(a) Any deputy city clerk in a city of the first class who shall have served twenty (20) years as deputy city clerk, who shall have attained the age of sixty-five (65), and who shall retire from office or be succeeded by another deputy city clerk may receive for the remainder of his or her life the retirement pay provided for in this section.
(b)
(1) Any deputy city clerk who shall retire or be succeeded by another deputy city clerk within the provisions of this section may be paid monthly a sum equal to one-half (½) of the monthly salary received by him or her during the last preceding year of his or her service.
(2) The retirement pay shall be paid by the city from its general fund account when appropriated for that purpose by the governing body of the city.