2023 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-V*2 - Retirement of Paramedics Employed by the Police Department in the Town of Tonawanda.

* §  89-v.  Retirement of paramedics employed by the police department
  in the town of Tonawanda. a. A member employed by the town of  Tonawanda
  as  a  paramedic,  or,  if  the  title  of  paramedic  is  abolished, an
  individual employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda in
  a position with responsibilities that are essentially identical to those
  of a paramedic, shall be eligible to retire pursuant to  the  provisions
  of  this  section,  if  such  member  files  a  timely election with the
  comptroller, on a form provided by the comptroller for such purpose,  to
  be  covered  by  this  section. To be effective, such form must be filed
  within one year after this section shall become law, or within one  year
  following  the individual's commencement of eligible employment with the
  police department in the town of  Tonawanda,  whichever  is  later.  The
  benefits  hereinabove  provided  shall be payable to a member, unless at
  the date of retirement, such member would otherwise  be  entitled  to  a
  greater  benefit under other provisions of this article had he withdrawn
  from this section,  in  which  event  such  greater  benefits  shall  be
  payable.
b.  Such  members  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 services 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 any  and
  all  services performed as a paramedic with the police department in the
  town of Tonawanda.
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,  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  services
  are performed by the member while contributing to the New York state and
  local  police  and  fire retirement system pursuant to the provisions of
  this article or article eight of this chapter.
f.  The  town  of  Tonawanda  shall  certify   to   the   comptroller,
  periodically  and  at  such  intervals of time as may be required and in
  such fashion as may be prescribed, the identity of the paramedics in the
  police department's employ.
g. A member contributing on the basis of this section at the  time  of
  retirement,  may  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
  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.  Upon
  retirement,  each such member shall receive, for each year of service in
  excess of twenty-five, an additional pension which  shall  be  equal  to

  one-sixtieth of his or her final average salary; provided, however, that
  the  total  allowance  payable pursuant to this section shall not exceed
  three-quarters of such member's final average salary.
h.  In computing the 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 town of Tonawanda.
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.  Impairments  of health; presumption. Notwithstanding any provision
  of this chapter or of any general, special or local law to the contrary,
  any paramedic employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda
  who is covered by the provisions of this section  or  subdivision  s  of
  section  six  hundred  four  of  this  chapter  and  who  contracts HIV,
  tuberculosis or hepatitis after  contact  with  members  of  the  public
  (where  there  may  have  been  an  exposure  to a bodily fluid) will be
  presumed to have contracted such disease in the performance or discharge
  of his or her duties as the natural and proximate result of an  accident
  sustained  in the performance of duties unless the contrary be proven by
  competent evidence.
k. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any general  or
  special  law  to  the  contrary,  any  condition of impairment of health
  caused by diseases of the heart, resulting in disability or death to any
  paramedic employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda who
  is covered by the provisions of this section or subdivision s of section
  six hundred four of this chapter and  who,  prior  to  entry  into  such
  service  successfully  passed  a  physical  examination  which failed to
  disclose evidence of any disease or other impairment of the heart  shall
  be  presumptive  evidence  that  it  was incurred in the performance and
  discharge of duty and the  natural  proximate  result  of  an  accident,
  unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.
l.  A  paramedic  employed  by  the  police  department in the town of
  Tonawanda  who  is  covered  by  the  provisions  of  this  section   or
  subdivision  s  of  section six hundred four of this chapter and is in a
  plan which permits immediate retirement upon completion of  a  specified
  period  of  service  without  regard  to  age  or  who is subject to the
  provision of subdivision b of section four hundred  forty-five  of  this
  chapter,  shall upon completion of ninety days of service be covered for
  financial protection in the event of death in service pursuant  to  this
  subdivision.  Such  death  benefit  shall  be  equal  to three times the
  member's salary raised to the next  highest  multiple  of  one  thousand
  dollars,  but in no event shall it exceed three times the maximum salary
  specified in section one hundred thirty of the civil service law.
m. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding
  any other provisions in this chapter to the contrary.
* NB There are 3 § 89-v's