§ 51. Refunds and withdrawals. a. A member under age sixty may
withdraw his accumulated contributions if he has been separated from
service for a period of at least fifteen days.

b. A member sixty years of age or over, may elect, not later than
fifteen days after filing his application for retirement, or not later
than thirty days after his mandatory retirement has become effective by
operation of law, to withdraw his accumulated contributions in lieu of a
retirement allowance, provided that he

1. Has had less than five years of total service credit, or

2. Last became a member before April sixth, nineteen hundred
forty-three, or

3. Is eligible for an annual retirement allowance which, without
optional modification, amounts to less than three hundred dollars.

c. The following contributions or additional contributions shall be
treated as excess contributions which, together with regular interest
and special interest thereon, may be withdrawn by a member at any time
prior to retirement, or if not so withdrawn, shall be used to purchase
additional annuity:

1. Contributions paid by a member in order to receive credit for
service in war after world war I, as defined in section two of this
article, not including, however, contributions required by subdivision k
of section forty-one of this article.

2. Additional contributions paid by a member pursuant to section
eighty, eighty-nine-a or eighty-nine-b and where, as a result of a
change in his employment, such additional contributions would not
provide an additional pension allowance for service for which such
additional contributions were made.

3. Such other contributions to the annuity savings fund as may be
determined by regulation of the comptroller to be excess and subject to
such withdrawal.

d. If a member dies before the effective date of his retirement, his
accumulated contributions shall be paid to his estate or to the person
nominated by him in a written designation duly executed and filed with
the comptroller. In the event such a designated beneficiary does not
survive him, or if he shall not have so designated a beneficiary, such
contributions shall be payable to the deceased member's estate or as
provided in section one thousand three hundred ten of the surrogate's
court procedure act. Such member, or after his death, the person so
nominated by him may file with the comptroller a written designation,
duly executed providing that such contributions shall be paid in the
form of an annuity to such person so nominated. Such designation shall
be filed prior to or within ninety days after the death of the member.
The amount of such annuity shall be determined as the actuarial
equivalent of such accumulated contributions on the basis of regular
interest and the age of the person so nominated as of the date of such
member's death.

dd. Notwithstanding the provisions of section ninety of this article,
accumulated contributions shall be payable in the manner provided by
subdivision d or e of this section in the case of a retired member who
shall die before attaining age seventy where:

1. His application for retirement became effective prior to his death,
and

2. No optional election by him was in effect at the time of his death,
or he had made and filed a valid election to receive his retirement
allowance without optional modification, and

3. He died within the period of thirty days immediately after his
retirement became effective.
The amount of the accumulated contributions so payable under this
subdivision shall be reduced by the amount of any annuity payment that
may have been paid on account of such retirement.

The provisions of this subdivision shall apply in any case where death
occurred on or after January first, nineteen hundred fifty-four.

e. A member, or after his death, the person nominated by him to
receive his accumulated contributions, may elect to receive the
actuarial equivalent of the annuity specified in subdivision d of this
section in the form of a reduced annuity, payable for life, with the
further proviso that if the person so nominated should die before the
annuity payments received by him are equal to such actuarial equivalent,
the balance thereof shall be paid in a lump sum to such beneficiary's
estate or to such person as such member or his nominee shall have
designated prior to his death. Such election shall be made prior to or
within ninety days after the death of the member. Such designation of a
beneficiary to receive such lump sum may be made or changed at any time
by the person who made it. Such election, designation or change shall be
made by a writing duly executed and filed with the comptroller. If the
person nominated to receive such lump sum does not survive the member's
beneficiary, such lump sum, if any, shall be payable to the estate of
the member's beneficiary or as provided in section one thousand three
hundred ten of the surrogate's court procedure act.