§ 376. Vested retirement allowance. a. A member who discontinues
service other than by death or retirement:

1. who has credit for at least five years of total service, or

2. who has credit for at least five years of total service, including
a minimum of five years of member service during which the member
contributed to the system and/or participated in an
increased-take-home-pay or non-contributory plan, and who does not
withdraw his or her accumulated contributions, shall be entitled to make
application pursuant to section three hundred seventy of this article
for a vested retirement allowance to be effective on or after the first
day of the month following his or her attainment of sixty years of age,
or sixty-three years of age for a member who first becomes a member of
the New York state and local police and fire retirement system on or
after April first, two thousand twelve. The retirement allowance
provided by this section shall vest automatically upon such
discontinuance of service by such member.

3. In the case of such a member who discontinues service other than by
death or retirement after March thirty-first, nineteen hundred
sixty-six, who had been contributing toward and/or participating in an
increased-take-home-pay or non-contributory plan for retirement on a
basis other than retirement at age sixty for five years preceding his or
her discontinuance of service, he or she shall be entitled to make
application for a vested retirement allowance to be effective on or
after the first day of the month following his or her attainment of
fifty-five years of age, or sixty-three years of age for a member who
first becomes a member of the New York state and local police and fire
retirement system on or after April first, two thousand twelve.

b. The vested retirement allowance shall be computed and paid in
accordance with the provisions of the plan of which the member had been
a participant provided, however, that if the service fraction used to
compute the retirement allowance or the pension provides a benefit
greater than that which would have been provided had the service
fraction one-sixtieth been used to compute the benefit, the service
fraction one-sixtieth shall be used to compute the vested retirement
allowance unless such plan shall specify another fraction to be used to
compute the vested retirement allowance. The vested retirement allowance
shall not be paid before the member attains age fifty-five, or
sixty-three years of age for a member who first becomes a member of the
New York state and local police and fire retirement system on or after
April first, two thousand twelve.

c. In the event of the death of such member prior to the effective
date of his retirement his accumulated contributions shall be paid to
his beneficiary or estate in accordance with section three hundred
fifty-one of this article.

d. A member may withdraw his accumulated contributions at any time
subject to the limitations contained in section three hundred fifty-one
of this article. The withdrawal of a member's accumulated contributions
shall terminate his right to a vested retirement allowance.