(a) “Retirement system” shall mean a retirement system as authorized by this article;

(b) “Board” shall mean the retirement board provided for in this article to administer the retirement system;

(c) “Municipality” shall mean any city, as defined by Section 21-1-1 which has a population of twenty-one thousand (21,000), or more;

(d) “Governing body” shall mean the legislative body, board or commission of any municipality, as defined in subsection (c) of this section;

(e) “Employer” shall mean a municipality, as defined in subsection (c) of this section, which has elected, as by this article provided, to provide a retirement system;

(f) “Employee” shall mean all administrative and other employees on a monthly salary basis, excepting policemen, firemen, and school teachers;

(g) “Member” shall mean any municipal employee included in the membership of the retirement system;

(h) “Beneficiary” shall mean any person in receipt of an annuity, pension, or retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this article;

(i) “Compensation” shall mean the remuneration paid the employee in cash or warrant out of public funds in return for his services to the employer, plus the monetary value, as determined by the governing body, of whatever living quarters or other thing of monetary value the employer furnishes him in return for his services. Compensation in addition to an employee’s base salary that is paid to the employee at the time of his retirement for unused accumulated annual leave, sick leave or both, pursuant to the vacation and sick leave policies of the employer, shall be excluded from the calculation of compensation under this article;

(j) “Accumulated contributions” shall mean the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the employees’ savings fund, together with interest thereon as by this article provided;

(k) “Service” shall mean time spent as an employee of one (1) employer, the time spent in the employ of one (1) employer under this article not being transferable nor to be considered by any other employer under this article. Service shall not include any unused accumulated annual leave, sick leave or both that any employee has at the time of his retirement pursuant to the vacation and sick leave policies of the employer;

(l) “Prior service” shall mean time spent in the employ of an employer, under this article, prior to the effective date of the retirement system; provided, the time spent in the employ of one (1) employer under this article may not be transferable nor considered by any other employer under this article.