§ 89-A — Optional retirement of sheriffs, under-sheriffs and regular deputy sheriffs

§ 89-a. Optional retirement of sheriffs, under-sheriffs and regular\ndeputy sheriffs. (a) Any member who is a sheriff or under-sheriff, or a\nregular deputy sheriff in any county who is engaged directly in criminal\nlaw enforcement activities, may elect to contribute to the retirement\nsystem on the basis of retirement after the completion of twenty-five\nyears of total creditable service, provided the member has reached age\nflfty, or upon attainment of age sixty-five, on an allowance of\none-fiftieth of his final average salary for each year of creditable\nservice not in excess of twenty-five years, except as hereinafter\notherwise provided. Such election shall be in writing and shall be duly\nexecuted and filed with the comptroller on or before July first,\nnineteen hundred sixty-nine. One year or more after the filing thereof,\na member may withdraw any such election by written notice duly\nacknowledged and filed with the comptroller\n (b) On and after the date this section takes effect, every sheriff,\nunder-sheriff and regular deputy sheriff entering or re-entering service\nas such and within one year from the date of entry or re-entry, and\nregardless of age, may elect to contribute on the basis provided by this\nsection. One year or more after the filing thereof, a member may\nwithdraw any such election by written notice duly acknowledged and filed\nwith the comptroller.\n (c) As used in this section "creditable service" shall include (1) in\nthe case of a sheriff or under-sheriff, any and all services performed\nas a sheriff and/or under-sheriff of a county and all criminal law\nenforcement services performed as a regular deputy sheriff of a county,\nprovided, however, that criminal law enforcement service shall only be\ncreditable when it aggregates fifty percentum or more of his service as\na regular deputy sheriff and (2) in the case of a regular deputy\nsheriff, all criminal law enforcement services performed as a regular\ndeputy sheriff of a county, provided, however, that criminal law\nenforcement service shall only be creditable when it aggregates fifty\npercentum or more of such service and any and all services performed as\na sheriff and/or under-sheriff of a county.\n (d) Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police or\nas a paid firefighter, police officer or officer of any organized fire\ndepartment or police force or department of any county, city, village,\ntown, fire district or police district, or as a criminal investigator in\nthe office of a district attorney, provided that service as such\ninvestigator shall have been rendered prior to January first, nineteen\nhundred sixty and that credit therefor shall not exceed five years,\nshall also be deemed to be creditable service and shall be included in\ncomputing years of total service for retirement pursuant to this\nsection, provided such service was performed by the member while\ncontributing to the retirement system pursuant to the provisions of this\narticle or article eight of this chapter.\n (e) A sheriff shall certify to the comptroller, periodically and at\nsuch intervals of time as may be required of him and in such fashion as\nmay be prescribed, the identity of the regular deputy sheriffs in his\nemploy who are engaged directly in criminal law enforcement activities.\n (f) A member, who elects or is required to contribute in accordance\nwith this section, shall contribute, in lieu of the proportion of\ncompensation as provided in section twenty-one of this article, a\nproportion of his compensation similarly determined. Such latter\nproportion shall be computed to provide, at the time when he shall first\nbecome eligible for retirement under this section, an annuity equal to\none-one hundredth of his final average salary for each year of\ncreditable service and as a member rendered after this section becomes\neffective and prior to the attainment of the age when he shall first\nbecome eligible for retirement. Such member's rate of contribution\npursuant to this section shall be appropriately reduced pursuant to\nsection seventy-a of this article for such period of time as his\nemployer contributes pursuant to such section toward\npensions-providing-for-increased-take-home-pay. No such member shall be\nrequired to make contributions after completing twenty-five years of\nsuch service.\n (g) A member, excepting a sheriff, contributing on the basis of this\nsection at the time of retirement, shall retire either (a) after the\ncompletion of twenty-five years of total creditable service, provided he\nhas reached age fifty, or (b) upon the attainment of age sixty-five.\nApplication therefor may be filed in a manner similar to that provided\nin section seventy of this article.\n (1) Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon\nretirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together\nwith an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his\naccumulated contributions at the time of his retirement and an\nadditional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the\nreserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may then be entitled\nshall be sufficient to provide him with a retirement allowance equal to\none-half of his final average salary.