Employer: means any department, educational institution, or political subdivision of the state eligible to participate in a government-sponsored retirement system under federal law. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Retirement: means the status of an individual who has become eligible, applies for, and is entitled to receive an allowance under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Retirement date: means the date selected by the member on which the member's retirement becomes effective with the office. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Service credit: means :
(a)
the period during which an employee is employed and compensated by a participating employer and meets the eligibility requirements for membership in a system or the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan, provided that any required contributions are paid to the office; and
(b)
periods of time otherwise purchasable under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
System: means the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102
Years of service credit: means :
(a)
a period, consisting of 12 full months as determined by the board; or
(b)
a period determined by the board, whether consecutive or not, during which a regular full-time employee performed services for a participating employer, including any time the regular full-time employee was absent on a paid leave of absence granted by a participating employer or was absent in the service of the United States government on military duty as provided by this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102
(a)
A member may purchase or a member and a participating employer may jointly purchase a maximum of five years of service credit which cannot otherwise be purchased under this title.
(b)
At a minimum, the years of service credit purchased shall be sufficient to allow the member to meet the retirement eligibility requirements of this system with no actuarial reduction.
(c)
The member’s retirement date shall be immediately after the purchase of years of service credit.
(d)
The member shall pay at least 5% of the cost of the purchase.
(e)
To qualify for a purchase of service credit under this section, the member shall:
(i)
have at least five years of service credit; and
(ii)
otherwise meet federal eligibility requirements.
(2)
The purchase price for the years of service credit shall be calculated and paid for as provided in Section 49-11-403.
(3)
Prior to making any purchase of years of service credit under this section, a participating employer shall adopt a purchase policy that includes nondiscriminatory participation standards for all regular full-time employees.
(4)
Only members retiring from this system may purchase service credit under this section.
