§ 40 — Membership of retirement system

New York § 40

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law RSS: Retirement & Social Security
• Title 5: Right to Membership, Service Credit and Transfers Between Retirement Systems
• Art. 2: New York State Employees' Retirement System

Text

§ 40. Membership of retirement system. a. Each person who becomes a\nmember of the retirement system shall file a duly executed application\nwith the comptroller. Such application shall contain:\n 1. A detailed statement of all such person's service, and\n 2. A statement that he consents and agrees to membership and to the\ncontributions prescribed by this article.\n b. Membership in the retirement system shall be mandatory for the\nfollowing:\n 1. All persons who enter or re-enter the service of the state or of a\nparticipating employer on and after July first, nineteen hundred\nforty-eight, except those:\n (a) In the exempt class of the classified service.\n (b) In the labor class.\n (c) Who are laborers and who are not covered by article nine of the\nmilitary law.\n (d) In the unclassified service.\n (e) Who are teachers or instructors and who are eligible to membership\nin another retirement system.\n (f) Sixty years of age and over, whose positions in the exempt class,\nlabor class or unclassified service have by reason of a reclassification\nof positions on or after December fifteenth, nineteen hundred\nforty-eight, been placed in the competitive or non-competitive class of\nthe classified service.\n (g) Whose positions are excluded from eligibility for membership in\nthe retirement system and are covered only by old-age and survivors\ninsurance.\n (h) Whose positions pay compensation at a rate of less than fifteen\nhundred dollars a year.\n (i) Otherwise specifically provided for by law.\nPersons employed in state or local institutions reporting to or subject\nto the supervision of the state departments of correction, education,\nsocial welfare, health or mental hygiene need not become members until\nthe completion of six months of service.\n 2. (a) Those persons who enter or re-enter service in the state\ncolleges of agriculture, home economics, veterinary medicine, or\nindustrial and labor relations, the state agricultural experiment\nstation at Geneva, or any other institution or agency under the\nmanagement and control of Cornell university as representative of the\nstate university trustees, or who enter or re-enter service in the state\ncollege of ceramics under the management and control of Alfred\nuniversity as the representative of the state university trustees, and\nwho do not elect the optional retirement program established by article\neight-B of the education law, except employees who hold federal\ncooperative appointments with the United States department of\nagriculture as designated by the director of the New York state\ncooperative extension service and who are eligible for participation in\nthe federal retirement system as provided in subparagraph (b) below.\nEach such member shall be covered by the provisions of this article to\nthe full amount of the salary paid to him from direct or indirect\nfederal or state taxes. Any person who is in such service when this\nparagraph takes effect and who has not made contribution to the annuity\nsavings fund of the New York state employees' retirement system may on\nor before July first, nineteen hundred fifty-seven become a member of\nthe New York state employees' retirement system and receive credit for\nallowable service rendered prior to January first, nineteen hundred\ntwenty-one, by filing with the comptroller a statement duly executed and\nacknowledged, consenting and agreeing to membership and to the\ndeductions for annuity purposes prescribed in this article, provided he\nor she shall pay to the proper fund in installments as he or she shall\nelect, except that such payments shall be made within a period no\ngreater than the number of months of his or her service elapsed between\nJanuary first, nineteen hundred twenty-one and his or her date of\nmembership, an amount equal to the amount that would have been in the\nfund had he or she been a member during such elapsed service. Such\npersons shall receive member service credit for the time for which such\npayments are made.\n (b) (1) Any employee of a county extension service association and any\nemployee of Cornell university appointed for the first time on or after\nAugust first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven who holds a federal\ncooperative appointment with the United States department of agriculture\nas designated by the director of the New York state cooperative\nextension service and who is eligible for participation in the federal\nretirement system shall be excluded from membership in the state\nemployees' retirement system;\n (2) any person who on or before July thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nseventy-seven holds a state cooperative appointment as designated by the\ndirector of the New York state cooperative extension service, may elect\nto receive federal cooperative appointment in the manner provided for by\nthe relevant federal laws, rules and regulations and to participate in\nthe federal retirement system and discontinue participation in the state\nretirement system by filing a written notice of termination, on or\nbefore December thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight with the\ncomptroller. Any employee who is a member of the New York state\nemployees' retirement system at the time he or she elects coverage in\nthe federal retirement program shall be deemed to be a