Effective 28 Aug 1992

70.640. Prior service, membership service and credited service, how computed — disability time included, when — certification of prior service — purchase of prior military service, limitations — procedure. — 1. The board shall fix and determine by rules and regulations the number of years and months of prior service and membership service to be credited each member for his employment as an employee; except that, in no case shall less than ten days of employment rendered in any calendar month be credited as a month of service, nor shall less than ten months of service rendered in any calendar year be credited as one year of service, nor shall more than one year of service be credited any member for all employment rendered by him in any one calendar year.

2. Not later than one year after the date an employer covers its employees, and before the retirement of a member included in the employees so covered, the employer shall certify to the board the period or periods of prior employment of each of its members to be considered for credit as prior service; provided, that all of such prior employment shall be considered for credit unless the employer certifies that only a portion of such prior employment is to be considered, which portion shall be uniform for all its members and shall be seventy-five percent, fifty percent, or twenty-five percent. No such prior employment shall be so certified by an employer for any member unless he was employed by the employer within the one-year period immediately preceding the date an employer covers its employees and unless he is continuously employed by such employer from and after such date for (1) one year, or (2) until his death, or (3) until his total and permanent disability, whichever is earliest.

3. In the event a member, who while an employee, entered or enters the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of compulsory military service, the armed service actually required of him shall be credited him as service hereunder; provided, that he again becomes an employee within a period of one year from and after honorable termination of such armed service actually required of him, and he returns to the members deposit fund any amount he may have withdrawn at the time he entered or while in such armed service, together with regular interest from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment. During the period of such armed service and until his return as an employee his contributions to the system shall be suspended and any balance remaining to his credit in the members deposit fund shall be accumulated at regular interest.

4. In the event a member is given a leave of absence by his employer for the purpose of continuing his education, such leave time shall be credited him as service hereunder; provided, that such leave of absence is in writing, that the length of such leave together with the length of all other similar leaves does not exceed a total of two years, that the member returns to his employer upon the expiration of such leave, and that he returns to the members deposit fund the amount, if any, he may have withdrawn therefrom during such leave, together with regular interest from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment. During the period of such leave his contributions to the system shall be suspended and any balance remaining to his credit in the members deposit fund shall be accumulated at regular interest.

5. Anything contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, not later than December 31, 1988, an employer with employees who were not accruing service credit because of the ten-year limitation on credited service of subsection 1 of this section in existence prior to January 1, 1988, and who are or would accrue service credit without such ten-year limitation on credited service, shall certify to the board the period or periods of previous employment of each of such employees to be considered for credited service, and such previous employment shall be considered for credited service provided the employee pays to the system by December 31, 1989, the total member contributions he would have contributed to the system had such ten-year service limitation not been in effect.

6. In the event a member in service becomes totally physically or mentally incapacitated for his duty as an employee as the natural and proximate result of a personal injury or disease which has arisen out of and in the course of his actual performance of duty as an employee, and in the event such disability will probably not be permanent, and in the event periodic payments are payable under any workers' compensation or similar law on account of the same disability, then such disability time shall be credited as service hereunder upon written application filed with the board by or on behalf of the member; provided, all determinations concerning the nature of such disability shall be made by the board. During the period of such disability his contributions to the system shall be suspended and any balance remaining to his credit in the members deposit fund shall be accumulated at regular interest. Service credit granted in this subsection shall not be considered as credited service for the purpose of determining such member's final average salary. Should such person die while so disabled, then he shall be considered a member actively employed at time of death.

7. Any member who had served in the Armed Forces of the United States prior to becoming a member and who became a member after discharge under honorable conditions may elect, prior to retirement, to purchase prior service credit equivalent to such service in the Armed Forces, not to exceed four years, provided the member is not receiving and is not eligible to receive retirement credits or benefits from any other public or private retirement plan for the service to be purchased, and an affidavit so stating shall be filed by the member with the retirement system. However, if the member is eligible to receive retirement credits in a United States military service retirement system, he shall be permitted to purchase creditable prior service equivalent to his service in the armed services, but not to exceed four years, any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. The purchase shall be effected by the member's paying to the retirement system an amount equal to the present value, on the date of payment, of the amount of the additional retirement allowance that would be obtained by virtue of the purchase of the additional service credit, using the interest rate specified by the board and the applicable mortality table adopted by the board and assuming continuous future service in the retirement system until, and retirement at, the age at which the minimum requirements of the retirement system for normal retirement or retirement with an allowance unreduced for retirement at an early age. The payment shall be made over a period of not longer than two years, measured from the date of election, and with compound interest on the unpaid balance. Payments made for such creditable prior service under this subsection shall be treated by the retirement system as would contributions made by the employee and shall not be subject to any prohibition on member contributions or refund provisions in effect on August 28, 1992.

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(L. 1967 p. 141 § 9, A.L. 1971 H.B. 63, A.L. 1973 H.B. 218, A.L. 1974 S.B. 573, A.L. 1975 H.B. 111, H.B. 944, A.L. 1979 H.B. 130, A.L. 1980 S.B. 630, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1098, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1787)