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-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.