§ 501. Definitions. The following words and phrases as used in this
article shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is
plainly required by the context.

1. "Active service" shall mean service while being paid on the payroll
of a participating employer.

2. "Cost-of-living index" shall mean the consumer price index (all
items--United States city averages) published by the United States
bureau of labor statistics.

3. "Credited service" shall mean all service which has been credited
to a member pursuant to section five hundred thirteen or which was
credited to such member in a public retirement system of the state
before such member became subject to this article and which is allowable
as previous service pursuant to section five hundred thirteen.

4. "Creditable service" is service which qualifies to be counted as
credited service pursuant to section five hundred thirteen.

5. "Early retirement age" shall mean age fifty-five, for general
members, and the age on which a member completes or would have completed
twenty years of service, for police/fire members, New York city
uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and investigator
revised plan members.

6. "Elective member" shall mean a member who is not subject to the
provisions of this article on a mandatory basis.

7. "Eligible beneficiary" for the purposes of section five hundred
nine of this article shall mean the following persons or classes of
persons in the order set forth: (a) a surviving spouse who has not
renounced survivorship rights in a separation agreement, until
remarriage, (b) surviving children until age twenty-five, (c) dependent
parents, determined under regulations promulgated by the comptroller,
(d) any other person who qualified as a dependent on the final federal
income tax return of the member or the return filed in the year
immediately preceding the year of death, until such person reaches
twenty-one years of age, (e) with respect to members of the New York
city employees' retirement system (other than a New York city uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan member or an investigator revised
plan member) and the board of education retirement system of the city of
New York, a person whom the member shall have nominated in the form of a
written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with the head of the
retirement system for the purpose of section five hundred eight of this
article. In the event that a class of eligible beneficiaries consists of
more than one person, benefits shall be divided equally among the
persons in such class. For the purposes of section five hundred eight of
this article the term "eligible beneficiary" shall mean such person as
the member shall have nominated to receive the benefits provided in this
article. To be effective, such a nomination must be in the form of a
written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with the head of the
retirement system for this specific purpose. In the event such
designated beneficiary does not survive him, or if he shall not have so
designated a beneficiary, such benefits shall be payable to the deceased
member's estate or as provided in section one thousand three hundred ten
of the surrogate's court procedure act and (f) notwithstanding any other
provisions of law, "eligible beneficiary" of a New York city uniformed
sanitation revised plan member for the purposes of section five hundred
nine of this article shall mean the following persons or classes of
persons in the order set forth: (i) a surviving spouse who has not
renounced survivorship rights in a separation agreement, (ii) surviving
children until age twenty-five, (iii) dependent parents, determined
under regulations promulgated by the comptroller and (iv) any other
person who qualified as a dependent on the final federal income tax
return of the member or the return filed in the year immediately
preceding the year of death, until such person reaches twenty-one years
of age.

8. "Excess contributions" shall mean any contributions (and interest
thereon) made by a member prior to becoming subject to this article
which, if not withdrawn, would have been used to purchase an additional
annuity at retirement had the member continued in the plan of which he
was a member before becoming subject to this article.

9. "Federal social security program" shall mean the federal old age
and survivor's assistance program under the federal social security act.

10. "Federal social security primary insurance amount" shall mean the
primary insurance amount as defined in section 215 (a) (1) (A) of the
federal social security act.

11. "Federal social security benefit computation period" shall mean a
member's benefit computation years as determined pursuant to section 215
(b) of the federal social security act.

12. "General member" shall mean a member subject to the provisions of
this article who is not a police/fire member, a New York city uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan member or an investigator revised
plan member.

13. "Head of the retirement system" shall mean the comptroller, with
respect to the state employees' retirement system and the state and
local police and fire retirement system, and the retirement board of the
other public retirement systems of the state.

14. "In service" shall mean any period during which a member is on the
payroll of a public employer, in the service upon which membership is
based, and any period during which the member was not on the payroll if
he or she; (a) was on the payroll and paid within the previous twelve
months, (b) had not been gainfully employed since ceasing to be on such
payroll, (c) had credit for at least one year of continuous service
since last entering or reentering the service of the public employer and
(d) was not eligible for or receiving a service retirement or disability
benefit.

15. "Mandatory retirement age" shall mean age seventy, for general
members, and age sixty-two, for police/fire members.

16. "Member" shall mean any person included in the membership of a
public retirement system of this state as provided in section five
hundred of this article.

17. "Normal retirement age" shall be age sixty-two, for general
members, and the age at which a member completes or would have completed
twenty-two years of service, for police/fire members, New York city
uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and investigator
revised plan members.

18. "Participating employer" shall mean a public employer who is
participating in a public retirement system of the state.

19. "Primary social security retirement benefit" shall mean the
benefit payable to a covered employee, at age sixty-two or later, under
the federal social security program, exclusive of any family benefits,
calculated as provided in subdivision c of section five hundred eleven.

20. "Primary social security disability benefit" shall mean the
benefit payable to a disabled covered employee under the federal social
security program, exclusive of any family benefits, calculated as
provided in subdivision c of section five hundred eleven.

21. "Police/fire member" shall mean a member subject to the provisions
of this article who, if employed in the same capacity on June thirtieth,
nineteen hundred seventy-six, would have been eligible for membership in
the New York state and local police and fire retirement system, the New
York city police pension fund or the New York city fire department
pension fund, or for participation in the uniformed transit police force
plan or housing police force plan in the New York city employees'
retirement system.

22. "Public employer" shall mean an employer who is eligible to
participate in a public retirement system of the state.

23. "Public retirement system of the state" shall mean the New York
state employees' retirement system, New York state and local police and
fire retirement system, New York state teacher's retirement system, New
York city employees' retirement system, New York city teacher's
retirement system, New York city police pension fund, New York city fire
department pension fund and the New York city board of education
retirement system.

