§ 551 — Optional retirement of certain members

§ 551. Optional retirement of certain members. a. Any member may elect\nto contribute to the retirement system on the basis of retirement upon\nhis or her completion of twenty-five years of total creditable service\non an allowance of one-fiftieth of his or her final average salary for\neach year of total service as a member but not exceeding in the\naggregate one-half of his or her final average salary. Any member of the\nretirement system may elect to become a member pursuant to the\nprovisions of this section within one year after he or she becomes a\nmember, if his or her employer has elected to make the benefits provided\nherein available to members, or within one year after his or her\nemployer elects to make the benefits provided herein available to its\nmembers.\n b. Elections made pursuant to this section shall be in writing and\nshall be duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller. Any member\nwho files such an election pursuant to this section may withdraw it\nafter it has been filed for at least one year. Such withdrawal shall be\nby written notice duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller.\n c. The member's employer by appropriate action shall, in its initial\naction under this section, elect to assume all of the additional cost on\naccount of service as a member rendered prior to the effective date of\nsuch election and in any subsequent action, shall elect to assume all of\nthe additional cost on account of service as a member of any such other\nprior department or force rendered prior to the effective date of such\nsubsequent election. The employer shall pay the additional cost so\nassumed by any such election by means of annual contributions which\nshall be determined by the actuary of the retirement system and paid by\nthe employer in the same manner as the contributions required under this\nchapter.\n d. For actuarial purposes relative to rates or amounts of\ncontributions to the funds of the retirement system, service of a member\nmaking an election pursuant to this section shall, as to his or her\nservice and status subsequent thereto, be deemed continuous and\nconstant. If the continuity of such service be interrupted or such\nstatus be changed, however, appropriate changes as may be necessary for\nactuarial purposes shall be made in such rates and amounts.\n e. In the event a member shall continue in service after twenty-five\nyears of total creditable service, there shall be added to his or her\npension upon retirement a sum equal to one-sixtieth of his or her final\naverage salary for each completed additional year of service after\ntwenty-five years; provided, however, that upon completion of\ntwenty-five years of total creditable service, a participating employer\nmay elect to provide any service credit earned with a public employer\nprior to services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff\ntowards the one-sixtieth allowance and provided, further that the total\nallowance payable pursuant to this section shall not exceed\nthree-quarters of such member's final average salary.\n f. The increased pension provided for in subdivision e hereof shall be\nconditioned upon the participating employer electing to provide this\nadded benefit and assuming the additional cost thereof on account of all\nof the members. Such increased pensions to the members shall be paid\nfrom additional contributions made by the appropriate participating\nemployer on account of such members. The actuary of the retirement\nsystem shall compute the additional contributions for each employer who\nelects to provide the special benefits so provided. Such additional\ncontributions shall be computed on the basis of contributions during the\nprospective service of such members which will cover the liability of\nthe retirement system for such extra pensions. Upon approval of the\ncomptroller, such additional contributions shall be certified by him to\nthe chief fiscal officer of the participating employer. The amount\nthereof shall be included in the annual appropriation of the\nparticipating employer for members. Such amount shall be paid on the\nwarrant of the chief fiscal officer of the participating employer to the\npension accumulation fund of the retirement system.\n g. Any member may, within one year after he or she becomes a member or\nwithin one year after his or her employer assumes the additional cost\ntherefor, whichever shall last occur, elect to receive the additional\nbenefits provided for by subdivision e hereof. Any member who elects to\nreceive such benefits shall be separated from service on the first day\nof the calendar month next succeeding his or her attainment of age\nsixty-two and the completion of twenty-five years of service, provided,\nhowever, that in the case of any member who attained the age of\nsixty-two before his or her employer assumed the additional cost\ntherefor, or who attains the age of sixty-two within one month after his\nor her employer assumes the additional cost therefor, to be eligible for\nadditional pension credit under subdivision e of this section, his or\nher service shall be terminated and he or she shall be retired within\nthree months after his or her employer assumes the additional cost\ntherefor.\n h. 1. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include, any\nand all services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff,\nprovided, however, that criminal law enforcement service shall only be\ncreditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or more of his or her\nservice as a deputy sheriff. Credit for service as a member or officer\nof the state police or as a paid firefighter, police officer or officer\nof any organized fire department or police force or department of any\ncounty, city, village, town, fire district or police district, or as a\ncriminal investigator in the office of a district attorney, provided\nthat service as such investigator shall have been rendered prior to\nJanuary first, nineteen hundred sixty and that credit therefor shall not\nexceed five years, shall also be deemed to be creditable service and\nshall be included in computing years of total service for retirement\npursuant to this section, provided such service was performed by the\nmember while contributing to the retirement system pursuant to the\nprovisions of this article or article eight of this chapter.\n 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of this\nsubdivision, a participating employer may elect on a form filed with the\ncomptroller for that purpose to provide that creditable service shall\nalso include any and all service performed by a deputy sheriff who is a\npolice officer pursuant to subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of\nthe criminal procedure law as certified by the municipal police council\nor as certified by the police department of the city of New York upon\nsatisfactory completion of the basic training program and graduation\nfrom the New York city police academy.\n i. In computing the twenty-five years of completed service of a\nmember, full credit shall be given for military service as defined in\nsubdivisions twenty-nine-a and thirty of section three hundred two of\nthis chapter.\n j. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding\nany provision of this chapter to the contrary.\n k. The benefits hereinabove provided shall be payable to a member,\nunless at the date of retirement, such member would otherwise be\nentitled to a greater benefit under other provisions of this chapter had\nhe or she withdrawn from this section, in which event such greater\nbenefits shall be payable.\n