\npension plan to which such employee belonged, shall not exceed the\nlesser of fifty thousand dollars or if the ordinary death benefit\npayable is reduced due to the age of a member five times the ordinary\ndeath benefit for which the employee is eligible or, if no such benefit\nis payable, would have been eligible had he or she remained in state\nservice for one year. Any benefit, other than an accidental death\nbenefit, payable by a public pension plan in lieu of the ordinary death\nbenefit shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be an\nordinary death benefit.\n  4. The survivor's benefit payable under this section shall be paid to\nsuch person or persons as the managerial/confidential employee shall\nhave last nominated to receive the ordinary death benefit of the\nretirement system or pension plan supported by funds of the state of\nwhich such employee last became a member, or if such employee did not\nnominate such a beneficiary, or if such beneficiary has died, or if the\nemployee was not a member of such a retirement system or pension plan,\nto the person last specifically designated by such employee to receive\nthe survivor's benefit under this section on a form prescribed by the\ndepartment of audit and control and filed with the department or agency\nin which such employee was last employed prior to death. In the event\nsuch a designated beneficiary does not survive such employee, or if a\nbeneficiary was not designated, the survivor's benefit shall be payable\nto the estate of the state employee or as provided in section thirteen\nhundred ten of the surrogate's court procedure act.\n  5. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, in the case\nof a managerial/confidential employee on whose account an accidental\ndeath benefit is payable from a public pension plan to which the\nemployee belonged, and regardless of the length of service of the\ndeceased employee, the survivor's benefit shall be five thousand dollars\nand shall be payable to the person or persons first receiving the\naccidental death benefit.\n  6. If the survivor's benefit is paid for a deceased employee or\nofficer whose salary or compensation is paid from a special or\nadministrative fund other than the general fund or other than an income\nfund of the state university or other than the mental hygiene services\nfund, the cost of such benefit shall be charged against such other fund\nor funds.  If the amounts appropriated or allocable from such special or\nadministrative fund or funds are insufficient for such purpose, the\ndirector of the budget may allocate such additional sums from such fund\nor funds as may be necessary therefor; provided however, that no\ntransfer shall be made between two or more of such funds. Such amounts\nshall be paid at such times as required, to the state comptroller and\nshall be credited to the survivor's benefit fund.\n  7. The state comptroller shall prescribe such regulations as may be\nrequired for the effective administration and implementation of the\nprovisions of this section including the establishment of criteria for\ndetermining eligibility of managerial/confidential employees. The state\ncomptroller may enter into agreements with other agencies to perform\nsuch duties as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this\nsection.\n  8. The provisions of this section shall apply to\nmanagerial/confidential employees who die on or after October first,\nnineteen hundred eighty and on or before June thirtieth, nineteen\nhundred eighty-one.\n