New York Laws
Article 11 - State Teachers' Retirement System for Public School Teachers
516 - Annuity Savings Fund; Contributions and Payments.

§ 516. Annuity savings fund; contributions and payments. The annuity
savings fund shall be the fund in which shall be accumulated the
deductions made from the compensation of contributors. Contributions to
and payments from the annuity savings fund shall be made in the
following manner:

1. Each employer shall deduct from the compensation of each
contributor on each and every payroll of such contributor for each and
every payroll period subsequent to the date upon which such contributor
became a member an amount equal to four per centum of such contributor's
earnable compensation in the cases of teachers who last became members
on or before the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred forty-eight and
five per centum of earnable compensation in the cases of teachers who
last became members on or after the first day of July, nineteen hundred
forty-eight except if membership is renewed upon restoration to active
service after retirement for disability, regular interest shall be
credited at the rate allowed to the member at the time his retirement
for disability last became effective. But no employer shall make any
deduction for annuity purposes from the compensation of a member who has
completed at least thirty-five years of total service, or who has
attained the age of sixty and completed at least twenty-five years of
total state service, if such member elects not to contribute.

2. In determining the amount earnable by a contributor in a payroll
period, the retirement board may consider the rate of compensation
payable to such member on the first day of the payroll period as
continuing throughout such payroll period, and it may omit deductions
from compensation for any period less than a full payroll period if a
teacher was not a contributor on the first day of the payroll period,
and to facilitate the making of deductions, it may modify the deduction
required of any contributor by such an amount as shall not exceed
one-tenth of one per centum of the compensation upon the basis of which
said deduction is to be made.

3. a. In addition to the deductions from compensation hereinbefore
required, any contributor may redeposit in the annuity savings fund by a
single payment an amount equal to the total amount which he withdrew
therefrom as provided in this article, or he may deposit therein by a
single payment an amount computed to be sufficient, together with the
retirement allowance otherwise provided to provide for him a total
retirement allowance of one-half of his final average salary upon
superannuation retirement, or any member or annuitant may deposit
therein by a single payment an amount permitted so to be deposited by
the retirement board for the purpose of purchasing additional annuity,
provided that no such member or annuitant shall be permitted to purchase
a total additional annuity thereby in excess of one-half his final
average salary; such additional annuity shall afford the usual optional
privileges. Such additional amounts so deposited shall become a part of
his accumulated contributions.

b. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this article, in
addition to the deposits hereinbefore permitted by this subdivision, any
contributor to this system, who is actually on the payroll of a school
district or the state, may, for the purpose of purchasing additional
annuity, deposit in the annuity savings fund once in any school year by
a single payment an amount not in excess of four per centum of his
earnable rate of compensation for the school year immediately preceding
the date when such payment is made. Any such amount so deposited shall
be credited with regular interest and, on the basis of said rate of
interest, shall become a part of the contributor's accumulated
contributions in all respects including computation of benefits upon
retirement.


c. Any member by written notice duly acknowledged and filed with the
retirement board before the first day of July, nineteen hundred
sixty-seven or within two years after he last became a member, whichever
is later, may elect to contribute pursuant to this paragraph c of
subdivision three of this section in order to qualify for an increased
pension for total service in excess of twenty-five years. After such
election the rate of deduction from earnable compensation shall be
increased by two and one-half per centum in the cases of teachers who
last became members on or before the thirtieth day of June, nineteen
hundred forty-eight and by three per centum in the cases of teachers who
last became members on or after the first day of July, nineteen hundred
forty-eight and such deductions shall be added to the accumulated
contributions of each member. Where a member elects to contribute
pursuant to this paragraph c of subdivision three of this section, such
additional contributions shall be made from the first day of July,
nineteen hundred fifty-seven or from the first day of the month
following the expiration of thirty days subsequent to the filing of his
election, whichever is later, except that if the member is contributing
pursuant to subdivision one of section five hundred eleven-a, such
additional contributions pursuant to this paragraph c of subdivision
three of this section shall be made from the first day of July following
the completion of twenty-five years of total service. If such a member,
upon the completion of twenty-five years of total service, wishes to
forfeit his right to special service retirement under the provisions of
section five hundred eleven-a, he may cease making contributions
pursuant to subdivision one of such section, leave such contributions in
the retirement system and commence making contributions pursuant to this
paragraph c of subdivision three of this section in order to receive
credit for service rendered after the completion of twenty-five years of
total service. If such a member, upon the completion of twenty-five
years of total service wishes to maintain his right to special service
retirement, he shall continue to make contributions pursuant to
subdivision one of section five hundred eleven-a and commence making
contributions pursuant to this paragraph c. Contributions made pursuant
to this paragraph c shall cease on the first day of July following the
completion of thirty-five years of total service, except that, any
member who has completed more than twenty-five years of service on the
first day of July, nineteen hundred sixty-seven may deposit in a lump
sum an amount equivalent to the sum of the contributions he would have
made prior to the first day of July, nineteen hundred sixty-seven, had
this paragraph c become effective as of the date when twenty-five years
of service was completed or as of any date thereafter which the member
may elect for the purpose of determining the amount to be so deposited.

d. Members of the retirement system who elect to contribute pursuant
to paragraph c of subdivision three of this section, shall receive
credit for each year, not in excess of ten, of service in excess of
twenty-five years for which contributions were made pursuant to
paragraph c of subdivision three of this section.

4. The accumulated contributions of a contributor returned to him upon
his withdrawal or paid to his estate or designated beneficiary in the
event of his death as provided in this article shall be paid from the
annuity savings fund.

5. Upon the retirement of a contributor his accumulated contributions
shall be transferred from the annuity savings fund to the annuity
reserve fund.

6. The retirement board may adopt rules and regulations providing for
the withdrawal at retirement by members of the accumulated contributions
credited to their individual accounts in the annuity savings fund. Such

rules and regulations shall provide that the application for withdrawal
of contributions be filed no earlier than the date the member files the
application for retirement and no later than the day preceding the
effective date of retirement. Provided, however, this section has no
application to members subject to article fourteen or article fifteen of
the retirement and social security law.

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