§ 458. Creditable service; military service
(a) With respect to service rendered prior to the date of membership, each employee who,
pursuant to subsection 457(a) of this title, became a member of the retirement system shall have included as prior service all
service credited to the employee as creditable service under the terms of one or both
of the predecessor systems, provided the employee’s membership continues unbroken
until the employee’s retirement.
(b) All service of a Group A, Group C, Group D, Group F, or Group G member since the member
last became a member on account of which contributions are made shall be credited
as membership service.
(c) The Retirement Board shall fix and determine by appropriate rules how much service
in any year is equivalent to one year of service, but in no case shall it allow credit
for a period of absence without pay of more than a month’s duration, except as provided
under subsection (e) of this section, nor shall more than one year of service be creditable
for all service in one calendar year. Service rendered for the full normal working
time in any year shall be equivalent to one year’s service, but in no case shall less
than 40 calendar weeks be regarded as full normal working time.
(d) Creditable service of a member shall consist of his or her membership service and
the prior service, if any, which is credited to him or her under subsection (a) of
this section, plus, in the case of a Group A member hired prior to July 1, 1978, three
years and in the case of a Group F member, up to three years of the period served
as a State employee prior to 1978 for which the member received no credit, provided
that the employee served continuously since 1978 until retirement. Creditable service
shall also include service as an exempt employee for any period or periods of less
than three years prior to 1978, whether or not continuous.
(e) Credit shall also be granted for any period of absence from service certified by the
commissioner of the member’s department, or if the office of the member is not overseen
by a commissioner, then the head of the member’s department, due to any class of military
service approved by the Retirement Board, provided the employee returns to the service
of the State within 90 days after having become discharged or separated from such
military service, as if such service had been service as an employee of the State.
The earnable compensation of the employee at the time of entering such military service
shall be deemed to be the earnable compensation for the period of such service.
(f) Should an employee whose membership is broken again become a member, he or she shall
enter the System as a member not entitled to credit for service previously rendered,
except as provided in this section or section 463 of this title.
(g) Any member may transfer from a position covered by one group to a position covered
by a different group as defined in section 455 of this title and shall be entitled to credit for service rendered in all groups within the System.
Benefits shall be based on the accrued value of the credits in the group in which
the creditable service was earned and shall be payable according to the provisions
of each group, unless the member elects to withdraw his or her contributions in accordance
with section 480 of this title. Such benefits shall only be subject to such maximum amounts as are provided for
each group and may be combined to exceed 50 percent of average final compensation.
(h) Credit shall also be granted for any period of absence from service in connection
with a leave of absence, approved by the commissioner of the member’s department,
for professional study. If the office of the member is not overseen by a commissioner,
then the head of the member’s department shall have the authority to approve a leave
of absence for professional study. In the case of an approved leave of absence for
purposes other than for professional study, service credit shall be granted upon a
contribution by the member that equals the member’s current contribution rate multiplied
by the member’s earnable compensation for the year preceding the leave of absence.
(i) Credit shall also be granted for any period of absence from service in connection
with an approved workers’ compensation claim as a result of a work-related injury,
provided the employee provides evidence of the period covered by the approved workers’
compensation claim upon return to active service. The earnable compensation of the
employee at the time of entering the period of the absence from service resulting
from an approved workers’ compensation claim or the wages plus all other wage replacement
compensation received while on the approved period of absence, whichever provides
for the highest total compensation, shall be deemed to be the earnable compensation
for the period of service. The total compensation under this subsection shall not
exceed what the earnable compensation would have been had the member not been injured. (Added 1971, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1977, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1981, No. 41, § 5; 1981, No. 108, § 330a; 1985, No. 39, § 1; 1989, No. 78, § 12; 1989, No. 277 (Adj. Sess.), § 17h, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 1997, No. 68 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 1998; 1997, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1999, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2001, No. 29, § 1; 2007, No. 13, § 2; 2021, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. July 1, 2022; 2025, No. 18, § 10, eff. May 13, 2025.)