Administrative Bulletin No. 2002-8

To:  Chief School Administrators                        Date:  September 2002
        College and University Presidents
        School Principals

The System is unfortunately encountering an increasing number of situations in which participating employers have entered into agreements with members to report money paid to the member or benefits received by the member in a particular way in an effort to inflate the member’s benefit calculations. Such agreements are void because they are against public policy. In any event, such agreements cannot bind the System. They have no effect on the employer’s duty to report and provide information to the System, as required by law, the System’s regulations and System policy.

As part of the System’s efforts to address these agreements, the Retirement Board by unanimous vote has added the following new section to the System’s Rules and Regulations:

Section 5015.3 DUTY TO REPORT Employers shall furnish such information and make such reports as the System may from time to time require in the discharge of its functions. The responsibility of the employer to make reports and provide information as required by the System is nondelegable and may not be made subject to any agreement with a member, member’s representative or third party. Any agreement by an employer with any member, member’s representative or third party to make a report or provide information to the System in a particular manner or to withhold information which is required to be reported to the System is contrary to public policy and shall be null and void and of no effect.

The System prides itself in the service it provides to members, retirees and employers. Your cooperation in providing correct information in accordance with System requirements is essential to the System’s ability to process the ever-increasing number of retirement applications on a timely basis.  

Finally, please be aware that making false statements to the System is a matter of personal risk. Section 525 of the Education Law provides in pertinent part: “Any person who shall knowingly make any false statement, or shall falsify or permit to be falsified any record or records of this retirement system in any attempt to defraud such system as a result of such act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor...” The System will not hesitate to bring instances of intentional fraud to the attention of the proper authorities.

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