19-2-706. Additional service credit for active member involuntarily terminated from employment. - Montana Statutes

     19-2-706. Additional service credit for active member involuntarily terminated from employment. (1) The provisions of subsection (3) apply to an employee of the state or university system if:
     (a) the employee is an active member of the public employees', game wardens' and peace officers', sheriffs', firefighters' unified, or highway patrol officers' retirement system;
     (b) the employee has involuntarily terminated from employment because of elimination of the employee's position as a result of privatization, reorganization of an agency, closure of or a reduction in force at an agency, or other actions by the legislature or, in the case of a member who is a legislator, the legislator is terminated from office in either one of the houses of the legislature because of term limits;
     (c) the employee is eligible for service retirement or early retirement under the applicable provisions of the retirement system to which the member belongs; and
     (d) the employee waives the rights and benefits for which the employee would otherwise be eligible under the State Employee Protection Act.
     (2) The cost of each year of service credit purchased under this section is the total actuarial cost of purchasing the service credit based on the most recent actuarial valuation of the retirement system.
     (3) The employer of an eligible member under subsection (1) shall pay a portion of the total cost of purchasing up to 3 years of additional service credit that the member was qualified to purchase under 19-3-513, 19-6-804, 19-7-804, 19-8-904, or 19-13-405. The employer-paid portion must be calculated using the formula A x B x C when:
     (a) A is equal to a maximum of 3 additional years of service credit that the member is eligible to purchase;
     (b) B is equal to the sum of the employer and employee contribution rates in the member's retirement system; and
     (c) C is equal to the member's gross compensation paid during the immediate preceding 12 months of membership service. The employer may not be charged more than the total actuarial cost of the service credit purchased.
     (4) The member shall pay the difference, if any, between the full actuarial cost of the service credit to be purchased and the contribution required from the employer under subsection (3). The member may elect to purchase less than the full amount of service for which the member is eligible under this section, but the election may not reduce the amount of the employer's contribution as calculated under subsection (3).
     (5) The board may allow an employer to pay the contributions required under subsection (3) in installments for up to 10 years and may charge interest at a rate set by the board pursuant to 19-2-403.
     (6) (a) A member who has received additional service credit under this section and who returns to employment for the same jurisdiction for 960 or more hours in a calendar year in any retirement system forfeits the additional service credit. The employer's contribution to purchase that member's additional service credit, minus any retirement benefits already paid, must be credited to the employer.
     (b) As used in subsection (6)(a), the term "same jurisdiction" means all agencies of the state, including the university system.

     History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 524, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 223, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 361, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 58, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 118, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 72, Ch. 471, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 66, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 429, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 329, L. 2005.