Section 73. Discontinued service after twenty years

a. Persons who last
  became members before April eighth, nineteen hundred forty-three.
    1. A person who last became a member  before  April  eighth,  nineteen
  hundred  forty-three,  and  who  is  discontinued  from  service while a
  member, through no fault or  delinquency  on  his  part,  may  elect  to
  receive his accumulated contributions or a retirement allowance pursuant
  to  the  provisions  of  paragraph  two,  three,  four  or  five of this
  subdivision a, as the case may be, if:
    (a) He shall have completed twenty years of total service, and
    (b) During the six months immediately preceding  such  discontinuance,
  he  shall  have been in paid service continuously, regularly and without
  interruption.
    The provisions of subparagraph (b) of this  paragraph  one  shall  not
  apply  to  legislative employees or laborers who have served as such for
  at least parts of each of  the  two  years  immediately  preceding  such
  discontinuance.
    2.  A  retirement allowance granted pursuant to the provisions of this
  subdivision a shall consist of:
    (a)  An  annuity  of  equivalent  actuarial  value  to  the   member's
  accumulated contributions, and
    (b)   A   pension   which   is   the   actuarial   equivalent  of  the
  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may be entitled, if any,
  and
    (c) A pension, to begin immediately, which shall consist of:
    (1) A pension which is the actuarial equivalent, at  his  age  at  the
  time  of  such  discontinuance,  of  a pension beginning at age sixty of
  one-seventieth of his final average salary multiplied by the  number  of
  years  for  which  he has prior service credit and credit for service in
  war after world war I, if any, plus
    (2) A pension which is the actuarial equivalent, at  his  age  at  the
  time  of  such  discontinuance,  of a pension, beginning at age sixty of
  one-one hundred fortieth of his final average salary multiplied  by  the
  number of years for which he has member service credit.
    3.  If,  in  addition,  the  member  has  attained age forty-five, the
  retirement allowance  granted  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  a  shall
  consist of:
    (a)   An  annuity  of  equivalent  actuarial  value  to  the  member's
  accumulated contributions, and (b) A  pension  which  is  the  actuarial
  equivalent of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may be
  entitled, if any, and
    (c) A pension, to begin immediately, which shall consist of:
    (1)  A  pension  which  is the actuarial equivalent, at his age at the
  time of such discontinuance, of a pension  beginning  at  age  sixty  of
  one-seventieth  of  his final average salary multiplied by the number of
  years for which he has prior service credit and credit  for  service  in
  war  after  world war I, if any, plus fifty per centum of the difference
  between such pension and the pension that would be allowable to him  for
  such service if he were age sixty, plus
    (2)  A  pension  which  is the actuarial equivalent, at his age at the
  time of such discontinuance, of a pension  beginning  at  age  sixty  of
  one-one  hundred  fortieth of his final average salary multiplied by the
  number of years for which he has member service credit, plus  fifty  per
  centum of the difference between such pension and the pension that would
  be allowable to him for such service if he were age sixty.
    4.  If  the member is age forty-five, and in addition, has been at any
  time, continuously employed for twenty years  or  more,  the  retirement
  allowance granted pursuant to this subdivision a shall consist of:

    (a)   An  annuity  of  equivalent  actuarial  value  to  the  member's
  accumulated contributions, and
    (b)   A   pension   which   is   the   actuarial   equivalent  of  the
  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may be entitled, if any,
  and
    (c) A pension, to begin immediately, which shall consist of:
    (1) A pension which is the actuarial equivalent, at  his  age  at  the
  time  of  such  discontinuance,  of  a pension beginning at age sixty of
  one-seventieth of his final average salary multiplied by the  number  of
  years  for  which  he has prior service credit and credit for service in
  war after world war I, if any, plus the difference between such  pension
  and  the  pension  that would be allowable to him for such service if he
  were age sixty, plus
    (2) A pension which is the actuarial equivalent at his age at the time
  of such discontinuance of a pension beginning at age  sixty  of  one-one
  hundred fortieth of his final average salary multiplied by the number of
  years for which he has member service credit plus the difference between
  such  pension  and  the  pension that would be allowable to him for such
  service if he were age sixty.
    5. If the member shall have attained age fifty and has  been,  at  any
  time, continuously employed for twenty-five years or more the retirement
  allowance granted pursuant to this subdivision a shall consist of:
    (a)   An  annuity  of  equivalent  actuarial  value  to  the  member's
  accumulated contributions, and
    (b)  A  pension   which   is   the   actuarial   equivalent   of   the
  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may be entitled, if any,
  and
    (c)  A pension, to begin immediately, which together with the annuity,
  shall equal the retirement allowance which  would  be  payable  had  the
  member  reached  age  sixty  at  the  time  of  discontinuance from such
  service.
    6. Time during which a member was:
    (a)  Absent  on  leave  without  pay  after  January  first,  nineteen
  twenty-one, or
    (b) On a preferred eligible list pursuant to section eighty-one of the
  civil  service  law  or  former section thirty-one of such law and after
  such date, or
    (c)  Rendering  paid  or  unpaid  services  to  the  state  or  to   a
  participating   employer   prior  to  May  twentieth,  nineteen  hundred
  fifty-five, for not to exceed four months immediately prior to which and
  immediately subsequent to which he was in an employment on the basis  of
  which he contributed to the retirement system,
  shall  not  constitute  an  interruption  of continuous employment. Such
  time, however, shall not be  counted  or  included  in  determining  the
  length of his total service.
    b.  Persons who last became members on or after April eighth, nineteen
  hundred forty-three.
    1. A person who last  became  a  member  on  or  after  April  eighth,
  nineteen hundred forty-three, and who is discontinued from service while
  a  member,  through  no  fault  or delinquency on his part, may elect to
  receive his accumulated contributions or a retirement allowance pursuant
  to the provisions of paragraph two of this subdivision b if:
    (a) He shall have completed twenty years of total service, and
    (b) During the six months immediately preceding  such  discontinuance,
  he  shall  have been in paid service continuously, regularly and without
  interruption.
    The provisions of subparagraph (b) of this  paragraph  one  shall  not
  apply  to  legislative employees or laborers who have served as such for

  at least parts of each of  the  two  years  immediately  preceding  such
  discontinuance.
    2.  A  retirement allowance granted pursuant to the provisions of this
  subdivision b shall consist of:
    (a)  An  annuity  of  equivalent  actuarial  value  to  the   member's
  accumulated contributions, and
    (b)   A   pension   which   is   the   actuarial   equivalent  of  the
  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he may be entitled, if any,
  and
    (c) A pension, to begin immediately, which shall be composed of one or
  more of the following parts:
    (1) One which is the actuarial equivalent, at his age at the  time  of
  such   discontinuance,   of  a  pension,  beginning  at  age  sixty,  of
  one-seventieth of his final average salary multiplied by the  number  of
  years  for  which  he has prior service credit and credit for service in
  war after world war I, if any, plus
    (2) One which is the actuarial equivalent, at his age at the  time  of
  such  discontinuance,  of  one-one hundred fortieth of his final average
  salary multiplied by the number of years for which he has member service
  credit, plus
    (3) If the member shall have attained  age  fifty,  one  which  equals
  fifty  per  centum  of the difference between the pension payable to him
  pursuant to items one and two of this subparagraph (c) and  the  pension
  that would be allowable to him were he age sixty.
    3.  Application  shall  be  made for a discontinued service retirement
  allowance pursuant to this subdivision b in the same manner and  subject
  to  the  same  conditions  which  govern  applications and elections for
  superannuation retirement allowances.