NY Ret & SS L § 89-B (2021)
2021 New York Laws RSS - Retirement and Social Security Article 2 - New York State Employees' Retirement System Title 9 - Special Retirement Plans Applicable to Specified Classes of Members 89-B - Optional Twenty Year Retirement Plan for Sheriffs, Under-Sheriffs, and Regular Deputy Sheriffs in Counties Which Have Elected to Provide Same.

§   89-b.   Optional   twenty   year  retirement  plan  for  sheriffs, under-sheriffs, and regular  deputy  sheriffs  in  counties  which  have elected  to provide same. (a) Any member who is a sheriff, 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 years of total creditable service pursuant to this section within one  year  after  the county wherein he is so engaged elects to make the benefits provided herein available. One year or more after the filing of an election, a member may withdraw any such election by  written  notice duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller.  (b)  On and after a county elects to make the benefits provided herein available,  every  sheriff,  under-sheriff  or  regular  deputy  sheriff entering  or  re-entering  service  as such and within one year from the date of entry or re-entry may elect  to  contribute  to  the  retirement system  pursuant  to  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) Elections shall be in writing and shall be duly executed and filed with the comptroller.  (d)  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, and  shall  likewise  so  certify  to the chief executive officer of his county and to the chairman of the board or  body  of  his  county  which appropriates the funds to pay for the plan's benefits.  (e)  A  member  who  elects or is required to contribute in accordance with subdivision (a) of 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-eightieth of his final average salary for each year of  creditable service and as a member rendered after the county wherein he is engaged elected the provisions of this section 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 the  county  wherein  he  is  engaged contributes       pursuant       to       such      section      towards pensions-providing-for-increased-take-home-pay.      Such       member's contribution,  reduced as aforesaid, shall also be appropriately further reduced by any multiple of twenty-five percentum of  such  contribution, reduced as aforesaid, which the county wherein he is engaged has elected to  contribute  on  his  behalf  in  lieu of such member's contributions pursuant to this subdivision. No such member shall be required  to  make contributions  after  completing twenty years of such service, except as is provided in such subdivision (m) of this section.  (f) (1) A member then covered by the provisions of this section  shall be  entitled  to  retire  after  the completion of twenty years of total creditable service and, except a sheriff, shall retire  upon  attainment of age sixty by filing an application therefor with the comptroller.  (2)  Upon  completion  of  twenty  years  of  such  service  and  upon retirement, each such member shall receive  a  pension  which,  together with  an  annuity  which  is the actuarial equivalent of his accumulated contributions, if any, 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, if any, shall be sufficient to provide  him  with  a  retirement  allowance equal to one-half of his final average salary.  (3)  Upon  attainment  of the mandatory retirement age of sixty years, or, in the case of a sheriff, upon attainment of the age of sixty years, and upon retirement without completion of twenty years of such  service, each  such member shall receive a pension which together with an annuity which is 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-fortieth 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 for other service 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.  (4)  For  the  purpose  only  of determining the amount of the pension provided in subdivisions (f) and (m), 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.  (g) The entire additional cost for the increased pensions to  members, as provided by this section, shall be paid from additional contributions made  by  the  participating  employer  on  account of such members. The actuary  of  the  retirement  system  shall   compute   the   additional contribution  required for each member who elects to receive the special benefits provided under  this  section.  Such  additional  contributions 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 of the comptroller, such additional contributions shall be certified by him to the fiscal officer of the participating employer. The amount thereof shall be  included  in the annual appropriation of the participating employer for its sheriff's department.  Such  amount shall be paid to the pension accumulation fund of the retirement system.  (h) 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.  (i)  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  this article or article eight of this chapter.  (j) The county wherein the member  is  engaged  may,  in  its  initial action  taken  under this section or subsequent thereto, elect to assume and pay all or part  of  the  additional  cost  on  account  of  service rendered to the county prior to the effective date of such election and, in  addition,  may  in  its  initial  action taken under this section or subsequent thereto, elect to assume and  pay  all  or  any  multiple  of twenty-five  per  centum  of  the  additional cost on account of service rendered on and after the effective date of such  election.  The  county shall  pay  the additional cost so assumed by any such election by means of annual contributions which shall be determined by the actuary.  (k) A member, excepting a sheriff, contributing on the basis  of  this section  at  the  time  of  retirement,  shall  be  retired  on December thirty-first of the year  in  which  he  attains  sixty  years  of  age. Application  therefor  may be filed in a manner similar to that provided in section seventy of this article.  (l) The benefits of this section shall  be  available  only  to  those members  whose  employer  elects  to provide such benefits by adopting a resolution to such effect and filing a certified copy thereof  with  the comptroller.  (m)  Upon  completion  of twenty years of total creditable service and upon retirement, each member  covered  by  the  plan  provided  by  this section  shall receive, for each year of creditable service in excess of twenty, but not more than  ten  such  years,  an  additional  retirement allowance  equal  to  one-sixtieth  of his final average salary for each such year of such service; provided, however, that this benefit shall be available  only  after  the  county   employing   such   member   elects specifically  to  provide  this  benefit.  Member contributions, if any, shall be computed in a manner consistent with subdivision  (e)  of  this section  so  as  to  provide  an annuity of one hundred and twentieth of final average salary for each such year of service and  employers  shall have  the  further option to reduce contributions in a manner similar to that provided in said subdivision (e).  (n) That portion of the pension  reserve  required  pursuant  to  this section  which  is in excess of the pension reserve that would have been required pursuant to section eighty-nine-a  of  this  article,  had  the number  been  covered thereunder, shall not be included in computing any benefit payable pursuant to the provisions  of  section  sixty  of  this article.  (o) The provisions of this section shall, subject to the provisions of section  seventy-six of this article, apply to members who, on and after June first, nineteen hundred seventy and prior to June  first,  nineteen hundred  seventy-four  retire  or separate in vested status from service with a participating employer who has elected to  provide  the  benefits hereunder.