Section 656. Managerial/confidential survivor's benefit

1. a. The term
  "managerial/confidential employee" as used in this section shall mean  a
  full time employee or officer in the executive branch of the state whose
  position  has  been  designated  managerial  or confidential pursuant to
  article fourteen of the  civil  service  law,  an  employee  covered  by
  section  nineteen of the correction law, an employee in the professional
  service in  the  state  university  who  is  designated,  stipulated  or
  excluded from negotiating units as managerial or confidential as defined
  pursuant  to  article  fourteen  of  the  civil service law, an employee
  covered by paragraph (a) of  subdivision  one  of  section  two  hundred
  fifteen   of   the   executive   law  or  who  has  been  excluded  from
  representation  rights  under  such  article  pursuant  to   rules   and
  regulations  of  the  public  employment  relations  board,  or who is a
  civilian state employee of the division of military and naval affairs in
  the executive department whose position is not in, or is  excluded  from
  representation  rights  in, any recognized or certified bargaining unit,
  and whose salary is paid directly by the state, judges and  justices  of
  the  unified  court  system  and  nonjudicial  employees  thereof not in
  collective negotiating units. Managerial/confidential employees  may  be
  considered  state  employees  for  the  purposes  of section six hundred
  fifty-five of this article  provided,  however,  an  employee  shall  be
  eligible  for  the  greater  of the benefits afforded by this section or
  section six hundred fifty-five of this article and  shall  in  no  event
  receive benefits pursuant to both such sections.
    b. "Full time" as used in this section shall mean employment on a work
  schedule of at least twenty hours per week and at a rate of salary of at
  least that of the hiring rate of the M/C-3 pay grade or equivalent.
    2.  A  survivor's  benefit  shall  be  payable  upon  the  death  of a
  managerial/confidential    employee    who    has    served     as     a
  managerial/confidential  employee  for  thirty or more days exclusive of
  days of leave and dies before the effective date of retirement  provided
  that such employee:
    a.  Was on the state payroll as a managerial/confidential employee for
  thirty or more days of the sixty days immediately prior to  his  or  her
  death, or
    b.  Had  at  least  one  year  of service as a managerial/confidential
  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
  managerial/confidential 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 as a managerial/confidential employee within six months prior to
  his or her death, or
    d. Had five or more years  of  service  as  a  managerial/confidential
  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  as  a
  managerial/confidential  employee  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  in  a  position
  designated as managerial or confidential pursuant to article fourteen of
  the civil service law 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 managerial/confidential
  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 or she would otherwise be  on  the
  payroll  if  the  annual salary of that 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 such payroll or was on the payroll
  in the service upon which membership is based at the time he or she  was
  ordered  to  active  duty, other than for training purposes, pursuant to
  Title 10 of the United States Code, with the armed forces of the  United
  States and died while on such active duty on or after the effective date
  of  the  chapter  of  the  laws  of  two  thousand five which added this
  paragraph.
    Provided, further, that any such member ordered to active duty,  other
  than  for  training  purposes, pursuant to Title 10 of the United States
  Code, with the armed forces of the  United  States  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  established  pursuant  to subdivision seven of section six hundred
  fifty-five of this article. 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 managerial/confidential employee
  belonged,   equals   the   annual   rate   of   compensation   of    the
  managerial/confidential  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  not  exceed  the
  lesser  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  or  if  the ordinary death benefit
  payable is reduced due to the age of a member five  times  the  ordinary
  death  benefit for which the employee is eligible or, if no such benefit
  is payable, would have been eligible had he or  she  remained  in  state
  service  for  one  year.  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.
    4. The survivor's benefit payable under this section shall be paid  to
  such  person  or  persons  as the managerial/confidential 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  managerial/confidential  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 five thousand dollars
  and shall be payable to  the  person  or  persons  first  receiving  the
  accidental death benefit.
    6.  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.
    7.  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 managerial/confidential employees. The  state
  comptroller  may  enter  into  agreements with other agencies to perform
  such duties as may be necessary to  implement  the  provisions  of  this
  section.
    8.    The    provisions    of    this    section    shall   apply   to
  managerial/confidential employees who die on  or  after  October  first,
  nineteen  hundred  eighty  and  on  or  before  June thirtieth, nineteen
  hundred eighty-one.