2023 New York Laws › RSS - Retirement and Social Security › Article 2 - New York State Employees' Retirement System › Title 7 - Death Benefits and Disability Retirement › 60-A - Guaranteed Ordinary Death Benefit Payable Upon Death of State Employees.

§  60-a. Guaranteed ordinary death benefit payable upon death of state
  employees. a. Upon the death in service of  a  member  who  was  in  the
  employ  of the state on March thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine,
  and whose beneficiary  was  eligible  for  the  ordinary  death  benefit
  pursuant  to  section sixty of this chapter, or would have been eligible
  had the state employee had one year or more of service, such beneficiary
  shall receive an ordinary death  benefit  payable  pursuant  to  section
  sixty,  or,  in lieu of such ordinary death benefit, the benefit payable
  pursuant to this section, whichever is greater.
aa. Upon the death in service of a member on  or  after  April  first,
  nineteen hundred seventy, who (1) entered or reentered the employ of the
  state after March thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine and prior to
  April  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-five, and was in such employ on
  March thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-five, (2) had  not  attained
  age  sixty  at  the  date  of  such  entrance into such service, (3) had
  rendered ninety or more days of  continuous  state  service  during  the
  fifteen  month  period  immediately  preceding death, (4) last joined or
  rejoined a public retirement system  of  the  state  or  a  municipality
  thereof before July first, nineteen hundred seventy-three, and (5) whose
  beneficiary  was  eligible  for  the  ordinary death benefit pursuant to
  section sixty of this chapter, or  would  have  been  eligible  had  the
  employee  had  one year or more of state service, such beneficiary shall
  receive an ordinary death benefit payable pursuant to section  sixty  of
  this  chapter,  or,  in lieu of such ordinary death benefit, the benefit
  payable pursuant to this section, whichever is greater.
b. The guaranteed ordinary death benefit provided under  this  section
  to  such a beneficiary shall be three times the compensation earnable by
  the state employee during his last twelve months of service as a member,
  raised to the next higher multiple of one thousand dollars,  but  in  no
  event,  greater than twenty thousand dollars. Where a member dies before
  rendering one year of  service,  the  death  benefit  pursuant  to  this
  subdivision  shall be three times the compensation that the member would
  have earned had he worked for twelve months prior to  the  date  of  his
  death raised to the next higher multiple of one thousand dollars, but in
  no event, greater than twenty thousand dollars.
c. For the purposes of this section an employee who dies while off the
  payroll  shall be considered to be in service provided he or she (1) was
  on the payroll in such service and paid within a period of twelve months
  prior to his or her death, 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, (2)  had  not  been  otherwise
  gainfully  employed since he or she ceased to be on such payroll and (3)
  had credit for at least one year of continuous service since he  or  she
  last  entered or reentered the service of his or her employer. 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.
d. The provisions of this section shall apply in any case where  death
  occurs  on  or after the date this section becomes law and prior to July
  first, nineteen hundred seventy-four.