IN THE MATTER OF VINCENT J. GUIDO, JR., APPELLANT, v. NEW YORK STATE
  TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ET AL., RESPONDENTS.

    94 N.Y.2d 64 (1999).
    October 21, 1999

   3 No. 155

   (99 NY Int. 0141)
   Decided October 21, 1999
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   This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
   in the New York Reports.
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   Richard Hamburger, for appellant.
   Francis V. Dow, for respondents.

   CIPARICK, J.:

   The dispute in this case arises out of an attempt by petitioner, one
   year before his retirement, to combine prior service in the New York
   State and Local Employees" Retirement System ("NYSLERS") with 31 years
   of current service in the State Teachers" Retirement System ("TRS"),
   and thus receive greaterpension benefits for the combined period.
   Relying on Retirement and Social Security Law § 43(d) and Education
   Law § 522(2), TRS determined that petitioner could not combine the
   time of service in each system in the calculation of his retirement
   allowance because he sought to do so within three years of his
   retirement date. Since petitioner did not transfer employment within
   three years of retiring, we conclude that these statutes do not bar
   petitioner's receipt of a combined retirement allowance.

   From 1958 to 1971, petitioner was seasonally employed primarily as a
   lifeguard by the Long Island State Region of the New York State Office
   of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. For the 31 years
   leading up to January 1994, petitioner also served as a full-time
   public school teacher. In 1994, petitioner applied to NYSLERS to have
   the time accrued from the State parks employment transferred to TRS.
   NYSLERS informed petitioner that he was a member of NYSLERS as of June
   1958, but because his State parks service overlapped with his service
   as a teacher, his entire period of service in NYSLERS was not
   available for transfer. Rather, only five years and seven months of
   service credit -- corresponding to time that preceded his teaching
   position -- could be transferred.