The pension fund shall be provided and sustained as follows:
When a member of the corporation dies, leaves or is discharged from the employ of the board of street and water commissioners, or its successor, having served therein for a shorter term than twenty years, all payments, made by the employee to the pension fund shall be forfeited by him and be added to and become part of the pension fund. But if any member, after having paid into the pension fund for a period of over one year, shall resign from the employ of the city, or be transferred from the board of street and water commissioners, or its successor, he shall be entitled to a refund of the sum he has paid into the fund, less the value to him of the insurance benefits he has enjoyed during the period of his membership in such fund, such value being established from time to time by the board of trustees in accordance with current actuarial rates and tables. If any employee is suspended, dropped or discharged from his employment by the board of street and water commissioners or its successor after having paid into the pension fund for a period of over one year, and his suspension or discharge continues for a period longer than two years, he shall be entitled to receive from such pension fund the amount of money which he paid into the fund less deductions for insurance benefits as hereinbefore provided, but such person shall not thereafter be eligible for a pension under this chapter unless upon a re-employment by the city he pays to the pension fund the amount of any rebate made to him. The obligation to refund payments made to the pension corporation shall not apply to any employee suspended or discharged for causes which bar him from eligibility to reappointment under the civil service rules.
If there is not sufficient money in the pension fund, the governing body of the city shall include in any tax levy an amount sufficient to meet the requirements of the fund for the time being.
The fund shall be under the control and management of the board of five trustees.
N.J.S. § 43:19-8