N.Y. Retire. & Soc. Sec. Law § 374-a

§ 374-a. Applications and elections; issues due to death.\nNotwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, in\nthe event a member dies prior to receipt by the comptroller or the\nretirement system of his or her application for service retirement,\ndisability retirement or a retirement option election form and such\napplication or form was mailed to the comptroller or retirement system\nby United States postal service first class mail prior to date of death,\nthe application or form shall be deemed filed on the date of mailing,\nbased upon the legible postmark on the envelope. The comptroller shall\nhave the sole authority to determine whether a postmark is legible for\nthe purpose of this section. Provided, however, no such retirement\napplication or option election form shall be deemed filed with the\nretirement system on the date of mailing unless actually received by the\nretirement system as a result of such mailing.\n