Former Patrick administration public safety chief Andrea Cabral is angling for a coveted retirement perk — meant for cops, correction officers and others working hazardous law enforcement jobs — that could boost her state pension to more than $90,000 a year, the Herald has learned.

Just 55 years old, Cabral is arguing that her 23 years in public safety, first as an assistant district attorney and later as Suffolk County sheriff, qualify her under a so-called Category 4 classification intended for law enforcement officers who risk their lives in the line of duty, according to papers she filed with retirement officials last month.

The classification would essentially allow Cabral — who made $160,000 last year as the state’s secretary for public safety — to collect a maximum benefit typically reserved for state workers who wait until they’re 65 to retire.

Using the state formula for calculating pensions, Cabral could be due at least $58,000 a year in retirement benefits, factoring in her nearly 28 total years of service, her age and the $140,400 average of her three highest-salaried years.

But if retirement officials allow her to qualify under the Category 4 classification for the majority of her time in state government, Cabral’s pension could jump to roughly $91,000, a Herald analysis found.

The state retirement board is expected to take up Cabral’s case tomorrow at its monthly meeting, according to state Treasurer Deb Goldberg’s office, which oversees the panel. But Matt Sheaff, a Goldberg spokesman, said it was too early to calculate exactly what Cabral’s pension would be.

Cabral did not return repeated messages left on her cellphone yesterday.

Under state law, sheriffs and longtime assistant district attorneys can qualify for the Category 4 benefit, but experts say it was intended for those in the field working dangerous jobs, including correction officers who deal directly with hardened inmates.

“The Group 4 has been deemed to be a benefit for public safety officers who are engaged in the physically demanding role of protecting public welfare,” said Kevin Blanchette, a former state lawmaker and current chairman of the Worcester Regional Retirement System, who agreed to speak broadly and not specifically about Cabral.

Iliya Atanasov, a pension specialist at the Pioneer Institute, said Cabral’s case is an example of why the state’s “outdated” classification system is ripe for reform.

“If you look at the database and the people with six-figure pensions, you would probably see a huge proportion of these people who are exactly in this type of job,” Atanasov said.

“These people tend to have higher salaries, so you have this double whammy of both a high (pension) percentage and a high salary base,” he said. “It’s the issue that the Legislature should look into, and be very careful that people who actually deserve it get this extra allowance.”

Cabral has already cashed in other taxpayer-funded benefits. The Herald reported Sunday that she scored a $33,725 payout upon leaving office, including $20,242 in leftover vacation time and another $13,483 in unused sick time.

Two years ago, Cabral also hit up the taxpayers for $11,847 in unused vacation time as Suffolk County sheriff when former Gov. Deval Patrick appointed her public safety secretary, even though she hadn’t accrued paid time off as an elected official.

Suffolk sheriff officials admitted Cabral’s vacation time was never documented but calculated the payout based on her “20-plus years of service in the state system.”