24. (a) "Wages" shall mean regular compensation earned by and paid to
a member by a public employer, except that for members who first join
the state and local employees' retirement system on or after January
first, two thousand ten, overtime compensation paid in any year in
excess of the overtime ceiling, as defined by this subdivision, shall
not be included in the definition of wages.

(b) "Overtime compensation" shall mean, for purposes of this section,
compensation paid under any law or policy under which employees are paid
at a rate greater than their standard rate for additional hours worked
beyond those required, including compensation paid under section one
hundred thirty-four of the civil service law and section ninety of the
general municipal law.

(c)(i) The "overtime ceiling" shall mean fifteen thousand dollars per
annum on January first, two thousand ten, and shall be increased by
three percent each year thereafter, provided, however, that for members
who first become members of the New York state and local employees'
retirement system on or after April first, two thousand twelve,
"overtime ceiling" shall mean fifteen thousand dollars per annum on
April first, two thousand twelve, and shall be increased each year
thereafter by a percentage to be determined annually by reference to the
consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all
items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor
statistics, for each applicable calendar year. Said percentage shall
equal the annual inflation as determined from the increase in the
consumer price index in the one year period ending on the December
thirty-first preceding the overtime ceiling adjustment effective on the
ensuing April first.

(ii) Commencing January first, two thousand eighteen, and each year
thereafter, the overtime ceiling percentage shall be increased by an
amount equal to the annual inflation as determined from the increase in
the consumer price index in the one year period ending on the September
thirtieth prior to the overtime ceiling adjustment effective on the
ensuing January first.

(d) For the purpose of calculation a member's primary federal social
security retirement or disability benefit, wages shall, in any calendar
year, be limited to the portion of the member's wages which would be
subject to tax under section three thousand one hundred twenty-one of
the internal revenue code of nineteen hundred fifty-four, or any
predecessor or successor provision relating thereto, if such member was
employed by a private employer.

(e) For members who first become members of the New York state and
local employees' retirement system on or after the effective date of
chapter eighteen of the laws of two thousand twelve, the following items
shall not be included in the definition of wages: (a) wages in excess of
the annual salary paid to the governor pursuant to section three of
article four of the state constitution, (b) lump sum payments for
deferred compensation, sick leave, accumulated vacation or other credits
for time not worked, (c) any form of termination pay, (d) any additional
compensation paid in anticipation of retirement, and (e) in the case of
employees who receive wages from three or more employers in a twelve
month period, the wages paid by the third and each successive employer.

(f) For New York city enhanced plan members who receive the ordinary
disability benefit provided for in subdivision c-1 of section five
hundred six of this article or the accidental disability benefit
provided for in paragraph three of subdivision c of section five hundred
seven of this article, the following items shall not be included in the
definition of wages: (a) lump sum payments for deferred compensation,
sick leave, accumulated vacation or other credits for time not worked,
(b) any form of termination pay, (c) any additional compensation paid in
anticipation of retirement, and (d) in the case of employees who receive
wages from three or more employers in a twelve month period, the wages
paid by the third and each successive employer.

25. "New York city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan
member" shall mean a member who becomes subject to the provisions of
this article on or after April first, two thousand twelve, and who is a
member of either the uniformed force of the New York city department of
correction or the uniformed force of the New York city department of
sanitation.

26. "New York city police/fire revised plan member" shall mean a
police/fire member who becomes subject to the provisions of this article
on or after April first, two thousand twelve, and who is a member of
either the New York city police pension fund or the New York city fire
department pension fund.

27. "Investigator revised plan member" shall mean an investigator
member of the New York city employees' retirement system who is a police
officer as defined in paragraph (g) of subdivision thirty-four of
section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, and who becomes subject to
the provisions of this article on or after April first, two thousand
twelve.

28. "New York city enhanced plan member" shall mean (a) a New York
city police/fire revised plan member who becomes subject to the
provisions of this article on or after June fifteenth, two thousand
sixteen and who is a member of the New York city fire department pension
fund, (b) a police/fire member who is a member of the New York city fire
department pension fund and who makes an election, which shall be
irrevocable and shall be duly executed and filed with the administrative
head of such pension fund no later than one hundred twenty days after
the effective date of this subdivision, to be subject to the provisions
of this article related to New York city enhanced plan members, (c) a
New York city police/fire revised plan member who became subject to the
provisions of this article before June fifteenth, two thousand sixteen,
who is a member of the New York city fire department pension fund, and
who makes an election, which shall be irrevocable and shall be duly
executed and filed with the administrative head of such pension fund no
later than one hundred twenty days after the effective date of this
subdivision, to be subject to the provisions of this article related to
New York city enhanced plan members, (d) a New York city police/fire
revised plan member who becomes subject to the provisions of this
article on or after April first, two thousand seventeen and who is a
member of the New York city police pension fund, (e) a police/fire
member who is a member of the New York city police pension fund and who
makes an election, which shall be irrevocable and shall be duly executed
and filed with the administrative head of such pension fund no later
than one hundred twenty days after the effective date of the chapter of
the laws of two thousand seventeen which amended this subdivision, to be
subject to the provisions of this article related to New York city
enhanced plan members, or (f) a New York city police/fire revised plan
member who became subject to the provisions of this article before April
first, two thousand seventeen, who is a member of the New York city
police pension fund, and who makes an election, which shall be
irrevocable and shall be duly executed and filed with the administrative
head of such pension fund no later than one hundred twenty days after
the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand seventeen
which amended this subdivision, to be subject to the provisions of this
article related to New York city enhanced plan members.