Opinion by
T1 Plaintiff/Appellant Louis Bordwine seeks review of the trial court's orders granting the motions to dismiss of the Defendants/Appellees Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System (OFPRS), Robert Jones, OFPRS Executive Direсtor, and OFPRS past and present Trustees-Tom Smith, Gerald Garrett, Chris Bain, Michael Bates, Anthony Francisco, Doug Jacobson, Jim Long, Steven Lumry, Jim Norton, Harry Rosengrants, Frank Stone, Gerry Stadler, and Juan Rodriguez-in their officiаl and individual capacity, on Bordwine's claim to retirement benefits enhanced by credit for his pre-employment military service. Having reviewed the record in its entirety, however, we find the orders of thе trial court should be affirmed.
1 2 Bordwine served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for less than a year before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in August 1961, and served in the Air Force until honorably discharged in September 1963. Bordwine then worked as a firefighter for the City of Tulsa from 1970 until his retirement in 1990 when OFPRS began paying him retirement benefits. Bordwine did not serve in the military at any time during his employment as a firefighter.
*705 T3 In February 2008, Plaintiff filed the instant action against OFPRS, its Executive Direсtor, and its Trustees, seeking enhanced retirement benefits based on credit for his pre-employment military service. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that the Uniformed Services Employment and. Reemployment Act (USERRA), 38 , U.S.C. § 4801 et seq., §§ 4302, 4811, proscribed discrimination in employment benefits among members of the armed forces. Plaintiff also alleged that Oklahoma statute, 11 0.8. § 49-100.1 et seq., § 49-138, and 72 0.8. § 67.18a, impermissi-bly discriminated between "wаrtime" veterans and "peacetime" veterans, and granted credit for military service to "wartime" veterans, but not "peacetime" veterans, in caleu-lating OFPRS retirement benefits, violating USERRA. For himself аnd others similarly situated, Plaintiff consequently sought class action certification; a declaration of rights to OFPRS retirement benefits enhanced by credit for years of pre-employment military servicе; damages for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and discrimination under USERRA; and injunctive relief to compel OFPRS' non-discriminatory payment of credit-for-military-service enhаnced retirement benefits under USERRA.
T4 OFPRS and the Trustees filed motions to dismiss. As to the Trustees, the trial court determined they were protected by the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, 51 0.8. § 151, et seq., and the statute of limitаtions barred any actionable claims. As to OFPRS, the trial court determined that Bordwine failed to state a cause of action upon which relief could be granted under USERRA, holding that § 4811, the general anti-disсrimination provision of USERRA, applied only to "employers," which OFPRS was not; and that § 4818, the retirement provision of USERRA, applied only to veterans who suffered a military-service-related interruption of thеir regular employment. The trial court also determined that the statute of limitations barred any actionable claims, holding that the limitations period began to run on Plaintiff's claims upon his retirement in 1990 when hе was informed of the method of calculation and the exact monthly amount of his pension.
T5 Plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider, asserting the trial court erroneously failed to address the dispositivе issues of (1) whether state law requires OFPRS to consider Plaintiff's pre-employment military service in calculating his pension benefits; and (2) whether USERRA proscribes the state-law distinction between "wartime" veterаns and "peacetime" veterans in calculating employment benefits. The trial court denied Plaintiffs motion to reconsider, and Plaintiff appeals.
{T6 An OFPRS member's right to retirement benefits is contractuаl in nature. Baker v. Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System,
*706 T7 At the time of Plaintiff's retirement in 1990, § 49-138 granted to members, whose employment as a firefighter was interrupted by service in the United States armed forces, credit toward their firefighters' service pension for their years of military service. 3 At the same time, § 67.182 defined "war veteran" "to mean such honorably discharged persons as served ... during the period of time in which the United States participated in a war, campaign or battle," particularly including date-specific periods during World War II, the Korean war and the Vietnam conflict. 4
T8 In 1994, Congress enacted USERRA. USERRA defines the terms "benefit," "benefit of employment," оr "rights and benefits" to include benefits under a pension plan. 38 U.S.C. § 4308(2). Section 4811(a) proscribes denial of "any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of" a person's military service or military service obligation. 5 "Except as an actual employer of employees, an employee pension benefit plan ... shall be deemed to be an employer only with respect to the obligation to provide benefits described in section 4818." 38 U.S.C. § 4803(4)(C). (Emphasis added.) Sections 4318(a)(1) and (2) require employers to grant an employee credit toward retirement benefits for the period of military service upon the employee's "reemployment" as if the employee had suffered no break of employment at all. State law statutes of limitation do not apply to actions brought for enforcement of rights under USERRA. 38 U.S.C. 4323(i). 6
T9 Three salient facts are uncontro-verted. Prior to his employment as a firefighter, Plaintiff served in the United States military from October 1960 through September 1968. Plaintiff did not meet thе criteria for "war veteran" of § 67.182, and his service in the armed forces did not meet the criteria for "military service" of § 49-188. At no time during his employment as a firefighter did Bordwine serve in the military.
