Creditable Service

Creditable Service is granted for all positions of trust or employment with any state agency, college, school district or with any political subdivision, instrumentally or juristic entity which elected to participate in the retirement program, except positions which have been excluded.

Membership Service (PERS)

Membership service credit is awarded for employment in a covered position for periods of employment beginning February 1, 1953. 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 a PERS 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 be vested in the Retirement System to qualify for other types of service credit as well as normal monthly benefits.
15 consecutive days to 3 months = 0.25
3 months and 15 consecutive days to 6 months = 0.50
6 months and 15 consecutive days to 9 months = 0.75
9 months and 15 days to 12 months = 1.00 year
NOTE: School employees who are employed for the entire school term and are paid at least 11/12ths of the yearly contract salary receive a full year of service credit.

Prior Service (Available to PERS Only)

Prior service credit is awarded for employment in a covered position during any period of time prior to February 1, 1953. Credit for prior service is awarded at no cost to the member. In order to be eligible for prior service:
You must have been employed in a covered position prior to July 1, 1953; or
You must be vested in the System; and
You must provide proof of employment in a covered position under PERS.

Active Duty Military Service

You can receive credit for active duty military service in the U.S. Armed Forces or with World War II Maritime Service. The maximum credit for military service is four (4) years, unless you were retained by the government during World War II, without opportunity for discharge. Mail a copy of your DD214 or other military documents to the PERS Records Department. No credit can be allowed to anyone who received a dishonorable discharge. You cannot receive military credit in more than one (1) retirement system administered by PERS. Military credit is awarded at no cost to the member and is creditable after the member has become vested in the System.
[Click here to view Regulation 49]

Accumulated Unused Leave

The State Leave Law and PERS Law were amended effective July 1, 1984, to allow service credit for accumulated unused and uncompensated personal (vacation) and major medical (sick) leave at retirement. Generally, you must have terminated covered employment on or after July 1, 1984, to receive unused leave credit. Accumulated unused leave is certified by your employer on PERS Form 18. Unused leave credit cannot exceed the provisions of the State Leave Law, and must be accumulated pursuant to a lawfully adopted written leave policy.
[Click here to view Regulation 51]

Unused Leave Credit Table

Elected Official Unused Leave Service Credit

Unused leave credit is awarded to members of PERS and SLRP who serve in an elected capacity. Thirty days of unused leave credit is awarded for each year of elected service through June 30, 1984. After June 30, 1984, service credit is allowed for unused leave based upon the number of years of continuous elected service according the leave accrual tables in the State Leave Law as follows:

Elected Leave for Continuous Terms in Office

Non-Covered Public Service and Retroactive Service Credit

Prior to retirement, members who are vested in the System may purchase at actuarial cost up to ten (10) years creditable service in 1/4 year increments for certain unreported, non-covered service. This includes service rendered as an employee of any political subdivision of the state, or any instrumentality thereof, a) which does not participate in PERS; or b) which participates in PERS but did not elect retroactive coverage; or c) for which coverage of the employee's position was or is excluded.

Unreported Covered Service

Prior to retirement, members may purchase service credit in 1/4 year increments for employment in a covered position for which credit has not been established. Unreported covered service is service not reported through administrative error which may be established through payment of employer, employee contributions plus interest.

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 full contributions are not paid, membership service time may not be awarded.

Professional Leave

Any member who are vested in the System may purchase professional leave credit. Professional leave is leave, without pay, for educational or professional purposes, as authorized by the employer, in a public institution or public agency of this state or or another state or federal agency. Credit may be purchased in 1/4 year increments prior to retirement, at actuarial cost. A maximum of two (2) years of professional leave credit may be purchased for any 10-year period of state service.
[Click here to view the Professional Leave Fact Sheet]

Out of State Service

Any member who is vested in the System may purchase up to five (5) years credit for public, nonfederal service performed in another state, or for foreign service rendered as a teacher in American overseas schools conducted by the U.S. Armed Forces for dependents of U.S. citizens. Credit may be purchased in 1/4 year increments prior to retirement, at actuarial cost.
[Click here to view the Out of State Service Fact Sheet ]

Refund Payback And Reinstatement of Credit

PERS law allows immediate repayment of a refund by a member upon reemployment in a covered position. However, the reinstated service credit will not be posted to your account until you have returned to covered employment and become vested in the System. The minimum credit that may be repurchased is 1/4 year of service credit. You do not have to be an actively contributing member at the time you repay the refund, if you already have established service credit after the date of the last refund.

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 PERS

PERS 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. PERS 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 PERS may be made 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 may be accepted by PERS. 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 PERS.

For more Information, please refer to Regulation 47 on PERS' website or request a copy from our office.
(Click here to view Regulation 47)