MHSP Creditable Service

Creditable Service is granted for service as a uniformed officer. It can include membership service, military service and unused leave.

Membership Service(MHSP)

Membership service credit is awarded for employment in a covered position for periods of employment beginning July 1, 1958. All wages and contributions must be properly reported before credit can be awarded. Membership service credit is awarded on the basis of the number of months an MHSP member works during a state fiscal year of July through June. Service credit is awarded on the basis of a statutory schedule. A member must have at least 5 years of membership service credit to qualify for other types of service credit as well as normal monthly benefits.
15 consecutive days to 3 months = .25
3 months and 15 consecutive days to 6 months = .50
6 months and 15 consecutive days to 9 months = .75
9 months and 15 days to 12 months = 1.00 year

Prior Service (MHSP)

Prior service credit is awarded for employment in a covered position for any period of eligible employment prior to July 1, 1958. Credit for prior service is awarded at no cost to the member.

Active Duty Military Service(MHSP)

Effective July 1, 2000, MHSPRS allows credit for active duty military service in the U.S. Armed Forces or with World War II Maritime Service. The maximum credit for military services is 4 years, unless the member was retained by the government during World War II, without opportunity for discharge. A DD214 or other military documents should be provided to the PERS Records Department. No credit can be allowed to anyone who received a dishonorable discharge. Military credit is authorized in no more than one retirement system administered by PERS. Military credit is awarded at no cost to the member. A member must have 5 years of membership service credit prior to being eligible to receive active duty military service credit.

This amendment to allow credit for all active military duty in the Armed Forces applies to all persons who have retired from the Highway Patrol and who qualify for such credit, whether they retired before or after July 1, 2000. However, benefits based on such additional service credit shall be paid prospectively only.

Unused Leave

The State Leave Law and MHSPRS Law were amended effective July 1, 1984, to allow service credit for unused and uncompensated personal (vacation) and major medical (sick) leave at retirement. You must have terminated covered employment on or after July 1, 1984, to receive unused leave credit. Unused leave is certified by your employer on PERS Form 18. Unused leave credit cannot exceed the provisions of the State Leave Law. Credit for unused leave is awarded at no cost to the member as follows:

Unused Leave Credit Table

Under-Reported Wages/Service

An adjustment cost schedule will be prepared for members where an agency has wrongfully under reported contributions. These contributions must be paid to receive full membership service credit. If contributions are not paid, membership service time will not be credited to the member's account.

Refund Payback and Reinstatement of Credit (MHSP)

Effective 7/1/99, you may begin repaying a refund immediately after returning to covered employment. However, the reinstated service credit will not be posted to your account until you have accumulated 4 years of membership service credit. The cost to repay a refund includes the refunded amount, plus a compounded interest charge for each year beginning with the date of the refund. Currently, the interest charged is based on the actuarial assumed rate of interest. However, interest applicable for the years 1994 - 1998 was based on the greater of: a) the rate of return on PERS investments; or b) the rate of interest credited to the member’s account.

Rollover Contributions To MHSPRS

MHSPRS can accept an eligible rollover distribution or a direct transfer of funds from an eligible retirement plan or a traditional IRA in payment of all or a portion of the cost to purchase optional service credit or to reinstate previously withdrawn service credit as permitted by the system. MHSPRS may only accept rollover payments in an amount equal to or less than the balance due for purchase or reinstatement of service credit. The rules adopted by the board of trustees condition the acceptance of a rollover or transfer from an eligible retirement plan or a traditional IRA on the receipt from the other plan of information necessary to enable the system to determine the eligibility of any transferred funds for tax-free rollover treatment or other treatment under federal income tax law.

An eligible rollover distribution to MHSPRS may be made only with distributions or transfers from an eligible retirement plan or a traditional IRA. For this purpose, an eligible retirement plan is a plan maintained by an employer as a pension, profit sharing or IRC Section 401(k) plan as described in IRC Section 401(a) or is a qualified annuity plan described in IRC section 403(a). Conduit IRA's which have been established with funds received from an IRC Section 401(a) plan distribution for the purpose of holding the funds separate until a rollover can be effected will be accepted by MHSPRS. Distributions from state deferred compensation plans described in IRC Section 457, tax deferred annuities described in IRC Section 403(b), traditional IRA's and distributions from qualified tax deferred annuities may be eligible for rollover to MHSPRS.

[Click here to view Regulation 47]

Refund of member Contributions and Refund of deceased member contributions (MHSP)

MCA Section 25-13-21 provides that in the event a highway patrolman who dies or ceases to work for the highway safety patrol for any reason other than occupational disease contracted or for any accident sustained by said patrolman by reason of his service or discharge of his duty in said department, and if said highway patrolman who terminates employment is not eligible for retirement either for service or disability, he shall be eligible to receive a refund in the amount of his total employee contributions plus interest posted to his account. In the case of death, not in the line of duty, and before serving the minimum period of employment required for eligibility for monthly benefits, the total employee contributions plus interest is payable as a refund to any beneficiary he may name.