N.Y. RSS Law § 508-A

§ 508-a. Death benefit for vested members who die prior to retirement.\na. A death benefit plus the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay, if any,\nshall be payable upon the death of a member of a retirement system who:\n 1. Died before the effective date of retirement while a member of such\nretirement system;\n 2. Had at least ten years of credited service at the time of death;\nand\n 3. Died at a time and in a manner which did not result in the\neligibility of the member's estate or any beneficiary to receive any\ndeath benefits from such retirement system on account of such death.\n b. Benefits provided under this section shall be payable to the\nmember's estate or the beneficiary or beneficiaries nominated by the\nmember on a designation of beneficiary form filed with the\nadministrative head of such retirement system.\n c. The amount of the benefit payable pursuant to this section shall be\nequal to one-half of the amount of the ordinary death benefit which\nwould have been payable had the member's death occurred on the last day\nof service upon which membership was based.\n