The following words and phrases used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meaning:
(a) `City' shall mean the City of Inkster;
(b) `Council' shall mean the council of the City of Inkster;
(c) `Board' shall mean the board of trustees provided for in this chapter;
(d) `Member' shall mean any person included in the membership of the retirement system; and `employee member' shall mean a fireman or policeman as herein defined who is employed by the City of Inkster after the effective date or who was on retirement under the predecessor Retirement System of the Village of Inkster for Firemen and Policemen at the effective date;
(e) `Service' shall mean service rendered as a policeman or fireman while a member of the police or fire force of the city, including similar continuous service immediately preceding the date of incorporation of the city, as a policeman or a fireman for the Village of Inkster;
(f) `Original member' shall mean any person who was a member of the Retirement System of the Village of Inkster at the date it first became effective;
(g) `New member' shall mean any person who became a member of the Retirement System of the Village of Inkster after its establishment;
(h) `Aggregate contributions' shall mean the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and paid into the firemen's and policemen's pension fund and not theretofore withdrawn;
(i) `Final monthly compensation' wherever used in this chapter shall mean the average monthly pay of the best 60 consecutive months of pay as an employee member from the city (and/or Village of Inkster for employee members with less than 60 months service with the city) during the member's last 120 consecutive months of service with the city (and/or Village of Inkster for members with less than 120 months service with the city). In event an employee member has less than 60 months service with the City and/or Village of Inkster at his date of disability retirement or death, `final monthly compensation' shall mean his average monthly pay during his entire period of continuous service;
(j) `Policeman' shall mean any employee of the police department holding the rank of patrolman or higher rank, including dog warden, but it shall not include (1) privately employed policemen; nor (2) persons temporarily employed during emergencies; nor (3) civilian employees of the police department;
(k) `Fireman' shall mean any employee of the fire department holding the rank of fire fighter or higher rank, but it shall not include (1) privately employed firemen; nor (2) persons temporarily employed during emergencies; nor (3) civilian employees of the fire department;
(l) `Widow' shall mean the person to whom a deceased member was married at the time when total disability was incurred or when his death occurred in the line of duty, and to whom he is still married at the time of his demise;
(m) `Normal retirement' shall mean termination of employment (other than by death) of any employee member after attainment of age 55 and the minimum service requirement specified in Section 18.3 hereof;
(n) `Duty total disability' shall mean the inability of an employee member to perform the duties of his position because of accident sustained in or illness contracted in or arising from the discharge of any duty which said member officially owed the fire or police force of the City of Inkster (or predecessor Village of Inkster) whether performed while on duty or leave;
(o) `Disability retirement' shall mean termination of employment (other than by death) of an employee member because of duty total disability;
(p) `Duty death' shall mean the death of an employee member on disability retirement or of an employee member from causes which would have entitled him, if still living, to disability retirement[,] and `non-duty death' shall mean the death of an employee member on normal retirement or of an employee member from causes other than those which result in a duty death;
(q) `Actuarial equivalent' means with respect to any regular benefit otherwise payable under the retirement system any other benefit substituted at the discretion of the board of trustees with the consent of the member; provided, however, that such substitute benefit shall have the same monetary value as the regular benefit on the date of determination, such values to be determined by use of the actuarial tables last adopted by the board of trustees with the advice of the actuary for such purposes;
(r) `Effective date' shall mean the date of adoption of the charter of the City of Inkster.