Except as provided in section 39-03.1-10.3, a contributor whose employment has been terminated for at least thirty days is entitled to a refund of or to repurchase contributions as follows:

1.     a.    If the contributor has less than ten years of service at termination of employment, the refund is payable either on application of the contributor or is automatically payable if within thirty days after termination the contributor has not provided a written statement to the board waiving the refund and requesting the contributor’s account remain in the fund and the contributor has an account balance of less than one thousand dollars.

b.    If the contributor has at least ten years of service at the date of termination, the contributor may apply for a refund of accumulated deductions instead of retirement benefits. By receiving the refund of accumulated deductions under this subdivision, the contributor forfeits all months of service to the date of refund and cannot use those months for any future benefit calculations.

2.    A contributor who was paid a refund under subdivision a of subsection 1 may, upon re-employment, elect to repurchase the forfeited past service for the retirement program and the retiree health benefits program in accordance with the rules adopted by the board.