§ 70 — Superannuation retirement

§ 70. 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 forty of this article, or while entitled\nto make application for a vested retirement allowance pursuant to\nsection seventy-six of this title. Any such member desiring to retire\nshall execute and file with the comptroller an application for\nretirement, which shall specify the effective date of such member's\nretirement, which shall be not less than fifteen nor more than ninety\ndays subsequent to such date of filing. An application for service\nretirement, filed hereunder in accordance with the provisions of\nsubdivision c of section sixty-two or subdivision f of section\nsixty-three of this article, 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, such member's\ndesignated option election beneficiary or beneficiaries, if an option\nelection has been filed prior to death, or the beneficiary or\nbeneficiaries designated for the death benefit, if no option election\nwas filed prior to death, shall have the option to choose the benefit\nprovided by service retirement rather than the death benefit, provided,\nhowever that if the designated beneficiary elects the service retirement\nbenefit such person shall be required to choose an option as provided by\nlaw. If the member's beneficiary or beneficiaries elect the service\nretirement benefit, the member shall be deemed to have retired on the\nday before the member's date of death. If there are multiple option\nbeneficiaries and such beneficiaries cannot agree on the choice between\nthe death benefit or the service retirement under an agreed upon option,\nthe service retirement benefit shall be payable under the option\nelection form filed by the member prior to such member's death. If there\nare multiple death beneficiaries and such beneficiaries cannot agree on\nthe choice 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 ninety of this article to retire\non a different basis. If he shall have filed such an election, his\nretirement allowance shall be computed in accordance with the basis so\nselected by him. The provisions of this subdivision with respect to\nmandatory retirement shall be inapplicable to:\n 1. An elective officer.\n 2. A judge.\n 3. A justice.\n 4. An official referee.\n 5. A person holding office by virtue of an appointment to fill a\nvacancy in an elective office.\n 6. An employee of the port of New York authority.\n 7. A person who last became a member before April eleventh, nineteen\nhundred forty-five, and who serves continuously after such date in one\nor more of the following capacities:\n (a) A clerk of a court, as provided in the constitution, article six,\nsection twenty-one.\n (b) An appointee of the governor.\n (c) An employee of the legislature drawing an annual salary, or\n (d) A chaplain of a county penal institution having served as such\nchaplain for not less than thirty years, or\n 8. A commissioner of elections.\n c. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision b of this section,\nthe state civil service commission may approve the continuance in\nservice of members who have attained age seventy. Such approvals shall\nbe for periods not to exceed two years each. No such approval shall be\ngiven unless:\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 to such member.\n