T10 Plaintiff retired in 1990 and began receiving retirement benefits from OFPRS. His right to benefits then attached and became fixed. He then knew or should have known that he was not receiving retirement benefits enhanced by his years of military servicе, and his claim for breach of contract then acerued. Plaintiff did not commence the instant action until February 2003, almost thirteen years after his cause of action acerued in 1990. Accordingly, wе find Bord-wine's claim for breach of contract barred by the five year statute of limitations of 12 0.8. § 95(1).
T11 Bordwine's tort claims for breach of fiduciary duty and negligence against OFPRS, the Executive Director and the individual members of the Board of Trustees are barred by operation of the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, 51 0.8. § 151, et seq. OFPRS is "an instrumentality of this state," and, through its managing Executive Director and Board of Trustees, has only such duties and authority as prescribed by statute. 11 0.8. § 49-100.2; Kinzgy,
¶ 12 Bordwine’s USERRA claim must also fail. OFPRS is not an employer subject to § 4311, and USERRA оnly requires OFPRS compliance with § 4318. 38 U.S.C. § 4303(4)(C). Bordwine suffered no military-service-related interruption in his employment as a firefighter requiring OFPRS to grant him credit for his pre-employment military service under §§ 4318(a)(1) and (2). We read nothing in USERRA which proscribes the extensiоn of military service credits for pension benefits to “wartime” veterans, but not to “peacetime” veterans, as to invalidate the distinctions drawn in 11 O.S. § 49-138 and 72 O.S. § 67.13a.
¶ 13 The orders of the trial court are therefore AFFIRMED.
Notes
. "[UJnder Oklahoma law the right to the retirement pеnsion benefits provided to firefighters and police officers under our state statutory schemes becomes absolute at the time those benefits become payable to those eligible. .. Those firefighters and police officers who had retired or who could have retired and become eligible for payment of pension benefits prior to the effective date of the reрeal of the pension adjustment provisions acquired a right under those provisions which may not be detrimentally affected by subsequent acts of the Legislature. Oklahoma Constitution, Art. II § 15 and Art. V § 54."
. "The limitation period was initiated when ap- . pellee was first informed that [OFPRS] was not going to pay the Kinzy Class members cost-of-living-adjusted retirement benefits for periods before December 1, 1987."
. Effective July 1, 1998, the Legislature amеnded § 49-138, and added subsection (C). New subsection (C) allowed a member credit toward retirement for pre-employment "military service," but limited the credit for pre-employment "military service" to a maximum оf five years, and defined "military service" in substantially the same terms as the definition of "war veterans" contained in § 67.13a.
. - Particularly, "in a combat zone or in the immediate supporting area of a cоmbat zone as certified by the War Veterans Commission of Oklahoma, prior to August 5, 1964," or "at any time during the period which began on August 5, 1964, and ended on May 7, 1975; except that such period shall be deemed to hаve ended on December 31, 1976, when determining eligibility for education and training benefits," and "(tlhe term 'war veterans' shall include only those persons who shall have served during the times or in the areas prescribеd hereinabove. ...." 72 O.S. Supp.1990 § 67.132.
. "A person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service shall not be denied initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of that membershiр, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation."
."No State statute of limitations shall apply to any proceeding under this chapter."
. "In no instance shall an employee of the state or political subdivision acting within the scope of his employment be named as defendant. ...” (Emphasis added.)