PURCHASE OF SERVICE CREDIT
Public Employees' Retirement
System (PERS) — Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF)
Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS)
General Information | Online Estimates | Applying for a Purchase
Paying for a Purchase | Direct Rollovers | USERRA Service | Purchasing Union Service
Please Note: The Purchase
Application must be submitted online through MBOS.
Paper applications are no longer accepted.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT PURCHASING SERVICE
CREDIT
Since your retirement allowance
is based in part on the amount of service credit posted to
your account at the time of retirement, it may be beneficial
for you to purchase additional service credit if you are eligible
to do so.
Only active members of the retirement system
are permitted to purchase service credit. An active member
is one who has made contributions to the retirement system
within two years of his or her purchase request and who has
not retired or withdrawn his or her contributions.
Before you apply
to purchase additional service credit, please read the fact
sheets listed below. These fact sheets contain all the
information you need to know as you begin the process of purchasing
service credit.
ONLINE PURCHASE CALCULATORS
Online Purchase Calculators are available to estimate the cost
of a purchase of service credit. The calculation is based
solely on the information you provide and does not access
any of the salary or service information maintained by
the Division of Pensions and Benefits.
To hear an estimate of
the cost of purchasing service credit based upon current
posted salary information, PERS, TPAF, and PFRS members
should call the Automated Information System at (609) 292-7524.
APPLYING TO PURCHASE SERVICE CREDIT
- Purchase Application — In order to purchase service
credit, you must first obtain a quotation of the service that qualifies for purchase and the cost to purchase that service. You must first file a Purchase Application with the Division of Pensions
and Benefits. Upon receipt of your application the Division of Pensions and Benefits will begin
the process of verifying your eligibility to purchase service
so you can obtain a Purchase Cost Quotation Letter.
The Purchase Application is only available online and must be submitted through a personal account with the Member Benefits Online System (MBOS).
— Registered users: Log on to MBOS!
— New users: Register for MBOS! (MBOS registration is required)
Note: Paper Applications to Purchase Service Credit are no longer
accepted.
Paper applications received by mail will be returned with directions for using MBOS.
The only exceptions to the online application requirement are for:
— "Multiple Members" of the PERS or TPAF;
— Members requesting the purchase of Military Service after Enrollment under USERRA; or
— Members requesting the purchase of Leave of Absence for Union Representation.
PAYING FOR YOUR PURCHASE OF SERVICE CREDIT
After you apply and are found
eligible to purchase service credit, you will receive a Purchase
Cost Quotation Letter listing the service credit you may
purchase and the cost to purchase that service.
If you agree
to authorize the purchase, you may pay for your purchase of
service credit with:
- one lump-sum payment;
- by having extra payroll
deductions withheld from your pay; or
- by making an initial
down payment and having the remainder paid through payroll
deductions.
See the purchase
fact sheets for more details on these payment methods.
DIRECT ROLLOVER/TRUSTEE-TO-TRUSTEE TRANSFER
OF FUNDS
FOR THE PURCHASE OF SERVICE CREDIT
Members of the PERS, TPAF,
or PFRS who are eligible to purchase additional service credit
may elect to pay for their purchase by rolling over tax-deferred
funds from another retirement plan. The procedures for a direct
rollover or trustee-to-trustee transfer vary depending on
the source of the funds and only certain types of distributions
are eligible for rollover/transfer treatment. See the
information in the Rollover/Transfer
Request packet for detailed information.
You may also want to review
the "Frequently Asked Questions" on our Purchase
Rollover/Transfer Q&A page.
ROLLOVER/TRANSFER FORMS AND INFORMATION
- Rollover/Transfer
Request for the Purchase of Service Credit Adobe
PDF (140K) — Contains complete instructions
along with the application for rolling-over or transferring
funds from another qualified retirement plan for the purchase
of service credit. Do not complete this rollover request
unless you have already received a Purchase Cost Quotation
Letter from the Division of Pensions and Benefits
that indicates the type, amount, and cost of any service you
are eligible to purchase.
- Purchase
Rollover/Transfer Q&A — "Frequently Asked
Questions" about the rollover or transfer of funds for
the purchase of service credit.
- Letter
of Acceptance Adobe
PDF (70K) — Confirms to your disbursing plan
or financial institution that our plan is a qualified plan
and we will accept a direct rollover or direct trustee-to-trustee
transfer.
PURCHASE REQUESTS FROM "MULTIPLE MEMBERS" OF THE PERS OR TPAF
A "Multiple Member" is a PERS or TPAF member who is employed and reported to the retirement system by
more than one participating employer at the
same time. Multiple Members cannot use the online Purchase Application in MBOS.
If you are a Multiple Member, request a purchase of service credit by sending a letter to the Purchase Section of the Division of Pensions and Benefits. In the letter you must indicate that you are employed as a Multiple Member, identify the type of purchase requested, the employer name(s), and dates of service. Also be sure to include your name (former names if applicable), address, pension membership number or Social Security number, daytime phone number, and your current employer.
- Upon confirmation of the Multiple Member status, the Purchase Section will begin the verification process for the purchase request.
- If you do not have Multiple Member status, the request will not be processed. Instead you will be sent instructions on submitting the purchase request through MBOS.
PURCHASE OF USERRA SERVICE
MILITARY SERVICE AFTER ENROLLMENT
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) provides that a member of a State-administered retirement system who leaves employment to serve on active duty is entitled to certain pension rights upon return to employment with the same employer. The time in military service is to count, for vesting and retirement eligibility purposes, as though the employee had not left. However, the member will, at a minimum, have to make the pension contributions normally required to have the military service time included in the calculation of the retirement benefit.
When an employee returns from uniformed military service to employment covered by the same retirement system within the time frames specified under USERRA, the employer should notify the Division of Pensions and Benefits no later than 30 days after the employee’s return by submitting a Request for USERRA-Eligible Service form Adobe
PDF (8K).
Once notified, the Division will annotate the employee’s pension account to reflect the USERRA credit for benefits eligibility and will provide the employee with a quotation for the cost for purchasing the pension service credit so that it counts toward the calculation of benefits.
For additional information see Fact Sheet #36, Military Service after Enrollment and USERRA Adobe
PDF (33K)
PURCHASE OF LEAVE OF ABSENCE
FOR UNION REPRESENTATION*
Chapter 198, P.L. 1989, and Chapter 368, P.L. 2005, permit members of the TPAF or PERS who are on an approved leave of absence as an elected or appointed
officer or representative of a local, county, or State labor organization which represents public employees, to purchase
service credit for such service.
*Note: Members on other types of Leave of Absence must return to active employment and request the purchase of service credit using the online application in MBOS. |
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