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THE CHIEF-LEADER welcomes letters from its readers for publication. Transit Benefit Maneuvering To the Editor: A recent reinterpretation by the New York City Employees Retirement System of the Ordinary Death Benefit (ODB), as provided by Section 606 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), has raised a few eyebrows. Granted that Section 606 (b) is ambiguous, a question needs to be asked: why now the reinterpretation? A little background first. Most Tier 4 members of NYCERS have an ODB of one times the 12 months' earnings preceding death after one year of service, two times earnings after two years of service and a maximum of three times the 12 months' earnings after three years of service. These benefits are in addition to the return of the member contributions. Additionally, keep in mind that all these members are also eligible for a "Post-Retirement Death Benefit" which is a percentage of the ODB that was in effect the day before retirement. Section 606 (b) refers to certain members who after 90 days of service are covered by the maximum ODB of three times the 12 months' earnings. The kicker though, is that because of this maximum benefit after only 90 days of service, these certain members are not eligible for the Post-Retirement Death Benefit. Who are the "90-day members"? Now here's the ambiguity. Section 606 (b) says in part: "a member who is a policeman, fireman, correction officer or sanitation man and is in a plan that permits immediate retirement upon completion of a specified period of service without regard to age or who is subject to the provisions of section six hundred four of this article, shall upon completion of 90 days of service be covered for financial protection ... such death benefit shall be equal to three times the member's salary ..." The question is, where do Tier 4 Transit Operating members fit in? Since the enactment of the law, Transit Operating members were considered "90-day members." Section 606(b) is defective because all members subject to Article 15 of the RSSL are subject to Section 604 which spells out the different service retirement benefits. Now, when NYCERS is confronted with a law that is vague or unclear, it can interpret the law (with or without Corporation Counsel's opinion, depending on who is the Executive Director of NYCERS at the time) to benefit the majority of the members affected. NYCERS's original interpretation was based on a similar Tier 2 ODB provision specifically referring to Transit Operating members. Since the Tier 4 Section 606 (b) is defective, in my opinion NYCERS made the correct interpretation originally of including Transit Operating members in the "90-day members" group of policemen, firemen, correction officers, etc. To now reinterpret Section 606 (b) to exclude Transit Operators as being considered "90-day members" and now therefore eligible for a "Post-Retirement Death Benefit," NYCERS is taking a very dangerous step. NYCERS can be perceived as pandering to the political aspirations of one of its trustees, namely, Roger Toussaint, who is up for re-election as president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 this coming June. Even though most transit workers have more than three years of service and would be eligible for the maximum ODB of three times salary, and the Post-Retirement Death Benefit would be a welcome additional benefit, the removal from the "90-day member" group is stating that transit operating jobs are not as dangerous as those in the other uniformed services. I've heard that NYCERS and the union have agreed to support legislation that would correct the defect in Section 606 (b). If this were to happen, it would make it almost impossible for transit operating workers to get parity with the uniformed services. Transit workers are not now considered "uniformed services," which they should be. Mr. Toussaint can now say that he got his members a "Post-Retirement Benefit." What can NYCERS say? NORMAN ROSENFELD, Retired Deputy Director, NYCERS |
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