Arizona Revised Statutes Title 38. Public Officers and Employees § 38-911. Deferred annuity;  eligibility;  amount;  exception

A. If any member who has at least ten years of credited service terminates employment for reasons other than retirement or disability, the person may elect to receive a deferred annuity, except that if the person withdraws the person's accumulated contributions from the plan, all rights to a deferred annuity are forfeited.  A deferred annuity is a lifetime monthly payment that is actuarially equivalent to the annuitant's accumulated contributions in the plan plus an equal amount paid by the employer and commences on application on or after the sixty-second birthday of the annuitant.  The deferred annuity is not a retirement benefit and annuitants are not entitled to receive any amount prescribed by § 38-887, 38-888, 38-904 or 38-906.

B. This section does not apply to a member who becomes a member of the plan on or after January 1, 2012 and before July 1, 2018.  Such a person who attains a normal retirement date is eligible for retirement and a retirement benefit even if the member terminates employment with an employer before the age requirement for normal retirement if the member attains the service requirement for normal retirement.