Whenever any person, either male or female, who, at the time of the taking effect of this chapter is a member of any regularly constituted police force in the city, or hereafter becomes a member of such police force, has served for a period of twenty (20) years or more upon the regularly constituted police force of the city, the board shall, regardless of the fact that such person may not have arrived at the age of fifty (50) years at that time, and subject to the provisions of this chapter, order and direct that such person, after becoming fifty (50) years of age and his or her service on such police force having ceased, shall be paid from such fund a yearly pension equal to one-half (1/2) of the amount of salary attached to the rank which he or she held on such police force for one year immediately prior to such retirement provided that the amount of such pension shall be increased by a sum equivalent to one percent (1%) of the salary attached to such rank for each additional year over twenty (20) years which such person has served upon such police force, until a maximum payment of sixty percent (60%) of the annual salary attached to the rank held by him for one year immediately preceding his retirement. After the decease of such member, his widow or his or her minor child or children, dependent because of physical or mental disability regardless of age, or dependent because of age, who survive him or her, or dependent parent or parents, if such there be, shall be entitled to the pension provided for in this chapter, of such deceased husband, father, son, mother, or daughter. In case of the death of any person who has completed a minimum of twenty (20) years' service as a member of any such police force, whether his death occurs before or after he attained the age of fifty (50) years, or before or after application for retirement on pension has been made, the pension to which the decedent would have been entitled, had he or she lived and made application for retirement on pension as of the date of death, shall be paid to his dependents as provided in the case of the death of a pensioner. No annuity shall be paid to any widow, child or dependent parent of a deceased member after she or he has married or remarried after the decease of such policeman. Nor shall any part of this section or any other section of this chapter be construed to necessitate the retirement of any capable policeman at the age of fifty (50) years.
In computing the time for the purpose of determining whether a policeman has served twenty (20) years, under the provisions of this section, no furloughs without pay exceeding thirty (30) days shall be counted, but all leaves of absence on account of any illness of or accident occurring to any such policeman, regardless of the length thereof, as well as all periods of disability retirement for which such policeman shall not have received any disability pension payments under the provisions of section 6-2-5 of this chapter shall be counted. All periods of such policeman's service in the military, naval or air forces of the United States of America when entered upon when he was an active policeman of the city, either on account of any war in which the United States of America was a belligerent party, or as required by any act of congress, shall be included and counted as a part of such policeman's twenty (20) years' period of police service, provided that such policeman, upon applying for such permanent pension, and in accordance with the rules of the said board, with reference thereto, shall pay into the fund a sum equivalent to the amount he would have contributed if he has been a regular contributor during such period or periods of military, naval or air service, if and to the extent that the city in which he shall have been so acting as a policeman shall not have made such contributions to the pension fund. (R.O. 1959, Ch. 32, Sec. 4)