N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 530: Elimination of mandatory retirement

§ 530. Elimination of mandatory retirement. a. Notwithstanding any

provision of law, code, rule or regulation to the contrary and except as

provided in subdivisions b and c hereof, no member of a public

retirement system or pension fund maintained by the state or a

municipality thereof, nor any employee who was eligible to join such a

public retirement system but in lieu thereof elected an optional

retirement program to which his or her employer is thereby obligated to

contribute, shall be required to retire or separate from service on the

basis of age.

b. This article shall not apply to any member of a retirement plan

which permits immediate retirement upon a specified period of service of

twenty-five years or less without regard to age, nor shall this article

apply to any employee serving an employer in a position that, if offered

to any individual not having been previously employed by any employer

(as "employer" is defined in this chapter) or by an employer in any of

the public retirement systems funded and maintained by a city, would

qualify any such individual to become a member of a retirement plan

which permits immediate retirement upon a specified period of service of

twenty-five years or less without regard to age.

c. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to prohibit

mandatory retirement or separation from service on the basis of age

where age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary

to the performance of the employee's public duties.

d. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to extend the

time limitations on payments authorized by section two hundred seven-a

of the general municipal law, as such limitations are set forth in

subdivisions two and four of such section; nor shall anything in this

article be deemed to extend the time limitations on payments authorized

by section two hundred seven-c of the general municipal law, as such

limitations are set forth in subdivision five of such section.

e. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, any

person who was employed by the state of New York or a participating

employer and who was previously denied membership in the New York state

and local employees' retirement system based solely on the mandatory

retirement provisions in effect at the time of commencing employment and

who has met all the salary and service credit requirements for a service

retirement benefit provided by the applicable provisions of this chapter

shall be entitled to file for a service retirement benefit,

notwithstanding the mandatory retirement provisions in effect prior to

the effective date of this section, and shall be entitled to receive

such retirement benefit commencing the day after his or her public

employment ceased.