§ 152. Definitions. The following words and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:

1. "Beneficiary" shall mean a person who is receiving a benefit from a public retirement system of the state or who has met all the conditions precedent for the actual receipt of a benefit from a public retirement system of the state, and the monies are due and owing to such person by the public retirement system of the state.

2. "Retired member" shall mean a person who is retired from and who is receiving a retirement allowance from a public retirement system of the state.

3. "Member" shall mean a member of any public retirement system of the state.

4. "Head of the retirement system" shall mean the state comptroller, with respect to the New York state and local employees' retirement system and the New York state and local police and fire retirement system, and the retirement board of the other public retirement systems of the state.

5. "Public employee pension plan" shall mean any plan, fund, or program which was heretofore or is hereafter established or maintained, in whole or in part, by a public employer of the state, as the term public employer is defined in article fourteen of the civil service law, and administered by a public retirement system of the state, which provides retirement income to employees or their beneficiaries.

6. "Public retirement system of the state" shall mean the New York state and local employees' retirement system, New York state and local police and fire retirement system, New York state teachers' retirement system, New York city employees' retirement system, New York city teachers' retirement system, New York city police pension fund, New York city fire department pension fund and the New York city board of education retirement system.

7. "Total accumulated plan benefits" shall mean an interest obtained by a member in that part of a public employee pension plan which arises from the member's continued service for a public employer based on service to date.

8. "Vested pension benefit" shall mean an interest obtained by a member in that part of a public employee pension plan which arises from the member's continued service for a public employer and which would not be forfeited under the terms and provisions of the plan if the member were to terminate employment.