§ 370 — Superannuation retirement

§ 370. Superannuation retirement. a. Any member may retire if such\nmember shall have attained at least the minimum retirement age while in\nservice as a member, or while in federal service, or in the service of\nthe United Nations or other international organizations of which the\nUnited States is a member, as a member continued pursuant to paragraph\none of subdivision f of section three hundred forty of this article or\nwhile entitled to make application for a vested retirement allowance\npursuant to section three hundred seventy-six of this title. Any such\nmember desiring to retire shall execute and file with the comptroller an\napplication for retirement, which shall specify the effective date of\nsuch member's retirement, which shall be not less than fifteen nor more\nthan ninety days subsequent to such date of filing. An application for\nservice retirement, filed hereunder in accordance with the provisions of\nsubdivision c of section sixty-two or subdivision f of section\nsixty-three of this chapter, shall be processed in the regular manner,\nprovided that if the application filed simultaneously therewith under\neither of such subdivisions is granted, then and in that event the\nretirement allowance granted in accordance with the provisions of this\nsection shall be appropriately adjusted. Notwithstanding any other\nprovision of law, for any member who is eligible to retire, who has died\nwhile in active service, and who has filed an application for service\nretirement less than ninety days prior to death, the member's designated\noption election beneficiary or beneficiaries, if an option election has\nbeen filed prior to death, or the beneficiary or beneficiaries\ndesignated for the death benefit, if no option election was filed prior\nto death, shall have the option to choose the benefit provided by\nservice retirement rather than the death benefit, provided, however that\nif the designated beneficiary elects the service retirement benefit such\nperson shall be required to choose an option as provided by law. If the\nmember's beneficiary or beneficiaries elect the service retirement\nbenefit, the member shall be deemed to have retired on the day before\nthe member's date of death. If there are multiple option beneficiaries\nand such beneficiaries cannot agree on the choice between the death\nbenefit or the service retirement under an agreed upon option, the\nservice retirement benefit shall be payable under the option election\nform filed by the member prior to such member's death. If there are\nmultiple death beneficiaries and such beneficiaries cannot agree on the\nchoice between the death benefit or the service retirement under an\nagreed upon option, the death benefit shall be payable.\n b. Any member who attains age seventy shall be retired on the first\nday of the calendar month next succeeding such event. Such retirement\nshall be on the basis of "Option One-half", unless the member files an\neffective election pursuant to section three hundred ninety of this\narticle to retire on a different basis. If he shall have filed such an\nelection, his retirement allowance shall be computed in accordance with\nthe basis so selected by him. The provisions of this subdivision with\nrespect to mandatory retirement shall be inapplicable to a member of\nthis system who is an employee of the port of New York authority who was\na member of the state employees' retirement system prior to April first,\nnineteen hundred sixty-seven.\n c. Notwithstanding the provision of subdivision b of this section, the\nstate civil service commission may approve the continuance in service of\nmembers who have attained age seventy. Such approvals shall be for\nperiods not to exceed two years each. No such approval shall be given\nunless:\n 1. The head of the department in which the member is employed shall\nfile a written statement with the comptroller approving such\ncontinuance, and\n 2. The medical board shall certify that such member is physically fit\nto perform the duties of his position, and\n 3. The state civil service commission shall find that:\n (a) Such member is less than seventy-eight years of age, and\n (b) His continuance in service would be advantageous because of his\nexpert knowledge and special qualifications.\nThe service of any such member may, however, be terminated at any time\nby the head of the department in which he is employed, upon sixty days\nwritten notice of such member.\n