ALBERT C. RITCHIE, GOVERNOR. 991

age of sixty years, he or she shall be eligible for retirement,
and may upon his or her application be retired, and thereafter
shall be entitled to, and shall be paid, an annual retirement
allowance equal to the result obtained by multiplying the aver-
age salary paid to him or her for the five years next preceding
his or her retirement or discontinuance in office by the number
of years of his or her service, ascertained as aforesaid, and
divided by the number seventy.

And whenever any of said parties in this section shall break
down physically, or because of any illness or casualty become
permanently disabled or disqualified for the further proper
performance of the duties of his or her position, while in the
service of any such Clerk of the Court or Register of Wills,
as aforesaid, after having served a total of fifteen years in one
or more of said capacities, as aforesaid, he or she shall like-
wise be eligible for retirement, and may upon his or her
application, be retired, and shall thereafter likewise be en-
titled to, and shall be paid an annual retirement allowance
equal to the result obtained by multiplying the average salary
paid to him or her for the five years next preceding his or her
retirement by the number of years of his or her service, ascer-
tained as aforesaid and dividing by the number seventy.

77. Upon receipt of any application from any party claim-
ing to be eligible for a retirement allowance under this Act, it-
shall be the duty of said Retirement Board forthwith to make a
prompt and impartial investigation, (and upon the request of
the applicant to give him or her a hearing) as to the merits of
such application and the facts justifying the same, and in con-
nection therewith to call, swear, examine and hear such wit-
nesses, and to call for and examine such records or documents,
or copies, thereof, as said applicant or applicants may request
or the Retirement Board may desire, and may cause medical
examination to be made and expert testimony to be heard re-
garding the health and physical condition of the applicant in
all cases in which the application is based upon physical dis-
ability.

Thereafter if said Retirement Board find that any applicant
is eligible for retirement under any of the provisions of this
Act, it shall be the duty of the said Retirement Board to
certify its findings of fact promptly and in no case later than
December 1 of any year, in the matter of every application
for retirement thereunder to the Governor of Maryland, and
state the amount of retirement allowance, if any, to which