\n (2) Upon attainment of age sixty-five and upon retirement without\ncompletion of twenty-five years of such service, each such member shall\nreceive a pension which together with an annuity which shall be the\nactuarial equivalent of his accumulated contributions at the time of his\nretirement and an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent\nof the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may then be\nentitled, shall be sufficient to provide him with a retirement allowance\nequal to one-fiftieth of his final average salary for each year of\ncreditable service in a sheriff's department. Every such member shall\nalso be entitled to an additional pension equal to the pension for any\ncreditable service rendered while not an employee of a sheriff's\ndepartment as provided under paragraphs three and four of subdivision a\nof section seventy-five of this article. This latter pension shall not\nincrease the total allowance to more than one-half of his final average\nsalary.\n For the purpose only of determining the amount of the pension provided\nin this subdivision, the annuity shall be computed as it would be if it\nwere not reduced by the actuarial equivalent of any outstanding loan,\nand if it were not increased by the actuarial equivalent of any\nadditional contributions, and if it were not reduced by reason of the\nmember's election to decrease his annuity contributions to the\nretirement system in order to apply the amount of such reduction in\npayment of his contributions for old-age and survivors insurance\ncoverage.\n (h) The entire additional cost for the increased pension to members,\nas provided by this section, shall be paid by the members. The county by\nwhich the members are employed may, however, by appropriate action,\nelect to assume and pay all or part of the additional cost. The actuary\nof the retirement system shall compute the extra contribution required\nfor each member who elects to receive the special benefits provided\nunder this section. Such extra contribution shall be computed on the\nbasis of contributions during the prospective service of such member\nwhich will cover the liability of the retirement system for such extra\npensions. Upon approval by the comptroller, such extra contributions\nshall be certified by him to the appropriate boards of supervisors, and\nsuch a board shall advise each member affected the amount of extra\ncontribution attributable to him. Where a county has elected to assume\nand pay all or part of the additional cost, the amount of extra\ncontributions in connection therewith shall be included in the annual\nappropriation of the county for the sheriff's department and such amount\nshall be paid on the warrant of the comptroller to the pension\naccumulation fund of the retirement system. The remaining extra\ncontributions, if any, shall be paid, in appropriate amounts, by the\nmember or members whose extra contribution was not included in the\nannual appropriation of the county for the sheriff's department, and\npayment is to be made to the retirement system in such manner as said\nsystem may prescribe.\n (i) In computing the twenty-five years of total service of a member\npursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full allowance\nshall be made for service of such member in time of war after world war\nI as defined in section two of this chapter, provided such member at the\ntime of his entrance into the military service of the United States was\nthen a resident of this state and in the service of a sheriffs\ndepartment and (1) had been honorably discharged or released under\nhonorable circumstances from such military service, or (2) has a\nqualifying condition, as defined in section three hundred fifty of the\nexecutive law, and received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable from such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as\ndefined in section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and\nreceived a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such\nservice, and such member returned to the service of a sheriffs\ndepartment within the time limited by section two of this chapter.\n (j) Any amounts credited to the member's annuity savings account,\nexcept the amounts contributed or required to be contributed under this\nsection and except such amounts as are required to produce the\nretirement allowance provided by subdivision (g) of this section,\nexclusive of any contributions made under the provisions of subdivision\ni and/or j of section twenty-one of this chapter, may at the option of\nthe member at the time of retirement be withdrawn or used to provide an\nannuity in addition to the annuity prescribed by this section.\n (k) The provisions of this section shall be controlling\nnotwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary.\n