During the Covid-19 Pandemic, NYSCOPBA is remaining proactive and thinking of various situations that may affect its members and families.
In the event a member becomes sick and may be permanently incapacitated from performing the full duties of his/her position, it is critical that you (or the member if able to) immediately reach out to his or her Regional Vice President/Business Agent and/or NYSCOPBA’s Retirement Specialist, Bill Naylor at 518-427-1551 ext. 257. In certain situations, it may be in the member’s best interest to file for a Disability Retirement and submit an Option Selection Form. If the member gets better, the member can always withdraw the Disability Retirement Application and Option Selection. The reason it is important that the member reach out to us, is that every situation should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
Another recommended proactive step we encourage is that all members execute a Power of Attorney. In the event a member needs to file for a retirement benefit and file an Option Selection, the Power of Attorney gives the designated agent the authority to file the necessary paperwork. This is critical because the paperwork must be filed and submitted with the New York State Retirement System prior to an individual’s death. There are two types of Powers of Attorney, one is generally created by an individual’s attorney as part of their estate planning (which needs to include a Gift Rider provision) and the second is a Power of Attorney that has been created by the New York State Retirement System and utilized for retirement situations.
Enclosed for your information and for circulation to your members is the Retirement System’s Power of Attorney. We strongly recommend that every member has an executed Power of Attorney in the event the member becomes sick and is unable to file the necessary documents.
Based on the current pandemic, we recommend that if a member gets sick, the member or his family contact us so that we may provide help to the member as well as his or her family.
Stay safe.