A participant who shall cease to be an employee
except as otherwise hereinbefore provided shall have all interest
and rights under this plan limited to those contained in the following
sections of this article.
A participant whose employment with the employer
shall terminate for any reason other than death or total and permanent
disability prior to attainment of normal retirement age shall be entitled
to receive a distribution of accumulated contributions. Upon receipt
of such accumulated contributions, said participant and beneficiary
shall not be entitled to any further payments from the plan.
A participant who shall have completed at least 12 years of credited service and whose employment shall terminate for any reason other than due to death or total and permanent disability with entitlement to a disability retirement benefit under Article XXXI hereof prior to attainment of normal retirement age shall be entitled to elect to receive a deferred retirement benefit in lieu of a distribution of accumulated contributions under § 57-174. Such deferred retirement benefit shall be equal to the participant's accrued benefit as of the date employment terminates and shall commence after application pursuant to § 57-154 and not earlier than the date which would be the participant's normal retirement date under the plan if the participant remained in employment until such date.
