89-T - Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for county probation officers.

* §  89-t.  Optional  twenty-five  year  retirement  plan  for  county  probation officers. a. A member employed by a county shall  be  eligible  to  retire  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of this section if the county  elects to make the benefits provided herein  available  as  provided  in  subdivision  j  of  this  section  and  if  he or she is a peace officer  employed by a county probation department. Such eligibility shall be  an  alternative to the eligibility provisions available under any other plan  of  this  article to which such member is subject. The comptroller shall  have the authority to include positions herein that comprehend the  same  duties and responsibilities, but are named differently.    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  accumulated  contributions  at  the  time  of  his  retirement  and   an  additional   pension   which   is   the   actuarial  equivalent  of  the  reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may  then  be  entitled  shall  be sufficient to provide him 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 any  and  all  services  performed  as  a  peace officer within a county probation  department.    e. Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police or as  a paid fireman, policeman 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,  or  as  a  probation  assistant  in a county  probation department, shall also be deemed to be creditable service  and  shall  be  included  in  computing years of total service for retirement  pursuant to this section.    f. The chief executive officer in each county  shall  certify  to  the  comptroller,  periodically  and  at  such  intervals  of  time as may be  required and in such fashion as may be prescribed, the identity  of  the  eligible probation 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 accumulated contributions  at the time of his retirement and an additional  pension  which  is  the  actuarial  equivalent  of  the  reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay  to  which he may then be entitled, shall be sufficient to provide him with a  retirement allowance equal to one-half of his 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  entrance  into the armed forces was in the service of the  county of his or her employer  that  makes  the  election  provided  for  herein.    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  thissection  for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other plan  of this article to which such member is subject.    j.  (1)  Each  county  that  elects pursuant to the provisions of this  subdivision shall pay the cost attributable therefor.    (2) The benefits of this section shall  be  available  only  to  those  members  defined  in subdivisions a and d of this section whose employer  elects to provide such benefits by adopting a resolution to such  effect  and   filing  a  certified  copy  thereof  with  the  comptroller.  Such  resolution may also contain an election that any past  service  cost  be  paid  over  either a five-year or ten-year period. Such resolution shall  be accompanied by the affidavit of the chief executive  officer  of  the  county  that  the  county  has  received an estimate from the retirement  system of the cost of the benefit provided by this section.    (3) Such resolution shall apply to all members defined in subdivisions  a and d of this section, except those already subject  to  a  retirement  plan  which permits immediate retirement with a benefit upon a specified  period of service of twenty-five years or less without regard to age.    k. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding  any other provision in this article to the contrary.    * NB There are 2 § 89-t's