Section 89-L. Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Orleans county

a. A member employed in  Orleans
  county  shall  be  eligible to retire pursuant to the provisions of this
  section if: (1) he is a sheriff or undersheriff, or a deputy sheriff who
  is engaged directly in criminal law enforcement activities; or (2) he is
  a correction 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
  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.
    d. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include: (1)  in
  the  case  of a sheriff, undersheriff or correction officer, any and all
  services performed as a sheriff, undersheriff and/or correction  officer
  of Orleans 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 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
  and/or correction officer of such county.
    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, 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 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.
    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 reserve-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 Orleans.
    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.