N.Y. Retire. & Soc. Sec. Law § 1000

§ 1000. Military service credit. Notwithstanding any law to the\ncontrary, a member of a public retirement system of the state, as\ndefined in subdivision twenty-three of section five hundred one of this\nchapter, shall be eligible for credit for military service as\nhereinafter provided:\n 1. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a\ntotal not to exceed three years of service credit for up to three years\nof military duty, as defined in section two hundred forty-three of the\nmilitary law, if the member was honorably discharged from the military\nand all or part of such military service was rendered during the\nfollowing periods: (a) commencing December seventh, nineteen hundred\nforty-one and terminating December thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nforty-six; (b) commencing June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty\nand terminating January thirty-first, nineteen hundred fifty-five; or\n(c) commencing February twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred sixty-one and\nterminating May seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-five;\n 2. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a\ntotal not to exceed three years of service credit for up to three years\nof military duty, as defined in section two hundred forty-three of the\nmilitary law, if honorably discharged therefrom, if all or part of such\nservices was rendered in the military conflicts referenced below, as\nfollows:\n (a) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United\nStates in Lebanon, from the first day of June, nineteen hundred\neighty-three to the first day of December, nineteen hundred\neighty-seven, as established by receipt of the armed forces\nexpeditionary medal, the navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps\nexpeditionary medal;\n (b) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United\nStates in Grenada, from the twenty-third day of October, nineteen\nhundred eighty-three to the twenty-first day of November, nineteen\nhundred eighty-three, as established by receipt of the armed forces\nexpeditionary medal, the navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps\nexpeditionary medal;\n (c) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United\nStates in Panama, from the twentieth day of December, nineteen hundred\neighty-nine to the thirty-first day of January, nineteen hundred ninety,\nas established by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary medal, the\nnavy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal; or\n (d) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United\nStates, from the second day of August, nineteen hundred ninety, to the\nend of such hostilities in case of a veteran who served in the theater\nof operations including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the\nUnited Arab Emirates, Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the\nPersian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the airspace above these locations.\n 3. A member must have at least five years of credited service (not\nincluding service granted hereunder) to be eligible to receive credit\nunder this section.\n 4. To obtain such credit, a member shall pay such retirement system,\nfor deposit in the fund used to accumulate employer contributions, a sum\nequal to the product of the number of years of military service being\nclaimed and three percent of such member's compensation earned during\nthe twelve months of credited service immediately preceding the date\nthat the member made application for credit pursuant to this section. If\npermitted by rule or regulation of the applicable retirement system, the\nmember may pay such member costs by payroll deduction for a period which\nshall not exceed the time period of military service to be credited\npursuant to this section. In the event the member leaves the employer\npayroll prior to completion of payment, he or she shall forward all\nremaining required payments to the appropriate retirement system prior\nto the effective date of retirement. If the full amount of such member\ncosts is not paid to the appropriate retirement system prior to the\nmember's retirement, the amount of service credited shall be\nproportional to the total amount of the payments made prior to\nretirement.\n 5. In no event shall the credit granted pursuant to this section, when\nadded to credit granted for military service with any retirement system\nof this state pursuant to this or any other provision of law, exceed a\ntotal of three years.\n 6. To be eligible to receive credit for military service under this\nsection, a member must make application for such credit before the\neffective date of retirement. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions\nof this subdivision, an individual who retired on or after December\ntwenty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight and before the effective\ndate of this section may make application for credit pursuant to this\nsection within one year following the effective date of this section, in\nwhich event, the cost to the retiree would be based on the twelve month\nperiod immediately preceding retirement.\n 7. All costs for service credited to a member pursuant to this\nsection, other than the member costs set forth in subdivision three of\nthis section, shall be paid by the state and all employers which\nparticipate in the retirement system in which such member is granted\ncredit.\n 8. A member who has purchased military service credit pursuant to\nsection two hundred forty-four-a of the military law shall be entitled\nto a refund of the difference between the amount paid by the member for\nsuch purchase and the amount that would be payable if service had been\npurchased pursuant to this section.\n 9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the event of death\nprior to retirement, amounts paid by the member for the purchase of\nmilitary service credit pursuant to this section shall be refunded, with\ninterest, to the extent the military service purchased with such amounts\ndoes not produce a greater death benefit than would have been payable\nhad the member not purchased such credit.\n Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the event of\nretirement, amounts paid by the member for the purchase of military\nservice credit pursuant to this section shall be refunded, with\ninterest, to the extent the military service purchased with such amounts\ndoes not produce a greater retirement allowance than would have been\npayable had the member not purchased such credit.\n 10. Anything to the contrary in subdivision four of this section\nnotwithstanding, to obtain such credit, a member who first joins a\npublic retirement system of the state on or after April first, two\nthousand twelve shall pay such retirement system, for deposit in the\nfund used to accumulate employer contributions, a sum equal to the\nproduct of the number of years of military service being claimed and six\npercent of such member's compensation earned during the twelve months of\ncredited service immediately preceding the date that the member made\napplication for credit pursuant to this section.\n