§ 501 — Definitions

New York § 501

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law EDN: Education
• Title 1: General Provisions Article 1 Short Title and Definitions (§§
• Art. 11: State Teachers' Retirement System For Public School Teachers

Text

§ 501. Definitions. The following words and phrases used in this\narticle shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is\nplainly required by the context: 1. "Retirement system" shall mean the\nNew York state teachers' retirement system provided for in section five\nhundred two of this article.\n 2. "Retirement board" shall mean the retirement board provided by\nsection five hundred four of this article.\n 3. "Employer" shall mean the state of New York, the city, the village,\nschool district board or trustee, or other agency of and within the\nstate by which a teacher is paid.\n 4. "Teacher" shall mean any regular teacher, special teacher,\nincluding any school librarian or physical training teacher, principal,\nvice-principal, supervisor, supervisory principal, director,\nsuperintendent, city superintendent, assistant city superintendent,\ndistrict superintendent and other member of the teaching or professional\nstaff of any class, public school, vocational school, truant reformatory\nschool or parental school, and of any or all classes of schools within\nthe state of New York, including schools on the Indian reservation,\nconducted under the order and superintendence of and wholly or partly at\nthe expense of the New York state education department or of a duly\nelected board of education, board of school directors or board of\ntrustees of the state or of any city or school district thereof,\nprovided that no person shall be deemed a teacher within the meaning of\nthis article who is not so employed for full time outside vacation\nperiods. The word, "teacher," shall also include any person employed in\nthe state education department who at the time he entered such\nemployment, or within one year prior thereto, was a teacher within the\nforegoing definition, or who was engaged in such department in the\nperformance of duties pertaining to instructional services prior to\nSeptember first, nineteen hundred eighty-six or who provides\ninstructional services at the New York state school for the blind or the\nNew York state school for the deaf, but shall not include a person who\nis a teacher within the foregoing definition, and who elects to become a\nmember of the New York state employees' retirement system pursuant to\nparagraph five of subdivision c of section forty of the retirement and\nsocial security law upon his entry, on or after April first, nineteen\nhundred fifty, into his employment as such a teacher in a state-operated\ninstitution or community college under the jurisdiction of the board of\ntrustees of the state university, or who is a teacher within the\nforegoing definition, and who elects to become a member of the New York\ncity employees' retirement system, upon his entry, on or after April\nfirst, nineteen hundred fifty-six, into his employment as such a teacher\nin a community college operated by the city of New York, or who is a\nteacher within the foregoing definition, and who elects the optional\nretirement program established either by article eight-b or by article\nthree, part V of this chapter. In all cases of doubt, the retirement\nboard shall determine whether any person is a teacher as defined in this\narticle.\n 5. "Present teacher" shall mean any teacher who was a teacher on or\nbefore the first day of August, nineteen hundred twenty-one, whose\nmembership in the retirement system created by this article has been\ncontinuous and\n a. who became a member of the retirement system created by this act on\nor before the first day of May, nineteen hundred twenty-four, provided\nthat any such teacher becoming a member after the establishment of the\nsystem pay to the system on entrance the amount he would have\ncontributed had he become a member as of the date of establishment; or\n b. who was a member of a local district pension system on or before\nthe first day of August, nineteen hundred twenty-one, who continued\nthereafter to be a member until he, with the membership of such local\ndistrict pension system, became a member of the retirement system\ncreated by this article.\n 6. "New entrant" shall mean any teacher who is a member of the\nretirement system except a present teacher.\n 7. "Contributor" shall mean any member of the retirement system who\nhas an account in the annuity savings fund as provided by this article.\n 8. "Beneficiary" shall mean any person in receipt of a retirement\nallowance or other benefit as provided by this article.\n 9. "Regular Interest" a. For the purpose of crediting interest to\nindividual accounts in the annuity savings fund, regular interest shall\nmean interest at five per centum per annum, compounded annually.\n b. For the purpose of the actuarial valuations specified in\nsubdivision two of section five hundred seventeen of this article,\nregular interest shall mean the valuation rate of interest recommended\nby the system's actuary and approved by the retirement board from time\nto time.\n c. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the annuity\nvalues, option factors and reserves to be used to determine the amount\nof any benefit payable under the provisions of this article, except the\nbenefit payable under paragraph three of subdivision b of section five\nhundred twelve of this article, provided that the right to the initial\npayment of the benefit accrues during the period that this subdivision\nis in effect, shall be based upon an assumed interest rate of four per\ncentum per annum compounded annually. In the case of any person retiring\non or after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-six, the assumed\ninterest rate shall be such rate as recommended by the system's actuary\nand approved by the retirement board from time to time not to exceed\nseven per centum per annum compounded annually, provided, however, that\nthe authority to use a rate in excess of four per centum per annum\ncompounded annually shall only become effective if the courts have\nalready finally determined, as to all members, beneficiaries and\nretirees of the retirement system, the proper application of the\ndecision of the United States supreme court in the case of Arizona\nGoverning Committee for Tax Deferred Annuities and Deferred Compensation\nPlans v. Norris, 103 S.Ct. 3492 (1983). The exercise of this authority\nwith respect to any class of annuitants, shall be an authority which is\nvested exclusively in the retirement board and nothing herein shall be\nconstrued as requiring a retroactive application of this authority at\nthe time when such authority becomes available to the retirement board\nas set forth above.