Whether Retirement and Social Security Law § 43 (d) and Education Law § 522 (2) bar receipt of a combined retirement allowance if service credits from one retirement system are transferred to another retirement system one year before retirement.

No. The language and legislative history of Retirement and Social Security Law § 43 (d) and Education Law § 522 (2) refer to transfers of employment within three years of employment and not transfers of service credits through the combination of two retirement systems. The statutes do not bar receipt of a combined retirement allowance.

Petitioner worked as a seasonal employee with the State Parks Office from 1958 to 1971, and as a full-time public school teacher for 31 years, some of which time overlapped with his seasonal employment with the Parks. When he petitioned to have his Parks employment service credits with the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System (NYSLERS) transferred to the State Teachers Retirement System (TRS), TRS advised Petitioner that his entire period of service in NYSLER was not available for transfer. Instead, only the time preceding his teaching position could be transferred. TRS separated the pension calculations based on the theory that transfers of credit were restricted if the request to transfer was made within three years of the date of retirement. Had the credits been added together, Petitioner would have been entitled to an additional $7,000 in annual pension benefits. The Supreme Court upheld TRS's interpretation and the Appellate Division affirmed.

The Court of Appeals modified the decision according to the rules of statutory construction, concluding that "transfer," as viewed in the entirety of Section 43 (d) of the Retirement and Social Security Law and Section 522 (2) of the Education Law, refers to a change in employment, not merely a change in service credits. The legislative history and TRS's own statements indicate that the three-year limitation also refers solely to changes in employment.

The Court of Appeals thus found that Petitioner satisfied the three-year requirement and, therefore, was entitled to combine service credits in NYSLERS with those in TRS.

The Court of Appeals, however, rejected Petitioner's claim for attorney's fees under 18 U.S.C. § 1988 because it found its Federal equal protection claim to be insubstantial.