NY Ret & SS L § 43 (2021)
2021 New York Laws RSS - Retirement and Social Security Article 2 - New York State Employees' Retirement System Title 5 - Right to Membership, Service Credit and Transfers Between Retirement Systems 43 - Transfer of Members Between Systems.

§  43.  Transfer  of  members  between systems. a. Notwithstanding any   other provision of law  providing  for  transfers,  any  member  of  any   retirement  system  maintained  by  the state or a municipality thereof,   operating on a sound financial basis and subject to the  supervision  of   the  department  of  financial  services  of this state may transfer his   membership pursuant to this section to the  New  York  state  and  local   employees'  retirement  system,  the  New  York  city board of education   employees' retirement system, the New York  state  teachers'  retirement   system, the New York city teachers' retirement system or to the New York   city  employees' retirement system. Any member of the New York state and   local employees' retirement system may transfer his  membership  to  any   retirement  system,  other than the hospital retirement system, which is   operating on a sound basis and is subject  to  the  supervision  of  the   department of financial services of this state. Any such transfer may be   effectuated only if the member has accepted a position in another branch   of the state or municipal service which would make it:1. Impossible for him to continue in the retirement system of which he   has been a member, and2. Possible for him to participate in another such system.Notwithstanding  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this subdivision, any   employee who would be eligible  to  avail  himself  or  herself  of  the   provisions of this section but for being on leave of absence status from   a  prior  employment  while  in  his or her present employment, shall be   permitted to transfer his or her retirement system  membership  pursuant   to the provisions of this section.Any  member  of  the  New  York  state and local employees' retirement   system, however, who was an employee of any  city  agency  at  the  time   service  with such agency was legislated to be city service may transfer   his membership to the retirement system of such city.b. In order to effect such a transfer, a member must  give  notice  to   the administrative head of the retirement system of which he or she is a   member,  prior  to  his  or  her  withdrawal  therefrom,  of  his or her   intention  to  enter  such  other  retirement  system.   A   person   so   transferring  from  one  retirement system to another shall be deemed to   have been a member of the system to which  he  or  she  has  transferred   during the entire period of membership service credited to him or her in   the  system  from  which  he  or  she  has transferred. Such transferee,   however, shall not receive more than three per cent interest on  his  or   her  contributions  and  accumulated  contributions unless he or she has   continuously been a member in either the system from which or  to  which   he  or  she  is  transferring since a date prior to July first, nineteen   hundred forty-three. This shall not be construed to prevent a change  in   the  interest  rate to such member if the interest rate payable to other   members of the system to which he or she has transferred is changed. Any   member who heretofore transferred from one retirement system to  another   shall,  commencing with the effective date of chapter nine hundred three   of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty-seven, be  entitled  to  the  same   rights,  privileges  and  benefits,  and  shall  be  subject to the same   obligations, as a transferee who thereafter transfers. He or  she  shall   receive  no credit for prior service, except as hereinafter provided. He   or she shall be permitted to deposit in the second retirement system the   total amount of his contributions withdrawn from  the  first  retirement   system.c.  Upon  the  request  for  a transfer of credit, the reserve on such   member's  benefits,  computed  as  though  he   had   not   discontinued   membership,  shall  be  determined by the actuary of the first system in   the following manner: 1. The total  present  value  of  all  benefits  allowable  under  the   retirement  system  as the result of contributions made or to be made by   his employer shall be computed.2.  From  such total present value there shall be deducted the present   value of the future contributions which would be payable by his employer   on such member's account had  he  become  a  member  of  the  retirement   system,  subsequent  to  its  establishment,  at  the  age  at  which he   originally entered the service of his employer. The result  so  obtained   shall  be  considered  as  the  reserve  on  his  account  in  the first   retirement system.d. Such reserve shall be transferred  from  the  appropriate  fund  or   funds of the first system to the appropriate fund or funds of the second   system.  Such member, thereupon, shall be given such status and credited   with such service in the second retirement system as he was  allowed  in   the first retirement system. Such contributor, notwithstanding any other   provision  of law, shall on retirement be entitled to a pension based on   salary earned during member service in both retirement systems together,   pursuant to the statutory requirements of the second retirement system.e. The  provisions  of  former  subdivision  e  of  this  section,  as   originally  enacted  by chapter four hundred eighty-three of the laws of   nineteen hundred forty-five and as codified in such former subdivision e   by chapter eight hundred forty-one  of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred   forty-seven,  shall  apply only to memberships transferred prior to July   first, nineteen hundred forty-nine. Section  one  hundred  seventeen  of   this  article  shall apply to the provisions of this subdivision insofar   as such provisions relate to such memberships.f. 1. A "New York city member", as defined in  subdivision  twenty  of   section  two hundred forty-three of the military law, who shall transfer   to another retirement system pursuant to this  section  shall  be  given   credit,  upon  such  transfer,  for the period of military duty to which   such member would have been entitled pursuant to such subdivision twenty   if he had remained, until the  time  of  death  or  retirement,  in  the   retirement  system  from  which  he  shall  so  transfer.  The amount of   reserves to be transferred under this section for such credit  shall  be   computed in accordance with this section, shall include pension reserves   for  such  military duty, and shall be credited by the retirement system   to which the member shall transfer in accordance with the provisions  of   such  system  governing credit for service in world war II, and the city   of New York,  or  the  authority,  by  which  such  member  is  employed   immediately  prior  to  the transfer, shall pay to the retirement system   the amount of the reserve to be transferred on account of such  military   service.2.  