N.Y. RSS Law § 152

§ 152. Definitions. The following words and phrases, as used in this\narticle, shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning\nis plainly required by the context:\n 1. "Beneficiary" shall mean a person who is receiving a benefit from a\npublic retirement system of the state or who has met all the conditions\nprecedent for the actual receipt of a benefit from a public retirement\nsystem of the state, and the monies are due and owing to such person by\nthe public retirement system of the state.\n 2. "Retired member" shall mean a person who is retired from and who is\nreceiving a retirement allowance from a public retirement system of the\nstate.\n 3. "Member" shall mean a member of any public retirement system of the\nstate.\n 4. "Head of the retirement system" shall mean the state comptroller,\nwith respect to the New York state and local employees' retirement\nsystem and the New York state and local police and fire retirement\nsystem, and the retirement board of the other public retirement systems\nof the state.\n 5. "Public employee pension plan" shall mean any plan, fund, or\nprogram which was heretofore or is hereafter established or maintained,\nin whole or in part, by a public employer of the state, as the term\npublic employer is defined in article fourteen of the civil service law,\nand administered by a public retirement system of the state, which\nprovides retirement income to employees or their beneficiaries.\n 6. "Public retirement system of the state" shall mean the New York\nstate and local employees' retirement system, New York state and local\npolice and fire retirement system, New York state teachers' retirement\nsystem, New York city employees' retirement system, New York city\nteachers' retirement system, New York city police pension fund, New York\ncity fire department pension fund and the New York city board of\neducation retirement system.\n 7. "Total accumulated plan benefits" shall mean an interest obtained\nby a member in that part of a public employee pension plan which arises\nfrom the member's continued service for a public employer based on\nservice to date.\n 8. "Vested pension benefit" shall mean an interest obtained by a\nmember in that part of a public employee pension plan which arises from\nthe member's continued service for a public employer and which would not\nbe forfeited under the terms and provisions of the plan if the member\nwere to terminate employment.\n