N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 89-a: Optional retirement of sheriffs, under-sheriffs and regular deputy sheriffs

§ 89-a. Optional retirement of sheriffs, under-sheriffs and regular

deputy sheriffs. (a) Any member who is a sheriff or under-sheriff, or a

regular deputy sheriff in any county who is engaged directly in criminal

law enforcement activities, may elect to contribute to the retirement

system on the basis of retirement after the completion of twenty-five

years of total creditable service, provided the member has reached age

flfty, or upon attainment of age sixty-five, on an allowance of

one-fiftieth of his final average salary for each year of creditable

service not in excess of twenty-five years, except as hereinafter

otherwise provided. Such election shall be in writing and shall be duly

executed and filed with the comptroller on or before July first,

nineteen hundred sixty-nine. One year or more after the filing thereof,

a member may withdraw any such election by written notice duly

acknowledged and filed with the comptroller

(b) On and after the date this section takes effect, every sheriff,

under-sheriff and regular deputy sheriff entering or re-entering service

as such and within one year from the date of entry or re-entry, and

regardless of age, may elect to contribute on the basis provided by this

section. One year or more after the filing thereof, a member may

withdraw any such election by written notice duly acknowledged and filed

with the comptroller.

(c) As used in this section "creditable service" shall include (1) in

the case of a sheriff or under-sheriff, any and all services performed

as a sheriff and/or under-sheriff of a county and all criminal law

enforcement services performed as a regular deputy sheriff of a county,

provided, however, that criminal law enforcement service shall only be

creditable when it aggregates fifty percentum or more of his service as

a regular deputy sheriff and (2) in the case of a regular deputy

sheriff, all criminal law enforcement services performed as a regular

deputy sheriff of a county, provided, however, that criminal law

enforcement service shall only be creditable when it aggregates fifty

percentum or more of such service and any and all services performed as

a sheriff and/or under-sheriff of a county.

(d) Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police or

as a paid firefighter, police officer or officer of any organized fire

department or police force or department of any county, city, village,

town, fire district or police district, or as a criminal investigator in

the office of a district attorney, provided that service as such

investigator shall have been rendered prior to January first, nineteen

hundred sixty and that credit therefor shall not exceed five years,

shall also be deemed to be creditable service and shall be included in

computing years of total service for retirement pursuant to this

section, provided such service was performed by the member while

contributing to the retirement system pursuant to the provisions of this

article or article eight of this chapter.

(e) A sheriff shall certify to the comptroller, periodically and at

such intervals of time as may be required of him and in such fashion as

may be prescribed, the identity of the regular deputy sheriffs in his

employ who are engaged directly in criminal law enforcement activities.

(f) A member, who elects or is required to contribute in accordance

with this section, shall contribute, in lieu of the proportion of

compensation as provided in section twenty-one of this article, a

proportion of his compensation similarly determined. Such latter

proportion shall be computed to provide, at the time when he shall first

become eligible for retirement under this section, an annuity equal to

one-one hundredth of his final average salary for each year of

creditable service and as a member rendered after this section becomes

effective and prior to the attainment of the age when he shall first

become eligible for retirement. Such member's rate of contribution

pursuant to this section shall be appropriately reduced pursuant to

section seventy-a of this article for such period of time as his

employer contributes pursuant to such section toward

pensions-providing-for-increased-take-home-pay. No such member shall be

required to make contributions after completing twenty-five years of

such service.

(g) A member, excepting a sheriff, contributing on the basis of this

section at the time of retirement, shall retire either (a) after the

completion of twenty-five years of total creditable service, provided he

has reached age fifty, or (b) upon the attainment of age sixty-five.

Application therefor may be filed in a manner similar to that provided

in section seventy of this article.

(1) Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon

retirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together

with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his

accumulated contributions at the time of his retirement and an

additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the

reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may then be entitled

shall be sufficient to provide him with a retirement allowance equal to

one-half of his final average salary.

(2) Upon attainment of age sixty-five and upon retirement without

completion of twenty-five years of such service, each such member shall

receive a pension which together with an annuity which shall be the

actuarial equivalent of his accumulated contributions at the time of his

retirement and an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent

of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may then be

entitled, shall be sufficient to provide him with a retirement allowance

equal to one-fiftieth of his final average salary for each year of

creditable service in a sheriff's department. Every such member shall

also be entitled to an additional pension equal to the pension for any

creditable service rendered while not an employee of a sheriff's

department as provided under paragraphs three and four of subdivision a

of section seventy-five of this article. This latter pension shall not

increase the total allowance to more than one-half of his final average

salary.

For the purpose only of determining the amount of the pension provided

in this subdivision, the annuity shall be computed as it would be if it

were not reduced by the actuarial equivalent of any outstanding loan,

and if it were not increased by the actuarial equivalent of any

additional contributions, and if it were not reduced by reason of the

member's election to decrease his annuity contributions to the

retirement system in order to apply the amount of such reduction in

payment of his contributions for old-age and survivors insurance

coverage.

(h) The entire additional cost for the increased pension to members,

as provided by this section, shall be paid by the members. The county by

which the members are employed may, however, by appropriate action,

elect to assume and pay all or part of the additional cost. The actuary

of the retirement system shall compute the extra contribution required

for each member who elects to receive the special benefits provided

under this section. Such extra contribution shall be computed on the

basis of contributions during the prospective service of such member

which will cover the liability of the retirement system for such extra

pensions. Upon approval by the comptroller, such extra contributions

shall be certified by him to the appropriate boards of supervisors, and

such a board shall advise each member affected the amount of extra

contribution attributable to him. Where a county has elected to assume

and pay all or part of the additional cost, the amount of extra

contributions in connection therewith shall be included in the annual

appropriation of the county for the sheriff's department and such amount

shall be paid on the warrant of the comptroller to the pension

accumulation fund of the retirement system. The remaining extra

contributions, if any, shall be paid, in appropriate amounts, by the

member or members whose extra contribution was not included in the

annual appropriation of the county for the sheriff's department, and

payment is to be made to the retirement system in such manner as said

system may prescribe.

(i) In computing the twenty-five years of total service of a member

pursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full allowance

shall be made for service of such member in time of war after world war

I as defined in section two of this chapter, provided such member at the

time of his entrance into the military service of the United States was

then a resident of this state and in the service of a sheriffs

department and (1) had been honorably discharged or released under

honorable circumstances from such military service, or (2) has a

qualifying condition, as defined in section three hundred fifty of the

executive law, and received a discharge other than bad conduct or

dishonorable from such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as

defined in section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and

received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such

service, and such member returned to the service of a sheriffs

department within the time limited by section two of this chapter.

(j) Any amounts credited to the member's annuity savings account,

except the amounts contributed or required to be contributed under this

section and except such amounts as are required to produce the

retirement allowance provided by subdivision (g) of this section,

exclusive of any contributions made under the provisions of subdivision

i and/or j of section twenty-one of this chapter, may at the option of

the member at the time of retirement be withdrawn or used to provide an

annuity in addition to the annuity prescribed by this section.

(k) The provisions of this section shall be controlling

notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary.