PURPOSE: This rule sets forth provisions relating to the reinstatement or purchase of membership service credit in the retirement system.

1. (1) A member electing to reinstate or purchase membership service credit authorized by the laws governing the retirement system shall make the election to reinstate or purchase credit on a form provided by the retirement system and the reinstatement or purchase shall be effected through payment to the retirement system within the time period prescribed by law of the contributions due, together with interest computed at the purchase rate set by the board of trustees, in accordance with the provisions of 16 CSR 10- 4.012.
2. (2) A member cannot elect to purchase or claim credit for services outside of a district included in this retirement system, or to reinstate credit previously earned in this retirement system, for which the member is receiving or for which the member may, without additional services, become eligible to receive a benefit from another retirement system. Any Federal Old Age, Survivor’s, Disability and Health Insurance benefits or credit established under the Social Security system because of the service, however, shall not affect the member’s right to reinstate or purchase the credit. A member cannot elect to purchase membership service credit from any source if the purchase would result in the member accruing more than one (1) year of membership service credit for any school year.
3. (3) A member who applies to reinstate or purchase membership service credit must provide reliable documentation sufficient to establish each element required to qualify for the proposed reinstatement or credit purchase. Where the credit being purchased is based on a period of employment or a period of service covered by a retirement system, the documentation must include confirmation by the employer or retirement system of the relevant facts.
4. (4) Once a member has filed an application to reinstate service credit, no additional application to reinstate credit may be filed until the period for payment under the initial application has expired or payment in full has been made. Once a member has filed an application to purchase service credit, no additional application to purchase the same type of credit may be made until the period for payment under the initial application has expired or payment in full has been made.
5. (5) Any credit earned for a period of leave under section 169.595, RSMo shall be secured only if the necessary contributions are remitted during the school year in which the leave period occurred and are accompanied by a statement from the employing district certifying the name of the member for whom the contributions are being remitted and that the member was either on sick leave in accordance with the sick leave provisions of the employer or was under Workers’ Compensation during the period of leave.

6. (6) The following provisions shall apply to a purchase of membership service credit for maternity leave under Chapter 169, RSMo:

   1. (A) A period of leave shall be considered eligible for maternity leave under the following conditions:

      1. 1. The leave was unpaid;
      2. 2. The leave related to a natural birth,

legal adoption, or terminated pregnancy by or of the member;

1. 3. The member was employed in a posi-

tion covered by the retirement system at the time the leave was granted and began;

1. 4. a) The district granting the leave had

a written maternity leave policy as a part of its regulations, or b) the minutes of the governing board of the district set forth the granting of the leave for reasons of maternity, or c) affidavits certifying that the leave was granted for reasons of maternity are provided by at least two (2) persons who either were mem- 16 CSR 10-4

bers of the governing board or administrative officers of the district at the time the leave was granted and had first-hand knowledge of the granting of the leave; and

1. 5. The member provides a certified copy

of a birth certificate, or certification of adoption, or physician’s certification of termination of pregnancy, pertinent to the period of maternity leave.

1. (B) If a grant of maternity leave established in accordance with 16 CSR 10-4.014(6)(A) specifies a fixed period for such leave, the member may purchase membership service credit for some or all of the amount of time specified in the grant of leave, up to a maximum of four (4) years of service credit. If a grant of maternity leave does not specify a fixed period for such leave, the member may purchase up to four (4) years of membership service credit from the period of non-covered employment immediately subsequent to the granting of the leave, provided, however, that the member must establish that the member made a good faith effort to return to covered employment each year of the proposed leave period and no position was available.
2. (C) A member may elect to purchase some or all of the period of maternity leave for which the member is eligible, but a member may not purchase more than a total of four (4) years of membership service credit based on maternity leave. If a member was granted multiple maternity leave periods separated by periods of creditable service in a district included in the retirement system, the member may purchase credit for more than one (1) period per application, but in no event shall the total membership service credit for maternity leave exceed four (4) years over the member’s service career.
3. (D) Verification of matters relating to the maternity leave period claimed shall be established by means of a sworn statement by the member and by copies of district records, certified by an administrative officer of the district, which provide evidence concerning the leave, including the reason for the leave, the beginning and ending dates, or the availability of post-leave employment. Reliable evidence such as affidavits from persons who were members of the governing board or administrative officers of relevant districts at the time of the leave, certifying the reasons for the leave, the duration or terms of the leave or the availability of post-leave employment may be considered if no such district records exist.

1. (7) The purchase of membership service credit based on previous service earned under the Nonteacher School Employee Retirement System of Missouri shall be allowed on a pro rata basis utilizing the ratio between the total number of hours served within the school year for which credit is purchased and the total number of hours which would have been required for a full year’s term of employment if the position was or had been full-time. The employer(s) for whom the purchased service was rendered shall determine and certify to the retirement system the total number of hours of service which would have been required for a full year’s term of employment and the total hours of service actually rendered, unless that information is available from the records of the Nonteacher School Employee Retirement System. A determination of the credit allowable will be made based upon the best documentation available.