Any  retirement system from which a member shall transfer pursuant   to this subdivision shall have the right to require reasonable proof  of   military  service,  pay  status,  and  any other information relevant to   eligibility for such transfer of credit for military duty.3. The provisions of this subdivision f shall apply  only  to  a  "New   York  city member" who has rendered service as an officer or employee of   the city of New York (or any agency thereof) or public corporation,  the   officers  or employees of which are eligible for membership in a pension   or retirement system maintained by such city, including  performance  of   such  military  duty,  for at least fifty per centum of the time between   his commencement of such service and the date upon which he has attained   or shall attain age fifty-five.h. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, a former member of   the New York state teachers' retirement system who holds  membership  in   the  New  York city teachers' retirement system on the effective date of   this act and who would have been entitled to transfer service credit  to    such   latter  retirement  system  pursuant  to  this  section  had  his   membership in the former retirement system not  terminated,  due  to  no   negligence on the part of the member, may have his transfer rights under   this  section  restored  by depositing, within one year of the effective   date of this act, in the former retirement system an amount equal to the   contributions withdrawn from such system with regular interest thereon.j. This subdivision shall apply only to individuals who, subsequent to   vesting in a retirement system, transfer to a second  retirement  system   whose  governing  laws  require  a greater number of years of credit for   vesting than those of the first system, and who, upon such transfer,  do   not  have  the  number  of  years  of  service credit that is ordinarily   required to vest in such second retirement system.1. Upon transfer, the number of years of service credit  required  for   the  transferred  individual  to  attain  vested  rights  in  the second   retirement system shall be the same as the number of  years  of  service   credit  required,  under  applicable  law,  for  vesting  in  the  first   retirement system.2. In the event that an individual covered by this  subdivision  makes   application  to  retire  from  such second system prior to attaining the   amount of service credit that would otherwise be necessary  to  vest  in   such second retirement system, and such individual is otherwise eligible   to retire from such second system, the application shall be granted, and   benefits  shall  be  calculated  on  the  basis  of the actual amount of   service credit the individual has accrued at  the  time  of  retirement.   Transferred service credit shall not be creditable under any plan in the   second  retirement  system  that  it  would  not otherwise be creditable   under.k. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any member  of   the  New  York  state  and local employees' retirement system or the New   York city teachers' retirement system  who  retired  from  service  from   either  the  New  York city employees' retirement system or the New York   city board of education retirement system as  a  member  of  the  career   pension plan maintained by such system and who, but for the fact that he   or she retired, would be eligible for transfer and who has not, in fact,   received  a  pension  payment  from  such  system  shall be permitted to   transfer his  or  her  retirement  system  membership  pursuant  to  the   provisions   of  this  section.  In  such  event,  the  application  for   retirement shall be deemed to have been  rescinded  and  the  retirement   system  from  which  the service shall be transferred shall transfer the   appropriate reserves as provided by  this  section,  provided,  however,   that  with respect to transfers pursuant to this subdivision which occur   on or after the twenty-sixth day of October, two thousand  four,  except   for  the purposes of providing the benefits, if any, of subdivision four   of  section  five  hundred  twenty-two  of   the   education   law,   no   determination  of a reserve pursuant to subdivision c of this section or   transfer thereof pursuant to the first sentence of subdivision d of this   section shall be required in the case of any transfer pursuant  to  this   subdivision.  Notwithstanding  the  provision of this subdivision or any   other provision of law, an individual who  transfers  pursuant  to  this   subdivision  shall  not  be  required  to  render  any minimum period of   service following transfer in order to be eligible to receive  the  full   benefit  provided  hereunder.  Notwithstanding  the foregoing, a retiree   covered    by    either    the    career    pension    plan    or    the   fifty-five-year-increased-service-fraction   plan  who  has  received  a   pension payment or payments from such system shall be eligible  for  the   provisions  of  this  subdivision upon payment, to the retirement system   from which the pension payment or payments were made, of an amount equal   to such pension payment or payments. After such payments  are  received,    such  person shall be permitted to transfer his or her retirement system   membership pursuant to the provisions of this section.l.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the contrary, with   respect to transfers pursuant to this section which occur  on  or  after   the  twenty-sixth  day  of  October,  two  thousand four, except for the   purposes of providing the benefits,  if  any,  of  subdivision  four  of   section  five  hundred twenty-two of the education law, no determination   of a reserve pursuant to subdivision  c  of  this  section  or  transfer   thereof  pursuant to the first sentence of subdivision d of this section   shall be required in the case of any transfer pursuant to this  section.   For  the  purpose  of  giving  the  transferring  member such status and   crediting such service in the second retirement system  as  such  member   was  allowed in the first retirement system in those cases to which this   subdivision shall apply, the transfer  shall  be  deemed  complete  upon   receipt by the second retirement system of:1.  a  statement  from the first retirement system of the transferring   member's date of membership in the first retirement system, tier status,   service credited to such membership being transferred,  and  such  other   information  as  the  second retirement system may require to effectuate   the transfer; and2. such member's accumulated contributions from the  first  retirement   system,  if  same  had not been previously withdrawn, or notice from the   first  retirement  system  that   such   member   had   no   accumulated   contributions,  or  notice  from  the  first retirement system that such   member's accumulated contributions had been  withdrawn  and  the  amount   thereof  and,  as  applicable, receipt from such member of such member's   accumulated contributions and interest.