person who\ndiscontinues service on the effective date of such election, for the\npurpose of determining his or her eligibility for rights and benefits in\nsuch state system; provided however, that if he or she does not withdraw\naccumulated contributions, (i) continued service with the county\nextension service association or Cornell university while under the\nfederal retirement program shall be deemed to be member service in the\nstate employees' retirement system for the purpose of determining\neligibility for any vested retirement allowance, retirement allowance or\nordinary death benefit under such system dependent upon a specified\nperiod of total service or upon attainment of a specified age while in\nservice or upon death while in service; and (ii) the amount of any such\nbenefit to which the person or his or her estate or person designated by\nhim or her may become entitled under either such system shall be\ncomputed only on the basis of service otherwise creditable to him or her\ntherein and his or her compensation during such service. Electing\nemployees and their beneficiaries shall not be entitled to any right or\nbenefit under the New York state employees' retirement system other than\na vested retirement allowance, retirement allowance or ordinary death\nbenefit to the extent provided for in this chapter.\n 3. Every police officer and firefighter, appointed to and employed by\na city, county, town, village or police or fire district, in a position\nin the classified civil service, other than in a position in the exempt\nclass, and who is not eligible to become a member of a local pension\nsystem. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, so far as\nsuch police officers and firefighters are concerned, their employers\nshall be treated in all respects as if they were participating\nemployers. Such employers shall pay into the pension accumulation fund\nthe amount required to pay the accrued liability on account of such\npolice officers and firefighters, as computed by the actuary. Such\npayment shall be made in such installments as the comptroller shall\nrequire.\n c. The following may become members of the retirement system:\n 1. An officer or employee who is in the service of a participating\nemployer on the date it becomes a participating employer, unless his\noffice or position has been excluded from eligibility for membership in\nthe retirement system pursuant to sections thirty or thirty-one of this\narticle.\n 2. An officer or employee in the service of the state or of a\nparticipating employer who would be excluded from membership by the\nprovisions of subdivision e of this section except for the fact that he,\nnevertheless, may become a member pursuant to a specific provision of\nlaw.\n 3. Any other person in the service of the state or a participating\nemployer, except as provided in subdivision b or subdivision e of this\nsection.\n 4. Officers or employees of the federal government who have at least\nfive years of member service credit at the time they become federal\nofficers or employees may continue as contributing members.\n The provisions of this paragraph four as hereby amended shall not\naffect the membership of officers or employees of the federal government\nheretofore commenced or continued hereunder, provided, however, that all\nmemberships hereunder shall be conditioned upon the receipt by the\nretirement system of the payments required by section forty-two of this\narticle.\n 5. A person who:\n (a) Is a teacher within the meaning of subdivision four of section\nfive hundred one of the education law,\n (b) Is not a member of the New York state teachers' retirement system\nand has not elected the optional retirement program established either\nby article eight-b or by article three, part V of the education law,\n (c) On or after April first, nineteen hundred fifty, enters upon his\nemployment as such a teacher in a state-operated institution or\ncommunity college under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees of the\nstate university, and\n (d) Elects to become a member of this retirement system upon his entry\ninto such employment and at no other time.\n 6. An officer or employee who is in the service of an institution for\nthe instruction of the deaf, mute or the blind, which receives state\npupils whose instruction and support are paid for by the state or a\nparticipating employer.\n 7. All war veterans in state service on March twenty-first, nineteen\nhundred thirty, entitled to benefit under the provisions of former\nsection twenty-one-a of the civil service law or former subdivision\neight of section three of the public buildings law or section two\nhundred fourteen or two hundred fifteen of the military law shall have\nthe right to elect to become members of the New York state employees'\nretirement system, and to be covered by all the provisions of law\nrelative thereto. Upon exercising such right, such war veteran shall be\ndeemed to have waived his rights to any benefits under such sections.\n 8. Any person who is regularly employed under the control of the\ndivision of military and naval affairs whose duties in such employment\nrequire substantially all normal working hours and whose regular\ncompensation is paid by the United States from funds allocated to the\nNew York army national guard, or the New York air national guard. For\npurposes of eligibility for membership in the retirement system, such\nemployees shall be deemed to be employees of the state. The provisions\nof this paragraph eight shall be effective only if and during the time\nthat the United States shall undertake to and does provide the\nemployers' contributions which the state is required to pay to the\nretirement system on account of the memberships of such employees.