§ 24-11-834 - Credited service -- Purchase of military service. - Arkansas Statutes

24-11-834. Credited service -- Purchase of military service.

(a) Any full-paid firefighter who is or was a member of the firemen's pension and relief fund established by this subchapter is entitled to purchase credited service for a period not to exceed two (2) years for service rendered while on active duty in the armed forces of the United States.

(b) The member may purchase the credited service for military service if the person:

(1) Served on active duty in the armed forces before the member's employment covered by the fund;

(2) Received an honorable discharge from the armed forces; and

(3) Does one (1) of the following:

(A) If the person has participated in the fund for at least eighteen (18) years, the person contributes to the member's deposit account a sum of money equal to the amount of the combined employee and employer contribution made to the system based upon the contributions for the last month of the employee's eighteenth year of service, multiplied by the number of months of military service the member is eligible for and desires to purchase under this section, plus interest on the amount at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of eligibility to purchase the service to the date of purchase; or

(B) If the person has participated in the fund for at least twenty (20) years, the person contributes to the member's deposit account a sum of money equal to the amount of the combined employee and employer contribution made to the system based upon contributions at the time the person first became a member of the retirement system, multiplied by the number of months of military service the member is eligible for and desires to purchase under this section, plus interest on the amount at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of eligibility to purchase the service to the date of purchase.

(c) A member who purchases credited service under this section shall not be entitled to receive retirement benefits until the date on which the member has twenty (20) years of actual service or would have had twenty (20) years of actual service under the fund if the member had continued employment.