STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8671
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 27, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WIEDER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT in relation to authorizing Thomas Collins to file a request for
change of benefit coverage with the New York state teachers' retire-
ment system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Thomas Collins,
2 who is currently a member of the New York state teachers' retirement
3 system, who retired from Pearl River School District on July 1, 2010,
4 and who since his date of retirement has been receiving the largest
5 possible retirement benefit under the maximum retirement benefit
6 election, and who, for reasons not ascribable to his own negligence,
7 even upon notice in 2010 from the retirement system of his election of
8 the maximum retirement benefit election, failed to change his retirement
9 option election prior to the expiration of the thirty days in accordance
10 with article 11 of the education law and to nominate his wife as the
11 beneficiary of the one hundred percent survivor option, shall be author-
12 ized to change said maximum retirement option to the one hundred percent
13 survivor option, if within one year of the effective date of this act,
14 he shall file a written request on a form prescribed by the New York
15 state teachers' retirement system with the head of said retirement
16 system. Such change of benefit coverage shall be deemed to become effec-
17 tive on July 1, 2010.
18 § 2. Any costs attributable to implementation of the retirement
19 election option change, authorized by section one of this act, and the
20 recovery for the overpayment received by Thomas Collins since his date
21 of retirement to change his election from the maximum benefit to the one
22 hundred percent joint and survivor option with Sandra Collins as the
23 beneficiary, shall be borne by Thomas Collins. The costs shall be calcu-
24 lated from the date of his retirement, July 1, 2010, to the date his new
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03473-02-5
A. 8671 2
1 retirement option election, filed in accordance with section one of this
2 act, is deemed effective with the System and upon receipt of his payment
3 for making said election. Any other costs attributable to the implemen-
4 tation of this act shall be borne by the employers of members of the New
5 York state teachers' retirement system.
6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow Thomas Collins, a retired member of the New York
State Teachers' Retirement System, who elected the maximum single life
benefit upon his date of retirement of July 1, 2010 to undo his option
election and change his retirement benefit to the 100% joint and survi-
vor option benefit designating his spouse Sandra Collins as beneficiary
of such optional form of benefit. The 100% joint and survivor benefit
would be effective as of his date of retirement. Mr. Collins would be
required to repay to the Retirement System the excess of the maximum
single life benefit over the 100% joint and survivor option benefit that
he has received from his date of retirement through the effective date
of the change in his benefit. Mr. Collins must file a written request
with the head of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System within
one year of the effective date of this act.
The total cost of this benefit is estimated to be $203,000, which is
equal to the increase in the present value of future benefit payments
plus the overpayments Mr. Collins has received to date. Mr. Collins
would be responsible for paying back these overpayments of approximately
$139,000. The remaining cost of $64,000 would be borne by the employers
of members of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System. Allowing
retired members to change their benefit option after retirement weakens
the pooling of longevity risk and the pricing of the options and would
potentially result in actuarial losses.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation files
as of June 30, 2024, consisting of data provided by the employers to the
Retirement System. The most recent data distributions and statistics can
be found in the System's Annual Report for fiscal year ended June 30,
2024. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements
and can also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuarial assump-
tions and methods will be provided in the System's Actuarial Valuation
Report as of June 30, 2024.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2025-21 dated May 19, 2025
prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System and is intended for use only during the 2025 Legisla-
tive Session. I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary for the New York
State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy
of Actuaries and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
