Attorney general: means the attorney general and reporter and any assistant thereto by whatever name known, any district attorney general and any assistant thereto by whatever name called, and any officer or full-time employee of the general assembly or any committee thereof established by statute, who is duly licensed to practice law in Tennessee, whose duty it is to provide facilities for drafting bills or to assist individual legislators in drafting bills or who renders legal advice and services to the members of the general assembly or committees thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Creditable service: means prior service plus membership service, as provided in part 6 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Employer: means : (A) The state or any department, commission, institution, board or agency of the state government by which a member is paid, with respect to members in its employ. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Member: means any person included in the membership of the retirement system, as provided in chapter 35, part 1 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Membership service: means service rendered while a member of the retirement system. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Prior service: means service rendered prior to the date of membership in the retirement system for which credit was given under the terms of one (1) or more of the superseded systems as provided in part 6 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
Retirement: means withdrawal from membership with a retirement allowance granted under chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement allowance: means the sum of the member annuity and the state annuity. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement system: means the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Superseded system: means , where applicable, the Tennessee state retirement system, the Tennessee teachers' retirement system, the Tennessee judges' retirement system, the retirement system for county paid judges of Tennessee, the attorneys general retirement system of Tennessee, the public service commissioners' retirement system, and the Tennessee retirement system for county officials, any one (1) of them, or any combination thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
(1)Creditable service at retirement on which the retirement allowance of a member shall be based shall consist of such member’s membership service, plus any prior service creditable to such member pursuant to §§ 8-34-602 and 8-36-103. The board shall fix and determine by appropriate rules and regulations how much service in any year is equivalent to a year of service, but in no case shall more than one (1) year of service be creditable for all service in one (1) calendar year, nor shall the board allow credit as service for any period of more than one (1) month‘s duration during which the member was absent without pay, except as hereinafter provided.(2)Service credit for part-time employment shall be determined on a monthly basis in direct proportion to the full-time schedule of a regular employee as certified by the employer. In cases of doubt as to the computation of creditable service, the board of trustees shall determine the appropriate amount of service credit.(3)(A) Service as purchased in accordance with § 8-37-214 shall be credited as follows:
(i) Any member in Group 1 establishing any service in the retirement system on or after July 1, 1976, shall receive credit for this service in Group 1 only;(ii) Any member in Group 2 establishing service on or after July 1, 1976, which was rendered in a capacity covered by Group 2 shall receive credit in Group 2;(iii) Any member in Group 3 establishing service on or after July 1, 1976, which was rendered in a capacity covered by Group 3 shall receive credit in Group 3;(iv) Any member of a superseded system establishing service which was rendered in a capacity covered by the applicable system shall receive credit in accordance with the superseded system;(v) Any state judge establishing service in Group 4 on or after September 1, 1990, that was rendered in a capacity covered by Group 4, shall receive credit in Group 4; and(vi) Any attorney general and reporter establishing service in Group 4 on or after July 1, 2005, that was rendered in a capacity covered by Group 4, shall receive credit in Group 4.(B) Except as provided in subdivisions (a)(3)(A)(ii)-(vi), any other service shall be credited in Group 1 only.(4)(A) In arriving at the cost to purchase previous service, the required payment shall be the lesser of:
(i) The amount calculated as a redeposit; or(ii) The amount calculated as a back payment.(B) In calculating the back payment, the member shall only be required to make the applicable contribution rate in relationship to the benefit such member will receive for the purchased service, plus interest at the rate provided for in § 8-37-214.(C) Any state or teaching service rendered prior to July 1, 1945, shall be credited without charge to the member.(5) Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary in chapters 34-37 of this title, when computing benefits, creditable service shall be the sum total of all full years and all fractional parts of years of service rounded off to the nearest full month of creditable service. In no event shall any rounding result in any member gaining or losing more than one-half (1/2) month of creditable service.(b)Teachers and Employees Paid on Less than Twelve-Month Basis.(1) Any member who is a teacher who renders a year of service but who is paid other than on a twelve-month basis is nevertheless to receive credit equivalent to a full year of service.(2) Any member who is employed by the county board of education, the city board of education, the state board of education or the board of other educational institutions and agencies supported by and under the control of the state, and who renders a school year of service but who is paid other than on a twelve-month basis is nevertheless to receive credit equivalent to a full year of service.(3) Any membership service and prior service for such member shall be adjusted to provide creditable service equivalent to a full year of service for each year in which the member rendered such service.(4) Any funds needed to meet the costs of the benefits provided herein shall be paid by the employer.