2. (8) The following provisions shall apply to the purchase of creditable service under section 105.691, RSMo:

   1. (A) A member may elect to purchase creditable service under section 105.691, RSMo only if the member had previously acquired creditable service in a retirement plan defined in that section for the employment to which the election applies; except that if the service did not meet the membership requirements of the employer’s retirement plan or the employer had no such retirement plan at the time the service was rendered, but the service would otherwise have met the membership requirements of this system as in effect when the election is made, the member shall be eligible to purchase such creditable service. The creditable service allowable shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of section 105.691, RSMo and the rules of the board of trustees; and
   2. (B) A member who does not complete payment in full on an application to purchase creditable service under section 105.691, RSMo within the time limit prescribed by law may reapply to purchase creditable service for that same period of employment. The member may apply within the limits of the law to purchase creditable service for any other period of employment for which application to purchase creditable service was not previously made.

3. (9) The purchase of creditable service pursuant to section 169.577, RSMo shall be administered as follows:

   1. (A) Any member will be considered “within five (5) years of being eligible to retire with a retirement allowance” if that person would be eligible to begin receiving a full or reduced retirement allowance from the public school retirement system, by virtue of accrual of five (5) or fewer years of creditable service or the passage of five (5) or fewer calendar years;
   2. (B) The salary to be used in calculating the purchase cost for any member who is not employed in a position covered by the public school retirement system at the date of election to purchase credit shall be the salary for the last full year of creditable service with the public school retirement system prior to the date of election;
   3. (C) Credit purchased shall be used for all purposes except vesting;
   4. (D) Interest shall be charged on the unpaid balance of the purchase cost from the date of election until payment is made in full;
   5. (E) A purchase shall be made only in increments of one-tenth (1/10) year and may not exceed four-tenths (4/10) year. Multiple elections are allowed, and a member may again elect to purchase credit for the same period of time for which the member previously applied but for which payment in full was not made within the time allowed by law; and
   6. (F) If the total payments made within the time allowed by law are insufficient to purchase all the credit for which the member applied, proportional credit shall be allowed based upon the ratio between the amount due for the entire period for which election to purchase was made and the total amount of the payments applied to reduce the principal amount due, but only in increments of onetenth (1/10) year.

4. (10) The following provisions shall apply when individuals are reemployed by a district pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), and its successors:

   1. (A) When the system is notified by either a district or a member of a period covered by USERRA, the system will obtain confirmation from the district of the period covered and the compensation that would apply;
   2. (B) A period covered by USERRA will not be a break in service for purpose of termination of membership and will count toward vesting, but not toward benefit calculation unless the member elects to pay required contributions as provided in this regulation;
   3. (C) A member may elect, within five (5) years of reemployment, to pay the system the employee contributions the member would have made, using the contribution rates and salary that would have applied during the period, as required by USERRA;
   4. (D) Where the member has elected to pay employee contributions under USERRA, the district reemploying the member is required under federal and state law to pay the contributions the employer would have paid, using the contribution rates and salary that would have applied during the period and interest on the contributions at the assumed rate of return on invested funds of the system;
   5. (E) The employer shall pay the employer contributions and interest no later than the end of the school year following the year in which the employee files an election to make the employee contributions;
   6. (F) Payment of employee contributions may be made over the period from the date of election to five (5) years after reemployment;
   7. (G) If the member fails to complete payment of the employee contributions during the period allowed, proportional credit shall be allowed based on the ratio between the amount due for the entire period and the total amount of the payments made and to the nearest tenth of one year with any payments purchasing less than one-tenth (0.1) year being refunded, and the employer contributions and interest shall be adjusted accordingly; and
   8. (H) The maximum creditable service that may be allowed pursuant to USERRA is five
5. (5) years.
6. (11) A member electing to purchase membership service credit for service in the armed forces shall receive one (1) year of credit for each twelve (12)-month period of such service. For any such period of service in the armed forces of less than twelve (12) months, the member shall receive proportional credit computed to the nearest tenth of a year; provided that, if the member entered on active duty in the armed forces no later than the date on which the member’s services were to have begun under an employment agreement with a district included in the retirement system and if the total period of active military service that year would have entitled the member to a year of creditable service had that service been rendered in that position with the district, the member shall be entitled to a full year of membership service credit for the period of service. No more than one (1) year of membership service credit shall be allowed for service in the armed forces or for a combination of service in the armed forces and actual service in a district included in the retirement system, for any one (1) school year.
7. (12) Unless expressly authorized, membership service credit purchased under the laws governing the retirement system cannot be used to establish eligibility for benefits under sections 169.060 and 169.075, RSMo, but such purchased credit may be used in computing the value of any benefits to which a member would otherwise qualify under those sections.
8. (13) The purchase of any membership service credit authorized by the laws governing the retirement system which is not specifically addressed in these rules shall be conducted in accordance with and limited by the applicable provisions of law.

AUTHORITY: section 169.020, RSMo Supp. 1997.* Original rule filed June 23, 1998, effective Jan. 30, 1999. *Original authority 1945, amended 1951, 1953, 1967, 1973, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1996.