A special 20-year retirement plan for Tier 1 and Tier 2 investigators assigned to the office of a district attorney was established in 1983. The features of this plan are briefly described in this brochure.

For information about other benefits available to you, please consult the summary of your regular plan, which is available on our website or from our Call Center.

Eligibility

First, your employer must adopt this retirement plan. Then you must elect the plan within one year of the date your employer adopted it or within one year of beginning covered employment, whichever is later. Your election must be in writing and filed with the Office of the State Comptroller.

You may withdraw your election to participate in this special plan after one year of coverage by filing written withdrawal notice with the Office of the State Comptroller. Once your withdrawal is acknowledged, you will be covered by the regular plan your employer provides.

Creditable Service

Creditable service includes all service performed as a detective investigator, criminal investigator, senior criminal investigator, confidential criminal investigator, assistant criminal investigator and criminal investigator/arson in the office of a district attorney if at least 50 percent of your duties directly engage you in criminal law enforcement.

Credit may also be granted for service you earned as a:

• Member or officer of the New York State Police;
• Paid firefighter or police officer or officer of any organized fire department or police force or department of any county, city, town, fire or police district;
• Sheriff, undersheriff or regular deputy sheriff;
• Certain military service.

Since it may be necessary for you to purchase or transfer some of this service, please contact us to determine eligibility.

Retirement Benefit

Section 89-d

Section 89-d provides a benefit equal to 50 percent of your final average salary on completion of 20 years of creditable service, regardless of age. At retirement, if you are eligible for a better benefit under your employer’s regular plan, you must withdraw from this special plan to receive the better benefit.

If you reach age 62 without completing 20 years of covered service, your benefit will equal 2.5 percent of your final average salary for each year of creditable service, plus an additional 1.66 percent of your final average salary for each year of non-investigator service, not to exceed one-half of your final average salary.

Section 89-d(m)

If your employer has adopted this plan, your pension will equal 50 percent of your final average salary for 20 years of creditable service plus an additional 1.66 percent of your final average salary for each year of creditable service beyond 20 years, not to exceed ten additional years.

Disability and Death Benefits

Please consult the summary of your regular retirement plan for information about disability or death benefits.

For More Information

If you have any questions or you need more information, you can:

• Email us using our secure contact form;
• Call our Contact Center toll-free at 1-866-805-0990, or 518-474-7736 in the Albany, New York area; or
• Write to us at:
  NYSLRS
  110 State Street
  Albany, NY 12244-0001

You can also make an appointment to meet with an Information Representative at any of our consultation sites throughout the State. A list of these consultation sites is available on our website or from our Call Center.