§ 610 — Options

§ 610. Options. a. Until the effective date of retirement a member may\nelect to receive the actuarial equivalent of the retirement allowance at\nthe time of retirement, in the form of a smaller retirement allowance\npayable to such member for life and one of the following optional\nsettlements;\n Option one. Upon the member's death, a retirement allowance in an\namount equal to that paid to the member shall be paid for life to such\nperson as he shall nominate by written designation duly acknowledged and\nfiled with the retirement system at the time of retirement.\n Option two. Upon the member's death, a retirement allowance of\nseventy-five percent or less (measured in increments of twenty-five\npercent) of the amount paid to such member shall be paid for life to\nsuch person as he shall nominate by written designation duly\nacknowledged and filed with the retirement system at the time of\nretirement.\n Option three. A five-year certain option under which payment is made\nto the member for life but is guaranteed for a minimum of five years\nfollowing retirement. Such payments shall continue to a person as he\nshall nominate by written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with\nthe retirement system, for the unexpired balance of the five-year\nguaranteed period. If said beneficiary should predecease him, the\ncommuted value of any installments due during the unexpired balance of\nthe five-year guaranteed period shall be paid in a single sum to a duly\ndesignated contingent beneficiary or if none exists to the legal\nrepresentative of the member. Should a beneficiary who has commenced\nreceipt of the payments die before the said guaranteed minimum period,\nthe commuted value of any installments due during the unexpired balance\nof the five-year guaranteed period shall be paid in a single sum to a\nduly designated contingent beneficiary or if none exists, to the legal\nrepresentative of said deceased primary beneficiary.\n Option four. A ten-year certain option under which payment is made to\nthe member for life but is guaranteed for a minimum of ten years\nfollowing retirement. Such payments shall continue to a person as he\nshall nominate by written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with\nthe retirement system, for the unexpired balance of the ten-year\nguaranteed period. If said beneficiary should predecease him, the\ncommuted value of any installments due during the unexpired balance of\nthe ten-year guaranteed period shall be paid in a single sum to a duly\ndesignated contingent beneficiary or if none exists to the legal\nrepresentative of the member. Should a beneficiary who has commenced\nreceipt of the payments die before the said guaranteed minimum period,\nthe commuted value of any installments due during the unexpired balance\nof the ten-year guaranteed period shall be paid in a single sum to a\nduly designated contingent beneficiary or if none exists to the legal\nrepresentative of said deceased primary beneficiary.\n Option five. Upon the member's death, a retirement allowance in an\namount equal to fifty percent or one hundred percent of that paid to the\nmember shall be paid for life to such person as he shall nominate by\nwritten designation duly acknowledged and filed with the retirement\nsystem at the time of retirement. Upon the death, prior to the death of\nthe member, of said person so nominated, the member shall begin\nreceiving, in lieu of the allowance then payable, an allowance equal in\namount to that which would have been payable if no optional modification\nof the retirement allowance were in effect.\n a-1. A member of the New York state teachers' retirement system or the\nNew York state and local employees' retirement system who retires\npursuant to the provisions of this article, may elect, in lieu of the\noptions set forth in subdivision a of this section, the following\noptional settlement:\n Alternative Option. The actuarial equivalent of the member's\nretirement allowance at the time of retirement, in the form of a smaller\nretirement allowance payable to such member for life and some other\nbenefit or benefits paid either to the member or to such person or\npersons as he shall nominate, provided such other benefit or benefits,\ntogether with such smaller allowance, shall be certified by the actuary\nof the appropriate retirement system to be of equivalent actuarial value\nto his retirement allowance and shall be approved by the head of such\nretirement system and provided further that nothing herein shall require\nsuch retirement system to pay a benefit in violation of paragraph nine\nof subsection a of section four hundred one of the Internal Revenue Code\nof 1986, as amended, 26 U.S.C. §401(a)(9).\n b. No option hereunder shall be permitted whereby the member would\nreceive less than fifty percent of the actuarial equivalent of the\nretirement allowance without optional modification during such member's\nlife expectancy. Provided, however, the preceding sentence shall not\napply if the surviving beneficiary is the member's spouse.\n c. The mortality and interest rates used in determining options under\nthis article shall be those in effect for the public retirement system\non the date of retirement.\n d. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, with respect\nto the New York state employees' retirement system:\n 1. The comptroller, for reasonable cause, shall have power to extend\nthe time for the election of an option, for a period or periods which\nshall expire not later than sixty days immediately after the effective\ndate of a member's retirement; and\n 2. If the member is incompetent, his spouse or the committee of his\nproperty, or if he is a conservatee, his spouse or the conservator of\nhis property, may elect on the member's behalf a retirement option as\nprovided for in subdivision a of this section.\n e. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a member of\nthe New York state teachers' retirement system at the time of retirement\nmay elect an option until the first payment on account of any benefit\nbecomes normally due.\n * f. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, an option\nselection previously filed by a member or retired member subject to the\nprovisions of this section may be changed no later than thirty days\nfollowing the date of payability of his or her retirement allowance. A\nretired member who has been retired for disability may change an option\nselection previously filed no later than (1) thirty days following the\ndate on which such member's application for disability retirement was\napproved by the retirement board or (2) thirty days following the date\non which such retiree was retired for disability, whichever is later.\n * NB There are 2 sb f's\n * f. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, an option\nselection previously filed by a member or retired member of the New York\ncity teachers' retirement system or the New York city board of education\nretirement system subject to the provisions of this section may be\nchanged no later than thirty days following the date of payability of\nhis or her retirement allowance. A retired member who has been retired\nfor disability may change an option selection previously filed no later\nthan (1) thirty days following the date on which such member's\napplication for disability retirement was approved by the retirement\nboard or (2) thirty days following the date on which such retiree was\nretired for disability, whichever date is later.\n * NB There are 2 sb f's\n