§ 552. Optional twenty year retirement plan for certain members whose
employer elects to provide same. a. 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 a year. Such withdrawal shall be by
written notice duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller.

c. A member participating on the basis of this section at the time of
retirement, shall be entitled to retire after the completion of twenty
years of total creditable service or upon the attainment of age
sixty-two, by filing an application therefor in a manner similar to that
provided in this chapter.

1. Upon completion of twenty years of such service and upon
retirement, each such member shall receive a pension sufficient to
provide him or her with a retirement allowance equal to one-fortieth of
his or her final average salary for each year of total creditable
service for which he or she is otherwise entitled but not exceeding in
the aggregate one-half of his or her final average salary.

2. Upon attainment of age sixty-two and upon retirement without
completion of twenty years of such service, each such member shall
receive a pension sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement
allowance equal to one-fortieth of his or her final average salary for
each year of creditable service. Every such member shall also be
entitled to an additional pension equal to the pension for any other
creditable service rendered as otherwise provided for in this chapter.
This latter pension shall not increase the total allowance to more than
one-half of his or her final average salary.

d. The increased pensions to such 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 or her to the chief fiscal
officer of the participating employer. The amount thereof shall be
included in the annual appropriation of the participating employer. 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.

e. In computing the twenty 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.

f. Every member participating on the basis of this section shall be
separated from the service on the last day of the calendar month next
succeeding the calendar month in which he or she attains age sixty-two,
provided, however, that such a member who attained the age of sixty-two
before his or her employer elected to make the benefits provided herein
available to him or her, or who attains the age of sixty-two within one
month after his or her employer makes such benefits available, to be
eligible for a pension computed in accordance with the provisions of
this section, shall be separated from the service within three months
after his or her employer makes such benefits available.

g. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding
any provision in this article to the contrary.

h. 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.

i. 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.

j. 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.

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.

3. 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.

k. As used in this section, "creditable service" shall also include
any and all services performed as an employee of the Columbia county
sheriff's department, provided that such employment was performed on or
before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-five and provided
that on that date the employee was performing criminal law enforcement
duties in the Columbia county sheriff's department.