§ 89-h. Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs,
correction officers and identification officers in Albany county. a. A
member employed in Albany county shall be eligible to retire pursuant to
the provisions of this section if: (1) he or she is a sheriff or
undersheriff, or a deputy sheriff who is engaged directly in criminal
law enforcement activities; or (2) he or she is a correction officer or
identification officer. Such eligibility shall be an alternative to the
eligibility provisions available under any other plan of this article to
which such member is subject.

b. Such member shall be entitled to retire upon the completion of
twenty-five years of total creditable service by filing an application
therefor in the manner provided for in section seventy of this article.

c. Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon
retirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together
with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his or her
accumulated contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an
additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the
reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be
entitled shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement
allowance equal to one-half of his or her final average salary.

d. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include (1) in
the case of a sheriff, undersheriff, correction officer or
identification officer any and all services performed as a sheriff,
undersheriff, correction officer and/or identification officer of Albany
county and all criminal law enforcement services performed as a deputy
sheriff of such county, 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 and (2) in the case of a
deputy sheriff, all criminal law enforcement service shall only be
creditable when it aggregates fifty per centum or more of such service
and any and all services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff,
correction officer and/or identification officer of such county.

e. 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.

f. The sheriff shall certify to the comptroller, periodically and at
such intervals of time as may be required of him or her and in such
fashion as may be prescribed, the identity of: (1) the deputy sheriffs
in the sheriff's employ who are engaged directly in criminal law
enforcement activities; and (2) the eligible correction officers and
identification officers.

g. A member, contributing on the basis of this section at the time of
retirement, shall retire after the completion of twenty-five years of
total creditable service. Application therefor may be filed in a manner
similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon
completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon retirement,
each such member shall receive a pension which, together with an annuity
which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his or her accumulated
contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an additional
pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the
reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be
entitled shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement
allowance equal to one-half of his or her final average salary.

h. In computing the twenty-five years of total service of a member
pursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full allowance
shall be made for service of such member in time of war after World War
I as defined in section two of this chapter, provided such member at the
time of his or her entrance into the armed forces was in the service of
the county of Albany.

i. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a member, who does not
retire pursuant to the provisions of this section, from utilizing
service which is creditable service pursuant to the provisions of this
section for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other plan
of this article to which such member is subject.

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