\n 10. "Accumulated contributions" shall mean the sum of all the amounts\ndeducted from the compensation of a contributor, and credited to his\nindividual account in the annuity savings fund together with regular\ninterest thereon. The interest on any contributions made after July\nfirst, nineteen hundred fifty-seven and prior to the date of receipt of\nthem by the board shall be added to the accumulated contributions of the\nmember in accordance with regulations of the retirement board.\n 11. a. "Final average salary" shall mean the average annual\ncompensation earnable as a teacher during the five years of service\nimmediately preceding his date of retirement, or it shall mean the\naverage annual compensation earnable as a teacher during any five\nconsecutive years of state service, said five years to be selected by\nthe applicant prior to date of retirement. In the case of a member with\na membership date prior to the seventeenth day of June, nineteen hundred\nseventy-one, a contribution by an employer on behalf of such member to a\ndefined contribution plan qualified under subsection a of section four\nhundred one of the Internal Revenue Code of nineteen hundred eighty-six,\nas amended and maintained by such employer may be treated as\ncompensation for the purposes of this paragraph, provided such\ncontribution would otherwise have been treated as compensation, had it\nbeen paid directly to the member at the time the contribution was made.\n b. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this article,\ncommencing July first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, "Final Average\nSalary" shall mean the average regular compensation earned as a teacher\nduring the three years of actual service immediately preceding his date\nof retirement, or any other three years of consecutive service upon\napplication of the member, exclusive of any lump sum payments for sick\nleave, annual leave or any other form of termination pay; provided,\nhowever, if the compensation earned in any twelve months exceeds that of\nthe previous twelve months by more than twenty percentum, the amount in\nexcess of twenty percentum shall be excluded in the computation of final\naverage salary. In the case of persons who last became members on or\nafter July first, nineteen hundred seventy-three, the provisions of this\nparagraph b shall apply only to those retiring from service prior to\nJuly first, nineteen hundred seventy-four.\n 12. "Annuity" shall mean the annual payments for life derived from\ncontributions made by contributor as provided in this article. All\nannuities shall be paid in equal monthly installments.\n 13. "Pension" shall mean the annual payments for life derived from\npayments made by an employer as provided in this article. All pensions\nshall be paid in equal monthly installments.\n 14. "Retirement allowance" shall mean the pension plus the annuity.\n 15. "Annuity reserve" shall mean the present value of all payments to\nbe made on account of any annuity, or benefit in lieu of any annuity,\ncomputed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by\nthe retirement board with regular interest.\n 16. "Pension reserve" shall mean the present value of all payments to\nbe made on account of any pension, or benefit in lieu of any pension,\ncomputed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by\nthe retirement board with regular interest.\n 17. "Retirement fund" shall mean the state teachers' retirement fund\nfor public school teachers of the state of New York as created by\nchapter one hundred forty of the laws of nineteen hundred ten, chapter\nfour hundred forty-nine of the laws of nineteen hundred eleven, chapter\nforty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred fourteen, chapter one hundred\nthree of the laws of nineteen hundred nineteen and chapter one hundred\nsixty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred twenty-three.\n 18. "Local district pension system" shall mean any teachers'\nretirement system or other arrangement for the payment of pensions or\nannuities to teachers exclusive of the retirement fund, created in any\ncity or school district of this state prior to the first day of August,\nnineteen hundred twenty-one.\n 19. "Service" shall mean actual teaching or supervision by the teacher\nduring regular school hours of the day, and shall mean governmental\nservice in the state of New York in another capacity where the teacher\nwas a member of the New York state employees retirement system, and\nwhere such service was credited to the teacher in the said New York\nstate employees retirement system. Leave of absence with pay granted by\nthe employer may be considered service under regulations prescribed by\nthe retirement board. In all such leaves of absence the salary actually\nreceived shall be deemed to be the earnable compensation of such teacher\nwithin the meaning of this article, provided, however, that in the case\nof a member who dies at any time during the period from July first,\nnineteen hundred sixty-four through June thirtieth nineteen hundred\nseventy-four, who is entitled to a death benefit in accordance with\nparagraph two of subdivision b of section five hundred twelve and who\nwas on a leave of absence with pay in the last twelve months of service,\nthen the compensation earnable by such member during the last twelve\nmonths of service while a member shall be the amount of salary such\nmember would have earned had such member not been on such leave of\nabsence.\n