N.Y. MIL Law § 215

§ 215. Retirement of and pensions for certain veterans. 1. Any\nsoldier, sailor or marine of the army or navy of the United States in\nthe civil war, Spanish-American war, or world war I, honorably\ndischarged from service, and any member of the organized militia of the\nstate having performed active service as such with his organization in\naid of federal or civil authorities, for a period of not less than ten\nconsecutive days, who shall have been employed for a period of twenty\nyears or more in the military or naval service of the state of New York\nunder pay from funds raised as provided for in this chapter for the pay\nof such employees, may, upon reaching the age of sixty-four years upon\nhis own request and the approval of the adjutant general, or shall, upon\nbeing discharged or released from such employment without fault on his\npart after reaching the age of fifty years after serving as aforesaid,\nor upon being incapacitated from performing the duties of his position\nafter twenty years of such service, be retired from such employment with\nthe approval of the adjutant general, and thereafter during his life\nthere shall be paid to him, in the same manner and by the same agency\nand from the same source that the compensation of his former position\nwas customarily paid to him, an annual sum equal in amount to one-half\nof the compensation paid to him in the last year of his employment.\n 2. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of any\nperson who, on or after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-four, enters\nor re-enters military or naval service of the state under pay from funds\nraised as provided for in this chapter. For the purposes of this\nsubdivision, a person who entered or re-entered such service before such\ndate shall be deemed to continue therein during the time he performs\nmilitary duty under a leave of absence therefor pursuant to section two\nhundred forty-two or section two hundred forty-three of this chapter.\n