2023 New York Laws › RSS - Retirement and Social Security › Article 17 - Survivors Benefits › 655 - Survivor's Benefit.

§  655. Survivor's benefit. 1. a. The term "state employee" as used in
  this section shall mean a full time employee or officer  of  the  state,
  whose salary is paid directly by the state.
b.  For  the  limited  purposes  of  this section: (1) the term "state
  employee" as used in this  section  include  a  full  time  employee  or
  officer of the state colleges of agriculture, home economics, industrial
  labor   relations   and  veterinary  medicine,  the  state  agricultural
  experiment station at Geneva, and any other institution or agency  under
  the  management  and control of Cornell university as the representative
  of the board of trustees of the state university of New  York,  and  the
  state  college  of  ceramics  under the management and control of Alfred
  university as the representative of the board of trustees of  the  state
  university  of  New  York; (2) the payroll from which such employees are
  paid shall be deemed to be a state payroll; and (3) such employees shall
  be deemed to be paid directly by the state.
2. A survivor's benefit shall be payable upon the  death  of  a  state
  employee  who  has been a state employee for ninety or more days and who
  dies before  the  effective  date  of  retirement,  provided  that  such
  employee:
a. Was on the state payroll for ninety or more days of the one hundred
  twenty days immediately prior to his or her death, or
b. Had at least one year of service as a state employee and died while
  on  the  payroll following his or her return from an authorized leave of
  absence, or
c. Had at least one but less than five years of  service  as  a  state
  employee  since  last  entering  state  service  and  died while off the
  payroll and while on an  authorized  leave  of  absence,  provided  such
  person  was  not otherwise gainfully employed since ceasing to be on the
  state payroll, and provided such person was on the state payroll  within
  six months prior to his or her death, or
d.  Had  five  or more years of service as a state employee since last
  entering state service, and died while off the payroll and while  on  an
  authorized  leave  of  absence, provided such employee was not otherwise
  gainfully employed since  ceasing  to  be  on  the  state  payroll,  and
  provided that such person was on the state payroll within one year prior
  to his or her death.
e.  For the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits under this
  section, previous service rendered as an employee  of  an  authority  or
  commission  established  under  the  public  authorities  law  shall  be
  credited to a state employee as state service, provided  such  authority
  or  commission  has  in effect, at the time of death of such employee, a
  provision for a survivor's benefit which is substantially equivalent  to
  that  provided  in  this  section and in which previous state service is
  credited to authority or commission  employees  toward  eligibility  for
  such survivor's benefit.
f.  For  the  purposes of this subdivision, a state employee holding a
  position having an annual salary payable over  a  period  of  less  than
  twelve months shall be considered to be on the payroll during any period
  in  which  he  would otherwise be on the payroll if the annual salary of
  his position were paid over the full  twelve  months.  For  purposes  of
  paragraphs  c and d of this subdivision, an employee shall not be deemed
  to have been gainfully employed solely on account of the performance  of
  military  duty  in any capacity in the armed forces of the United States
  or of any reserve thereof or in the national guard.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to  the  contrary  and
  solely  for  the  purpose  of  determining  eligibility  for a survivors
  benefit, a member shall be considered to have died while  on  the  state
  payroll  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,  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.
3. The survivor's benefit shall be payable from the survivor's benefit
  fund. The survivor's benefit shall be an amount which, when added to the
  ordinary death benefit provided under any public pension plan  to  which
  the deceased state employee belonged, equals one-half the annual rate of
  compensation  of the state employee as of the date he or she was last on
  the payroll prior to death;  provided,  however,  that  such  survivor's
  benefit,  when added to any ordinary death benefit payable from a public
  pension plan to which such employee belonged,  shall  be  at  least  two
  thousand dollars and shall not exceed ten thousand dollars. Any benefit,
  other than an accidental death benefit, payable by a public pension plan
  in  lieu  of  the ordinary death benefit shall, for the purposes of this
  section, be deemed to be an ordinary death benefit. The portion  of  any
  ordinary       death       benefit       attributable       to       the
  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay shall be excluded in  computing  the
  survivor's benefit.
4.  The survivor's benefit payable under this section shall be paid to
  such person or persons as the state employee shall have  last  nominated
  to  receive  the  ordinary  death  benefit  of  the retirement system or
  pension plan supported by funds of the state of which such employee last
  became  a  member,  or  if  such  employee  did  not  nominate  such   a
  beneficiary, or if such beneficiary has died, or if the employee was not
  a member of such a retirement system or pension plan, to the person last
  specifically  designated  by  such  employee  to  receive the survivor's
  benefit under this section, on a form prescribed by  the  department  of
  audit  and control and filed with the department or agency in which such
  employee was  last  employed  prior  to  death.  In  the  event  such  a
  designated   beneficiary  does  not  survive  such  employee,  or  if  a
  beneficiary was not designated, the survivor's benefit shall be  payable
  to  the  estate of the state employee or as provided in section thirteen
  hundred ten of the surrogate's court procedure act.
5. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, in  the  case
  of  a  state  employee  on  whose account an accidental death benefit is
  payable from a public pension plan to which the employee  belonged,  and
  regardless  of  the  length  of  service  of  the deceased employee, the
  survivor's benefit shall be two thousand dollars and shall be payable to
  the person or persons first receiving the accidental death benefit.
6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in the case of
  an employee who enters or re-enters state service at sixty-five years of
  age or over, the survivor's benefit shall not  be  payable  unless  such
  employee  has  completed  at  least one year of continuous state service
  following such entry or re-entry.
7. There is hereby established in the custody of the state comptroller
  a special fund to be known as the survivor's  benefit  fund.  Such  fund
  shall  consist  of  such  moneys  as  may be appropriated thereto by the
  legislature and all other moneys received by such fund  from  any  other

  source  pursuant  to  law.  The  fund  shall be used exclusively for the
  purpose of making survivor's benefit payments pursuant to  this  section
  and section six hundred fifty-six and section six hundred fifty-seven of
  this  article.  Moneys  of  the  fund shall be paid out on the audit and
  warrant of the state comptroller on  vouchers  approved  by  such  state
  comptroller.
8.  If  the  survivor's  benefit  is  paid  for a deceased employee or
  officer  whose  salary  or  compensation  is  paid  from  a  special  or
  administrative  fund other than the general fund or other than an income
  fund of the state university or other than the mental  hygiene  services
  fund,  the cost of such benefit shall be charged against such other fund
  or funds.  If the amounts appropriated or allocable from such special or
  administrative fund or funds are  insufficient  for  such  purpose,  the
  director  of the budget may allocate such additional sums from such fund
  or funds as  may  be  necessary  therefor;  provided  however,  that  no
  transfer  shall  be made between two or more of such funds. Such amounts
  shall be paid, at such times as required, to the state  comptroller  and
  shall be credited to the survivor's benefit fund.
9.  The  state  comptroller shall prescribe such regulations as may be
  required for the effective  administration  and  implementation  of  the
  provisions  of  this section including the establishment of criteria for
  determining eligibility of state employees. The  state  comptroller  may
  enter  into  agreement with other agencies to perform such duties as may
  be necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
10. The provisions of this section shall apply to state employees  who
  die  on or after April first, nineteen hundred sixty-two and before July
  first, nineteen hundred seventy-four.