N.Y. RSS Law § 500 — New York Code / Act RSS / Article 14 / Section 500
Application
Status: in_force

§ 500. Application. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,\nexcept as otherwise provided in subdivisions c and f of this section,\nthe provisions of this article shall apply to all members who join or\nrejoin a public retirement system of the state on or after July first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-six and to all employees who would have been\neligible to join or rejoin such a retirement system on or after such\ndate but in lieu thereof elected an optional retirement program to which\ntheir employers are thereby required to contribute. In the event that\nthere is a conflict between the provisions of this article and the\nprovisions of any other law or code, the provisions of this article\nshall govern.\n  b. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the\ncontrary, persons who on or after July first, nineteen hundred\nseventy-six:\n  1. Enter the employment of a public employer which participates for\nsuch employees in the New York city employees' retirement system, the\nNew York city teachers' retirement system, the New York city police\npension fund, article two, the New York city fire department pension\nfund, article one-B, and the New York city board of education retirement\nsystem shall be required to become members or shall be eligible or\nineligible for membership in such retirement system or pension fund in\nthe manner provided for by the relevant provisions of the New York city\nadministrative code and other relevant laws and rules and regulations.\n  2. Enter the employment of a public employer which participates for\nsuch employees in the New York state teachers' retirement system shall\nbe required to become members or shall be eligible or ineligible for\nmembership in such retirement system in the manner provided for by the\nrelevant provisions of the New York state education law.\n  3. Enter the employment of a public employer which participates for\nsuch employees in the New York state and local police and fire\nretirement system shall be required to become members or shall be\neligible or ineligible for membership in such retirement system in the\nmanner provided for by the relevant provisions of this chapter.\n  4. Enter the employment of a public employer which participates for\nsuch employees in the New York state employees' retirement system in\npositions in which they shall work full time shall be required to become\nmembers.\n  a. Provided, however, persons in the employ of such employers after\nsuch date in positions in which they work less than full time shall be\npermitted to become members of the New York state employees' retirement\nsystem by filing an application therefor in the manner provided for by\nsection forty of this chapter.\n  b. Provided further that an employee of a county extension service\nassociation or Cornell university appointed for the first time on or\nafter August first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven who holds a federal\ncooperative appointment with the United States department of agriculture\nas designated by the director of the New York state cooperative\nextension service and who is eligible for participation in the federal\nretirement system shall be excluded from membership in the state\nemployees' retirement system.\n  c. Provided further that any employee of a county extension service\nassociation and any employee of Cornell university appointed for the\nfirst time on or after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six but on\nor before July thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven, who holds a\nstate cooperative appointment as designated by the director of the New\nYork state cooperative extension service may elect to receive a federal\ncooperative appointment in the manner provided for by the relevant\nfederal laws, rules and regulations and to participate in the federal\nretirement system and discontinue his participation in the state\nretirement system by filing a written notice of termination on or before\nDecember thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight with the\ncomptroller. Any employee who is a member of the state employees'\nretirement system at the time he or she elects coverage in the federal\nretirement program shall be deemed to be a person who discontinues\nservice on the effective date of such election, for the purpose of\ndetermining his or her eligibility for rights and benefits in such state\nsystem; provided, however, that if he or she does not withdraw\naccumulated contributions, (i) continued service with the county\nextension service association or Cornell university while under the\nfederal retirement program shall be deemed to be member service in the\nNew York state employees' retirement system for the purpose of\ndetermining eligibility for any vested retirement allowance, retirement\nallowance or ordinary death benefit under such system dependent upon a\nspecified period of total service or upon attainment of a specified age\nwhile in service or upon death while in service; and (ii) the amount of\nany such benefit to which the person or his or her estate or person\ndesignated by him or her may become entitled under either such system\nshall be computed only on the basis of service otherwise creditable to\nhim or her therein and his or her compensation during such service.\nElecting employees and their beneficiaries shall not be entitled to any\nright or benefit under the New York state employees' retirement system\nother than a vested retirement allowance, retirement allowance or\nordinary death benefit to the extent expressly provided for in this\nchapter.\n  c. If the comptroller certifies that the contribution rate under this\narticle for any participating employer who is participating on the\neffective date hereof would be at least one percent higher than the rate\nwhich would be applicable to such employer for an employee who is\nsubject to article eleven of this chapter and who was hired prior to\nJuly first, nineteen hundred seventy-six, the provisions of this article\nshall not apply with respect to such participating employer, provided,\nhowever that members who first join the New York state and local police\nand fire retirement system on or after January first, two thousand ten\nshall not be subject to the provisions of this article. In such event,\nthe provisions of article eleven and article twenty-two of this chapter\nshall continue to be applicable to such participating employer and its\nemployees, as provided in section four hundred fifty-one of this\nchapter. If, as a result of actuarial experience, such employer's\ncontribution rate should increase to the extent that it is not at least\none percent lower than the contribution rate under this article, then,\nupon certification of such fact by the comptroller, the provisions of\nthis subdivision shall no longer apply with respect to the employees of\nsuch employer who thereafter first join or rejoin a public retirement\nsystem.\n  d. The provisions of this article shall not be construed to extend\ncoverage to an employee who would not have been, if employed in the same\ncapacity on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-six, eligible for\nmembership in the retirement system involved, or to provide an increase\nin benefits to a member of a retirement system other than as provided by\nsections five hundred six, five hundred seven, five hundred eight and\nfive hundred nine of this article.\n  e. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who is not\nrequired to become a member of a public retirement system of the state\nby subdivision b of this section but who became a member on or after\nJuly first, nineteen hundred seventy-six may terminate such membership\nby filing a written notice of termination with the head of the\nretirement system of which he is a member on or before July first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-seven.\n  f. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section,\nmembers who were employed by the New York city board of education and\nassigned during the first fifteen days of the school term to a position\nwhich is expected to be vacant for that term and who were employed in\none of the three school years immediately prior to July first, nineteen\nhundred seventy-six in a position which did not entitle them to apply\nfor membership in a public retirement system who first joined the New\nYork city teachers' retirement system subsequent to June thirtieth,\nnineteen hundred seventy-six shall have all the rights, benefits and\nprivileges applicable to employees who were members of such system on\nJune thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-six provided they make written\napplication, duly executed and filed with the New York city teachers'\nretirement board prior to July first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine.\n  g. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section,\nmembers who were employed by the New York city board of education as\nregular substitute teachers when assigned as such and members who were\nemployed by the New York city board of education and assigned during the\nschool year to a position which was expected to be vacant for that\nschool year, such members having been employed for a period of not less\nthan twenty school days during such school year in a position which did\nnot entitle them to apply for membership in a public retirement system\nwho first joined the New York city teachers' retirement system or the\nNew York state teachers' retirement system subsequent to June thirtieth,\nnineteen hundred seventy-six shall have all the rights, benefits and\nprivileges to which they would have been entitled had their current\nmembership begun on the date their original service commenced, provided\nthey make written application, duly executed and filed with the\nretirement system in which they are members on or before June thirtieth,\ntwo thousand three. Any member of a teachers' retirement system who is\nentitled by reason of this chapter to have all the rights, benefits and\nprivileges of a member of such system as of a date prior to July first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-six shall not be entitled to a refund of any\ncontributions made to such system prior to the effective date of this\nsubdivision pursuant to this article or article fifteen of this chapter.\n