§ 89-H — Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, correction officers and identification officers in Albany county

§ 89-h. Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs,\ncorrection officers and identification officers in Albany county. a. A\nmember employed in Albany county shall be eligible to retire pursuant to\nthe provisions of this section if: (1) he or she is a sheriff or\nundersheriff, or a deputy sheriff who is engaged directly in criminal\nlaw enforcement activities; or (2) he or she is a correction officer or\nidentification officer. Such eligibility shall be an alternative to the\neligibility provisions available under any other plan of this article to\nwhich such member is subject.\n b. Such member shall be entitled to retire upon the completion of\ntwenty-five years of total creditable service by filing an application\ntherefor in the manner provided for in section seventy of this article.\n c. 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 or her\naccumulated contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an\nadditional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the\nreserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be\nentitled shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement\nallowance equal to one-half of his or her final average salary.\n d. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include (1) in\nthe case of a sheriff, undersheriff, correction officer or\nidentification officer any and all services performed as a sheriff,\nundersheriff, correction officer and/or identification officer of Albany\ncounty and all criminal law enforcement services performed as a deputy\nsheriff of such county, provided, however, that criminal law enforcement\nservice shall only be creditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or\nmore of his or her service as a deputy sheriff and (2) in the case of a\ndeputy sheriff, all criminal law enforcement service shall only be\ncreditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or more of such service\nand any and all services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff,\ncorrection officer and/or identification officer of such county.\n e. Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police or as\na 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 f. The sheriff shall certify to the comptroller, periodically and at\nsuch intervals of time as may be required of him or her and in such\nfashion as may be prescribed, the identity of: (1) the deputy sheriffs\nin the sheriff's employ who are engaged directly in criminal law\nenforcement activities; and (2) the eligible correction officers and\nidentification officers.\n g. A member, contributing on the basis of this section at the time of\nretirement, shall retire after the completion of twenty-five years of\ntotal creditable service. Application therefor may be filed in a manner\nsimilar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon\ncompletion of twenty-five years of such service and upon retirement,\neach such member shall receive a pension which, together with an annuity\nwhich shall be the actuarial equivalent of his or her accumulated\ncontributions at the time of his or her retirement and an additional\npension which is the actuarial equivalent of the\nreserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be\nentitled shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement\nallowance equal to one-half of his or her final average salary.\n h. 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 or her entrance into the armed forces was in the service of\nthe county of Albany.\n i. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a member, who does not\nretire pursuant to the provisions of this section, from utilizing\nservice which is creditable service pursuant to the provisions of this\nsection for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other plan\nof this article to which such member is subject.\n j. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding\nany other provision in this article to the contrary.\n