\n 9. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of subdivision e of this\nsection, or of this chapter or of any other law, an officer or employee\nin the service of the state or of a participating employer who, at the\ntime of entering such service, was or is entitled to benefits by any\nother pension or retirement system maintained by the state or a\npolitical subdivision thereof, provided such benefits, exclusive of any\nannuity based solely on his own contributions and interest thereon, are\nsuspended during his active membership in the retirement system. He\nshall contribute to the retirement system as a new member.\n d. A member, discontinued from the government service because the\noffice in which he was employed was transferred to:\n 1. The federal government, or\n 2. Any public authority or public corporation organized pursuant to\nthe laws of this state and which is not a participating employer,\nmay file a written election with the comptroller stating that he elects\nto continue as a member. Such election shall be subject to the approval\nof the comptroller and such continuance shall be conditioned upon the\nreceipt by the retirement system of the payments required by section\nforty-two of this article.\n e. Any person who is or may be entitled to benefits by any other law\nproviding for pensions and annuities for civil service employees, wholly\nor partly at the expense of the state or of a political subdivision\nthereof, shall not be a member. This provision, however, shall not:\n 1. Affect the membership of any person who legally is a member of the\nretirement system on July first, nineteen hundred forty-eight.\n 2. Exclude from membership any person who is or may become a member\npursuant to paragraph two of subdivision c of this section.\n 3. Exclude from membership any person paid a salary from two or more\nsources, each of which entitles him to membership in a retirement\nsystem.\n 4. Exclude from membership any person holding office pursuant to\nappointment by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the\nsenate, who at the time of such appointment would otherwise be entitled\nto a retirement allowance wholly or partly at the expense of the state\nor of a political subdivision thereof.\n 5. Exclude from membership any person who is or may become eligible\nfor old-age and survivors insurance benefits pursuant to the provisions\nof this article except where his position was or is excluded from\neligibility for membership in this retirement system in order to extend\nold-age and survivors insurance coverage to it and such eligibility\nshall not have been restored.\n f. Termination of membership. Membership in the retirement system\nshall cease upon the occurrence of any one of the following conditions:\n 1. When seven years have elapsed since a member has performed\ngovernment service provided, however, that no part of such seven year\nperiod shall run during such time as a member, with at least five years\nof member service credit, shall serve as an officer or employee of the\nfederal government or the United Nations or other international\norganizations of which the United States of America is a member.\n 2. When a member shall die.\n 3. When a member shall retire.\n 4. When a member shall have withdrawn all or part of his accumulated\ncontributions. Acceptance by a member of a refund of excess\ncontributions pursuant to subdivision g of section twenty-one,\nsubdivision c of section seventy-two, subdivision c or d of section\nseventy-one, subdivision c or d of section seventy-one-a or subdivision\nc of section eighty-four, subdivision i of section eighty-five or\nsubdivision h of section eighty-six of this article or borrowing from\nhis fund in the retirement system pursuant to section fifty of this\narticle shall not terminate his membership. Acceptance of such a refund\nof excess contributions by a member entitled to a vested retirement\nallowance pursuant to section seventy-six of this chapter shall not\nterminate his right to such vested retirement allowance nor shall\nacceptance by him of a refund of the amount of his contributions and\nregular interest thereon which is in excess of the amount of the\naccumulated contributions which he would then have to his credit had he\nbeen contributing on the basis of his rate of normal contribution\nterminate his right to such vested retirement allowance.\n 5. When a member who has not attained eligibility for a retirement\nallowance or a vested retirement allowance has discontinued service with\nthe state or a participating employer for a period of at least thirty\nconsecutive days and has requested termination of membership on a form\nprepared by the comptroller for such purpose by filing such form with\nthe comptroller. If such person subsequently rejoins the retirement\nsystem within five years from the date he discontinued service with the\nstate or a participating employer, such person shall be entitled to\nevery retirement right, benefit and privilege which would have been\navailable to him had he reentered employment on the date of such\ndiscontinuance from service.\n g. As to any class of persons whose compensation is only partly paid\nby the state or a participating employer or who are serving on a\ntemporary or other than per annum basis, the comptroller, in his\ndiscretion, may:\n 1. Deny the right to become members, or\n 2. Make optional the individual entrance of those whose membership\notherwise would be mandatory.\n