N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law Section 445
Service retirement benefit

* a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retirement for disability, unless he or she is a police officer, an investigator member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, firefighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation worker, a special officer (including persons employed by the city of New York in the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger), school safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine commission inspector member of the New York city employees’ retirement system or the New York city board of education retirement system, a dispatcher member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, a police communications member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, an EMT member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, a deputy sheriff member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, a correction officer of the Westchester county correction department as defined in § 89-E (Retirement of correction officers of the Westchester county correction department)section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or employed in Suffolk county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk county as a correction officer, as defined in § 89-F (Retirement of county correction officers in Suffolk county)section eighty-nine-f of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer, uniformed correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff, as defined in § 89-G (Retirement of county correction officers, uniformed correction division personnel, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and undersheriffs in Nassau ...)section eighty-nine-g of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambulance medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical technician related services, or a police medic, police medic supervisor or a member who performs police medic related services, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction officer or identification officer, as defined in § 89-H (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, correction officers and identification officers in Albany county)section eighty-nine-h of this chapter or is employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-I (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in St)section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in Orleans county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-L (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Orleans county)section eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-J (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Jefferson county)section eighty-nine-j of this chapter or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division competitively appointed or as a correction officer, as defined in § 89-K (Retirement of deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Onondaga county)section eighty-nine-k of this chapter or is employed in a county which makes an election under subdivision j of § 89-P (Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for certain sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers whose employer ele...)section eighty-nine-p of this chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-M (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Broome county)section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a Monroe county deputy sheriff-court security, or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed in Greene county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-O (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Greene county)section eighty-nine-o of this chapter or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as defined in § 89-Q (Retirement of traffic officers with the town of Elmira)section eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park police officer, as defined in § 89-R (Retirement of county park police officers in Suffolk county)section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in § 89-V (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Rockland county)section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superior correction officer as defined in § 89-V (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Rockland county)section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thousand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda and retires under the provisions of § 89-V (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Rockland county)section eighty-nine-v of this chapter, as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire marshal, fire marshal, assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire marshal, chief fire marshal, division supervising fire marshal or fire marshal trainee employed by the county of Nassau as defined in § 89-W (Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for county fire marshals in the county of Nassau)section eighty-nine-w of this chapter or is employed in Monroe county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in § 89-X (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Monroe county)section eighty-nine-x of this chapter, employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician, advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of such titles in a participating Suffolk county fire district as defined in § 89-SS (Retirement of members employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician, advanced emergency medical technician, param...)section eighty-nine-ss of this chapter, and is in a plan which permits immediate retirement upon completion of a specified period of service without regard to age. Except as provided in subdivision c of § 445-A (Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city correction members below the rank of captain)section four hundred forty-five-a of this article, subdivision c of § 445-B (Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city sanitation members)section four hundred forty-five-b of this article, subdivision c of § 445-C (Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city correction members of the rank of captain or above)section four hundred forty-five-c of this article, subdivision c of § 445-D (Optional age fifty-five improved benefit retirement program for certain New York city members)section four hundred forty-five-d of this article, subdivision c of § 445-E (Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for dispatcher members)section four hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of § 445-F (Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for deputy sheriff members)section four hundred forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of § 445-H (Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for police communications members)section four hundred forty-five-h of this article, a member in such a plan and such an occupation, other than a police officer or investigator member of the New York city employees’ retirement system or a firefighter, shall not be permitted to retire prior to the completion of twenty-five years of credited service; provided, however, if such a member in such an occupation is in a plan which permits retirement upon completion of twenty years of service regardless of age, he or she may retire upon completion of twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twenty-five years of service, but in such event the benefit provided from funds other than those based on such a member’s own contributions shall not exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of credited service. * NB Effective until January 1, 2026 * a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retirement for disability, unless they are a police officer, an investigator member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, firefighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation worker, a special officer (including persons employed by the city of New York in the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger), school safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine commission inspector member of the New York city employees’ retirement system or the New York city board of education retirement system, a dispatcher member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, a police communications member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, an EMT member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, a deputy sheriff member of the New York city employees’ retirement system, a correction officer of the Westchester county correction department as defined in § 89-E (Retirement of correction officers of the Westchester county correction department)section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or employed in Suffolk county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk county as a correction officer, as defined in § 89-F (Retirement of county correction officers in Suffolk county)section eighty-nine-f of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer, uniformed correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff, as defined in § 89-G (Retirement of county correction officers, uniformed correction division personnel, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and undersheriffs in Nassau ...)section eighty-nine-g of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambulance medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical technician related services, or a police medic, police medic supervisor or a member who performs police medic related services, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction officer or identification officer, as defined in § 89-H (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, correction officers and identification officers in Albany county)section eighty-nine-h of this chapter or is employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-I (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in St)section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in Orleans county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-L (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Orleans county)section eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-J (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Jefferson county)section eighty-nine-j of this chapter or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division competitively appointed or as a correction officer, as defined in § 89-K (Retirement of deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Onondaga county)section eighty-nine-k of this chapter or is employed in a county which makes an election under subdivision j of § 89-P (Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for certain sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers whose employer ele...)section eighty-nine-p of this chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-M (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Broome county)section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a Monroe county deputy sheriff-court security, or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed in Greene county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in § 89-O (Retirement of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers in Greene county)section eighty-nine-o of this chapter or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as defined in § 89-Q (Retirement of traffic officers with the town of Elmira)section eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park police officer, as defined in § 89-R (Retirement of county park police officers in Suffolk county)section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in § 89-V (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Rockland county)section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superior correction officer as defined in § 89-V (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Rockland county)section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thousand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda and retires under the provisions of § 89-V (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Rockland county)section eighty-nine-v of this chapter, as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire marshal, fire marshal, assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire marshal, chief fire marshal, division supervising fire marshal or fire marshal trainee employed by the county of Nassau as defined in § 89-W (Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for county fire marshals in the county of Nassau)section eighty-nine-w of this chapter or is employed in Monroe county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in § 89-X (Retirement of deputy sheriffs-civil in Monroe county)section eighty-nine-x of this chapter, employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician, advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of such titles in a participating Suffolk county fire district as defined in § 89-SS (Retirement of members employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician, advanced emergency medical technician, param...)section eighty-nine-ss of this chapter, or is a firefighter apprentice, airport firefighter I, airport firefighter II, airport firefighter III, or training and safety officer employed by the division of military and naval affairs as defined in § 89-Y (Twenty-five year retirement plan for firefighters employed by the division of military and naval affairs)section eighty-nine-y of this chapter and is in a plan which permits immediate retirement upon completion of a specified period of service without regard to age. Except as provided in subdivision c of § 445-A (Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city correction members below the rank of captain)section four hundred forty-five-a of this article, subdivision c of § 445-B (Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city sanitation members)section four hundred forty-five-b of this article, subdivision c of § 445-C (Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city correction members of the rank of captain or above)section four hundred forty-five-c of this article, subdivision c of § 445-D (Optional age fifty-five improved benefit retirement program for certain New York city members)section four hundred forty-five-d of this article, subdivision c of § 445-E (Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for dispatcher members)section four hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of § 445-F (Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for deputy sheriff members)section four hundred forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of § 445-H (Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for police communications members)section four hundred forty-five-h of this article, a member in such a plan and such an occupation, other than a police officer or investigator member of the New York city employees’ retirement system or a firefighter, shall not be permitted to retire prior to the completion of twenty-five years of credited service; provided, however, if such a member in such an occupation is in a plan which permits retirement upon completion of twenty years of service regardless of age, they may retire upon completion of twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twenty-five years of service, but in such event the benefit provided from funds other than those based on such a member’s own contributions shall not exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of credited service. * NB Effective January 1, 2026 b. No member in a retirement plan which, prior to the effective date of this article, permitted all members to retire upon the attainment of age fifty and completion of twenty years of service shall be permitted to retire without benefit reduction prior to the attainment of age fifty-five and completion of twenty-five years of service. In the event that such a member retires prior to the attainment of age fifty-five or completion of twenty-five years of service, the benefit provided from funds other than those based on such a member’s own contributions shall not exceed two percentum of final average salary per each year of credited service.

