N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 507-a: Disability retirement

§ 507-a. Disability retirement. a. Subject to the provisions of

subdivision e of this section, application for a disability retirement

allowance for a member in the uniformed personnel in institutions under

the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and community

supervision of New York state as defined in subdivision i of section

eighty-nine of this chapter or for a member serving in institutions who

is also in a title defined in such subdivision and who has made an

election pursuant to the provisions of article seventeen of this chapter

or the New York city department of correction may be made by:

1. Such member, or

2. The head of the department in which such member is employed.

b. At the time of the filing of an application pursuant to this

section, the member must:

1. Have at least ten years of total service credit, and

2. The application must be filed within three months from the last

date the member was being paid on the payroll or within twelve months of

the last date he was being paid on the payroll provided he was on a

leave of absence for medical reasons without pay during such twelve

month period provided the member was disabled at the time he ceased

being paid.

3. Provided, however, if the retirement system determines that such

member was physically or mentally incapacitated for performance of

gainful employment as the natural and proximate result of an accident

not caused by his own willful negligence sustained in the performance of

his duties in active service while actually a member of the retirement

system the requirement that the member should have ten years of credited

service shall be inapplicable.

c. If the retirement system determines that the member is physically

or mentally incapacitated for the performance of gainful employment, and

that he was so incapacitated at the time he ceased his performance of

duties and ought to be retired for disability, he shall be so retired.

Each retirement system shall be entitled to adopt appropriate procedures

for making the foregoing determination, including but not limited to the

conducting of medical examinations, if any, for the purpose of

determining initial entitlement of an applicant for disability

retirement or to continued entitlement to a disability retirement

allowance. Such retirement shall be effective as of a date approved by

the head of the retirement system.

d. Upon retirement for disability one of the following retirement

allowances shall be payable:

1. In the case of a member of a retirement system other than the New

York city employees' retirement system, if the member has attained age

sixty when such retirement becomes effective, his retirement allowance

shall be equal to that which he would receive in the case of service

retirement at normal retirement age based on his credited service but in

no event shall such retirement allowance exceed the amount he would have

received pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision.

2. In the case of a member of a retirement system other than the New

York city employees' retirement system, if the member has not attained

age sixty when such retirement becomes effective, his retirement

allowance shall consist of a retirement allowance which shall equal

one-sixtieth of his final average salary multiplied by the number of

years of his credited service, which formula shall be used only if the

retirement allowance so computed exceeds one-third of his final average

salary. If the retirement allowance so computed shall amount to

one-third or less of the member's final average salary, his retirement

allowance shall be computed upon the basis of the total service which he

would have rendered if he continued in service until he attained age

sixty provided that the resulting retirement allowance computed by

resort to this formula shall not exceed one-third of the member's final

average salary.

3. In the case of a member of the New York city employees' retirement

system, his retirement allowance shall be equal to the greater of:

(i) one-third of his final average salary; or

(ii) one-sixtieth of his final average salary multiplied by the number

of years of his credited service; provided, however, that where such

member is otherwise eligible to retire for service, and the retirement

allowance which he would receive in the case of service retirement is

larger than the retirement allowance he would otherwise receive under

this subparagraph or subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, his disability

retirement allowance pursuant to this paragraph shall be equal to the

retirement allowance he would receive if he had retired for service.

e. Notwithstanding the preceding subdivisions of this section to the

contrary, this section shall not apply to a member of the uniformed

force of the New York city department of correction who is a New York

city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan member.