§ 551. Optional retirement of certain members. a. Any member may elect
to contribute to the retirement system on the basis of retirement upon
his or her completion of twenty-five years of total creditable service
on an allowance of one-fiftieth of his or her final average salary for
each year of total service as a member but not exceeding in the
aggregate one-half of his or her final average salary. Any member of the
retirement system may elect to become a member pursuant to the
provisions of this section within one year after he or she becomes a
member, if his or her employer has elected to make the benefits provided
herein available to members, or within one year after his or her
employer elects to make the benefits provided herein available to its
members.

b. Elections made pursuant to this section shall be in writing and
shall be duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller. Any member
who files such an election pursuant to this section may withdraw it
after it has been filed for at least one year. Such withdrawal shall be
by written notice duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller.

c. The member's employer by appropriate action shall, in its initial
action under this section, elect to assume all of the additional cost on
account of service as a member rendered prior to the effective date of
such election and in any subsequent action, shall elect to assume all of
the additional cost on account of service as a member of any such other
prior department or force rendered prior to the effective date of such
subsequent election. The employer shall pay the additional cost so
assumed by any such election by means of annual contributions which
shall be determined by the actuary of the retirement system and paid by
the employer in the same manner as the contributions required under this
chapter.

d. For actuarial purposes relative to rates or amounts of
contributions to the funds of the retirement system, service of a member
making an election pursuant to this section shall, as to his or her
service and status subsequent thereto, be deemed continuous and
constant. If the continuity of such service be interrupted or such
status be changed, however, appropriate changes as may be necessary for
actuarial purposes shall be made in such rates and amounts.

e. In the event a member shall continue in service after twenty-five
years of total creditable service, there shall be added to his or her
pension upon retirement a sum equal to one-sixtieth of his or her final
average salary for each completed additional year of service after
twenty-five years; provided, however, that upon completion of
twenty-five years of total creditable service, a participating employer
may elect to provide any service credit earned with a public employer
prior to services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff
towards the one-sixtieth allowance and provided, further that the total
allowance payable pursuant to this section shall not exceed
three-quarters of such member's final average salary.

f. The increased pension provided for in subdivision e hereof shall be
conditioned upon the participating employer electing to provide this
added benefit and assuming the additional cost thereof on account of all
of the members. Such increased pensions to the members shall be paid
from additional contributions made by the appropriate participating
employer on account of such members. The actuary of the retirement
system shall compute the additional contributions for each employer who
elects to provide the special benefits so provided. Such additional
contributions shall be computed on the basis of contributions during the
prospective service of such members 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 chief fiscal officer of the participating employer. The amount
thereof shall be included in the annual appropriation of the
participating employer for members. Such amount shall be paid on the
warrant of the chief fiscal officer of the participating employer to the
pension accumulation fund of the retirement system.

g. Any member may, within one year after he or she becomes a member or
within one year after his or her employer assumes the additional cost
therefor, whichever shall last occur, elect to receive the additional
benefits provided for by subdivision e hereof. Any member who elects to
receive such benefits shall be separated from service on the first day
of the calendar month next succeeding his or her attainment of age
sixty-two and the completion of twenty-five years of service, provided,
however, that in the case of any member who attained the age of
sixty-two before his or her employer assumed the additional cost
therefor, or who attains the age of sixty-two within one month after his
or her employer assumes the additional cost therefor, to be eligible for
additional pension credit under subdivision e of this section, his or
her service shall be terminated and he or she shall be retired within
three months after his or her employer assumes the additional cost
therefor.

h. 1. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include, any
and all services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff,
provided, however, that criminal law enforcement service shall only be
creditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or more of his or her
service as a deputy sheriff. 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 the
provisions of this article or article eight of this chapter.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of this
subdivision, a participating employer may elect on a form filed with the
comptroller for that purpose to provide that creditable service shall
also include any and all service performed by a deputy sheriff who is a
police officer pursuant to subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of
the criminal procedure law as certified by the municipal police council
or as certified by the police department of the city of New York upon
satisfactory completion of the basic training program and graduation
from the New York city police academy.

i. In computing the twenty-five years of completed service of a
member, full credit shall be given for military service as defined in
subdivisions twenty-nine-a and thirty of section three hundred two of
this chapter.

j. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding
any provision of this chapter to the contrary.

k. 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 chapter had
he or she withdrawn from this section, in which event such greater
benefits shall be payable.