Under this section, members who were previously eligible to transfer between public retirement systems of the State, and who did not elect to transfer while both memberships were active, may be eligible to apply for this transfer. Section 801 of the Retirement and Social Security Law also permits retroactive transfer, in certain cases, by members who commenced employment which made them eligible to join a second public retirement system before their membership in the first retirement system terminated. For the purposes of section 801, public retirement system means the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System, the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System and the New York State Teachers' Retirement System. If New York City enacts legislation adopting the provisions contained in article 18, the term public retirement system shall also apply to the public retirement systems of New York City.

To transfer a previous membership under section 801 of the Retirement and Social Security Law, a member must file a written transfer request on a form provided by his or her current retirement system with such retirement system. Forms may be filed on or after October 24, 1993 and may not be filed any later than October 23, 1994. Application forms are available from the retirement system or from employers.

In completing the written request, a member must provide a description of the previous membership and should include:

A retroactive transfer to the New York State and Local Retirement Systems may result in a tier change, since a member's date of membership in the first retirement system is also “transferred.” Tier status will be based on the date of membership in the system from which membership is transferred.

Payment of additional member contributions required in connection with a transfer under section 801 of the Retirement and Social Security Law must be made in a lump sum within one year after the member is notified by his or her current retirement system as to the amount of member contributions required for such transfer.

Upon review of the application and the pertinent facts, the retirement system shall issue a determination either approving or disapproving an application for transfer under section 801 of the Retirement and Social Security Law. An applicant shall be entitled to request an administrative hearing pursuant to section 74 or section 374 of the Retirement and Social Security Law, as appropriate, in the event of an adverse determination.