N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 89-h: Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, correction officers and identification officers in Albany county

§ 89-h. Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs,

correction officers and identification officers in Albany county. a. A

member employed in Albany county shall be eligible to retire pursuant to

the provisions of this section if: (1) he or she is a sheriff or

undersheriff, or a deputy sheriff who is engaged directly in criminal

law enforcement activities; or (2) he or she is a correction officer or

identification officer. Such eligibility shall be an alternative to the

eligibility provisions available under any other plan of this article to

which such member is subject.

b. Such member shall be entitled to retire upon the completion of

twenty-five years of total creditable service by filing an application

therefor in the manner provided for in section seventy of this article.

c. 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 or her

accumulated contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an

additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the

reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be

entitled shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement

allowance equal to one-half of his or her final average salary.

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

the case of a sheriff, undersheriff, correction officer or

identification officer any and all services performed as a sheriff,

undersheriff, correction officer and/or identification officer of Albany

county and all criminal law enforcement services performed as a deputy

sheriff of such county, provided, however, that criminal law enforcement

service shall only be creditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or

more of his or her service as a deputy sheriff and (2) in the case of a

deputy sheriff, all criminal law enforcement service shall only be

creditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or more of such service

and any and all services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff,

correction officer and/or identification officer of such county.

e. 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.

f. The sheriff shall certify to the comptroller, periodically and at

such intervals of time as may be required of him or her and in such

fashion as may be prescribed, the identity of: (1) the deputy sheriffs

in the sheriff's employ who are engaged directly in criminal law

enforcement activities; and (2) the eligible correction officers and

identification officers.

g. A member, contributing on the basis of this section at the time of

retirement, shall retire after the completion of twenty-five years of

total creditable service. Application therefor may be filed in a manner

similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. 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 or her accumulated

contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an additional

pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the

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

entitled shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement

allowance equal to one-half of his or her final average salary.

h. 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 or her entrance into the armed forces was in the service of

the county of Albany.

i. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a member, who does not

retire pursuant to the provisions of this section, from utilizing

service which is creditable service pursuant to the provisions of this

section for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other plan

of this article to which such member is subject.

j. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding

any other provision in this article to the contrary.