Authorizes Marie Glarakis, a former Suffolk county police officer who is receiving a performance of duty disability retirement, to change the designated beneficiary of her retirement benefits and her retirement option to single life allowance (Option 0).
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7671A
SPONSOR: O'Pharrow TITLE OF BILL:
An act authorizing Marie Glarakis to change the designated beneficiary
of her retirement benefits
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow Ms. Glarakis a pension correction to change her beneficiary
and option for retirement.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Allow Ms. Glarakis to change her pension beneficiary to non-
designated and to change her pension option from both to single- life-
zero.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
Marie worked for Suffolk County Police from 2001 to 2011. From 2006-2017
Marie was in a long-term relationship with her current pension benefici-
ary Jamie Scandarito. In 2009, Marie was diagnosed with cancer and made
Jamie her pension beneficiary. Marie received a performance of duty
pension in 2011. Marie's cancer is currently in remission, and she no
longer has any contact with Jamie.This legislation would allow Marie to
change her pension option from joint allowance to single life allowance,
where no beneficiary is selected, and pension benefit ceases upon the
death of the member.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024 S.6575A/A.6703A;2021-2022 S.6432/A.6703; 2019-20 S.8658/A.10815.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
See fiscal note in bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7671--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 4, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'PHARROW -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on
Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT authorizing Marie Glarakis to change the designated beneficiary
of her retirement benefits
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 to the contrary,
2 Marie Glarakis, who is receiving a performance of duty disability
3 retirement from the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement
4 System and who retired from the Suffolk county police department on
5 December 27, 2010, and who had previously named James Scandariato as her
6 designated pension beneficiary, shall be permitted to change her benefi-
7 ciary and her retirement option from "Joint allowance" to "Single life
8 allowance" (Option 0) wherein no beneficiary is selected and the pension
9 benefit ceases upon the death of the member, if on or before six months
10 after the effective date of this act, Marie Glarakis shall submit a
11 request therefor to the state comptroller. Such benefit shall be recal-
12 culated and her new benefit amount shall be paid as of the effective
13 date of this act.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would authorize Marie Glarakis to change their retirement
option election from a pop-up joint allowance full to a single life
allowance. The single life allowance benefit would be paid prospectively
only.
There will be an immediate past service cost of $47,900 shared by all
participating employers in NYSLPFRS and spread over future billing
cycles.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09315-04-6
A. 7671--A 2
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated February 6, 2026, and intended for use only
during the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-102. As
Chief Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System
(NYSLRS), I, Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis
complies with applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the
Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries
Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actu-
aries, of which I am a member. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not
believe it impairs my objectivity.