c.

A person who is a member of an optional twenty year retirement plan for police officers and firefighters in jurisdictions which have elected to provide such plan and such jurisdiction further elects to permit retirement at age fifty-five without reduction may then elect to join under section three hundred seventy-five-i or three hundred seventy-five-j of this chapter, if either plan is provided by the employer, and may retire without reduction of his or her retirement benefit upon attaining the age of fifty-five.

Source: Section 445 — Service retirement benefit, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/RSS/445 (updated May 16, 2025; accessed May 24, 2025).

440
Application 441
Eligibility for retirement 442
Minimum age for retirement 443
Final average salary 444
Maximum retirement benefits 445
Service retirement benefit 445–A
Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city correction members below the rank of captain 445–B
Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city sanitation members 445–C
Optional twenty-year improved benefit retirement program for New York city correction members of the rank of captain or above 445–D
Optional age fifty-five improved benefit retirement program for certain New York city members 445–D*2
Optional twenty-year/age fifty improved benefit retirement program for Triborough bridge and tunnel members 445–E
Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for dispatcher members 445–E*2
Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for EMT members 445–F
Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for deputy sheriff members 445–F*2
Optional twenty-five year/age fifty improved benefit retirement program for senior automotive service workers, automotive service workers... 445–F*3
Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for special officer, parking control specialist, school safety agent, campu... 445–G
Optional twenty-five year/age fifty improved benefit retirement program for automotive members 445–H
Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for police communications members 445–I
Optional age fifty-five retirement program for New York city teachers and certain other members 446
Credit for service 447
Options 448
Death benefits 448–A
Death benefit for vested members who die prior to retirement 450
Definitions 451
Duration
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Accessed:
May 24, 2025

Last modified:
May 16, 2025

§ 445’s source at nysenate​.gov

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