Section 70. Superannuation retirement

a. Any member may retire if he shall
  have  attained at least the minimum retirement age while in service as a
  member, or while in federal service, or in the  service  of  the  United
  Nations  or other international organizations of which the United States
  is a member,  as  a  member  continued  pursuant  to  paragraph  one  of
  subdivision  f  of  section  forty of this article, or while entitled to
  make application for a vested retirement allowance pursuant  to  section
  seventy-six  of  this  chapter. Any such member desiring to retire shall
  execute and file with the comptroller  an  application  for  retirement,
  which shall specify the effective date of his retirement, which shall be
  not  less  than thirty nor more than ninety days subsequent to such date
  of filing. An application for service  retirement,  filed  hereunder  in
  accordance  with the provisions of subdivision c of section sixty-two or
  subdivision f of section sixty-three of this chapter, shall be processed
  in  the  regular  manner,  provided  that  if  the   application   filed
  simultaneously  therewith  under either of such subdivisions is granted,
  then and in that event the retirement allowance  granted  in  accordance
  with the provisions of this section shall be appropriately adjusted.
    b.  Any  member  who attains age seventy shall be retired on the first
  day of the calendar month next succeeding such  event.  Such  retirement
  shall  be  on the basis of "Option One-half", unless the member files an
  effective election pursuant to section ninety of this article to  retire
  on  a  different  basis.  If  he  shall have filed such an election, his
  retirement allowance shall be computed in accordance with the  basis  so
  selected  by  him.  The  provisions  of this subdivision with respect to
  mandatory retirement shall be inapplicable to:
    1. An elective officer.
    2. A judge.
    3. A justice.
    4. An official referee.
    5. A person holding office by virtue  of  an  appointment  to  fill  a
  vacancy in an elective office.
    6. An employee of the port of New York authority.
    7.  A  person who last became a member before April eleventh, nineteen
  hundred forty-five, and who serves continuously after such date  in  one
  or more of the following capacities:
    (a)  A clerk of a court, as provided in the constitution, article six,
  section twenty-one.
    (b) An appointee of the governor.
    (c) An employee of the legislature drawing an annual salary, or
    (d) A chaplain of a county penal institution  having  served  as  such
  chaplain for not less than thirty years, or
    8. A commissioner of elections.
    c.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of subdivision b of this section,
  the state civil  service  commission  may  approve  the  continuance  in
  service  of  members who have attained age seventy. Such approvals shall
  be for periods not to exceed two years each. No such approval  shall  be
  given unless:
    1.  The  head  of the department in which the member is employed shall
  file  a  written  statement  with   the   comptroller   approving   such
  continuance, and
    2.  The medical board shall certify that such member is physically fit
  to perform the duties of his position, and
    3. The state civil service commission shall find that:
    (a) Such member is less than seventy-eight years of age, and
    (b) His continuance in service would be advantageous  because  of  his
  expert  knowledge  and special qualifications.   The service of any such
  member may, however, be terminated at  any  time  by  the  head  of  the

  department  in  which  he is employed, upon sixty days written notice to
  such member.