NY Ret & SS L § 607 (2021)
2021 New York Laws RSS - Retirement and Social Security Article 15 - Coordinated Retirement Plan 607 - Accidental Death Benefits.

§  607.  Accidental  death  benefits. a. The eligible beneficiary of a   member in service, or of a vested member who  dies  as  a  result  of  a   qualifying  World  Trade  Center  condition as defined in section two of   this chapter, shall be entitled to an accidental death  benefit  in  the   form  of  a pension equal to fifty percent of such member's wages earned   during his or her last year of actual service or his or her annual  wage   rate  if he or she was credited with less than one year of service since   last becoming a member, if, upon application  filed  within  five  years   after  the  death  of  the  member,  the  head  of the retirement system   determines  that  such  member  died  before  the  effective   date   of   retirement,  as  the  natural  and  proximate  result of an accident not   caused by his or her own willful negligence sustained in the performance   of his or her duties in active service and while actually  a  member  of   the retirement system.Notwithstanding  the  provisions of section two hundred forty-two, two   hundred forty-three or two hundred forty-four of the military law or the   provisions of any other law to the contrary and solely for  the  purpose   of  determining  eligibility  for  an accidental death benefit, a member   shall be considered to have died as the natural and proximate result  of   an  accident  sustained  in the performance of duty provided such member   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,  however,  the  head  of  the  retirement system in its sole   discretion may accept an application for  an  accidental  death  benefit   after  the  expiration  of the applicable filing period, where, but only   where, an ordinary death benefit has not been previously paid.b. If an eligible beneficiary receiving the accidental  death  benefit   hereunder  becomes  ineligible  to continue to receive such benefit, the   benefit shall be continued for all other members of the  eligible  class   of  beneficiaries and, if none, to each successive class, if any, during   their eligibility therefor.c. If the aggregate benefits under the provisions of this section have   not exceeded the amount of the ordinary lump sum death  benefit  because   of  the absence of eligible beneficiaries or because those beneficiaries   formerly eligible are  no  longer  eligible  for  payments  pursuant  to   section six hundred one of this article, then the difference between the   amounts,  if any, paid under this section and the amount of the ordinary   lump sum death benefit shall be paid to:1. The last eligible beneficiary or beneficiaries, if  surviving,  who   were receiving pension payments hereunder or, if none2.  The  distributees  of  the  member,  if  there  were  no  eligible   beneficiaries at the  member's  death,  or  the  persons  who  would  be   distributees of the member had he or she died intestate on the date that   the last eligible beneficiary died or became ineligible.