902 - Benefit enhancements.

§  902.  Benefit  enhancements.  a. 1. An eligible employee (i) with a  date of membership in a retirement system prior to July  twenty-seventh,  nineteen  hundred  seventy-six  and (ii) who was in active service as of  April first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-nine  and  continued  in  active  service  with  a  public employer up to and including (A) October first,  two thousand or,  if  earlier,  (B)  the  eligible  employee's  date  of  retirement or death, if applicable, (but no earlier than June first, two  thousand)  shall  receive one-twelfth of a year of additional retirement  credit for each year of retirement credit for service rendered as of the  date of retirement or death, if applicable, up to a maximum of two years  of   retirement   credit.   Anything   in   the    preceding    sentence  notwithstanding,  a  member  of  the New York state teachers' retirement  system  with  a  date  of  membership  in  such  system  prior  to  July  twenty-seventh,  nineteen  hundred  seventy-six (other than a member who  has not rendered at least twenty days of credited service  in  any  plan  year  beginning on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-two) who  retires or dies, if applicable, on or after  June  first,  two  thousand  shall  be  entitled to receive the additional retirement credit provided  for in such sentence from such system.    2. The additional retirement service credit provided for in  paragraph  one  of  this subdivision shall not apply to (i) an employee who retires  under a retirement plan which allows all members of such  plan,  without  regard  to  position, a twenty year service retirement without regard to  age or to (ii) an employee who retires under  a  retirement  plan  which  allows  for  twenty-five  year  service retirement without regard to age  when it has been determined that the criminal  law  enforcement  service  creditable  for  such  employee  is in the aggregate more than fifty per  centum for duties not as a correction officer.    3.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law,  if  the  service  retirement  benefit  of  an  eligible  employee  is subject to a maximum  retirement  benefit,  the  additional   benefit   authorized   by   this  subdivision  shall  be  computed by multiplying the final average salary  times the number of years of service credit granted by this  subdivision  times the benefit fraction of the plan under which the employee retires.    b.  1.  An  eligible  employee  (i)  with  a  date  of membership in a  retirement system on or  after  July  twenty-seventh,  nineteen  hundred  seventy-six and before January first, two thousand ten, and (ii) who has  ten or more years of membership or ten or more years of credited service  with  a  retirement  system  under the provisions of article fourteen or  fifteen of this chapter  shall  not  be  required  to  contribute  to  a  retirement  system  pursuant  to  section  five hundred seventeen or six  hundred thirteen of this chapter as of the cessation date.    2. No contribution made to a retirement system by an eligible employee  prior to the eligible  employee's  cessation  date  shall  be  refunded,  except as otherwise allowable pursuant to article fourteen or fifteen of  this chapter.    3.  Nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall  affect the obligation of an  eligible  employee  to  repay  any  contributions  previously   refunded  pursuant  to article fourteen or fifteen of this chapter with applicable  interest pursuant to section six hundred forty-five of this  chapter  in  the  event  such  person  rejoins  a  retirement system. Nothing in this  subdivision shall affect the obligation of an eligible employee  to  pay  such  amounts  as may be required by section five hundred seventeen, six  hundred nine or six hundred thirteen of this chapter  or  by  any  other  provision of law for service rendered prior to such employee's cessation  date or for service rendered prior to such employee's date of membership  at a time such employee was not a member of a retirement system.c. The benefit enhancements provided for in this section shall be made  available  to  all  eligible  employees of a participating employer in a  retirement system.