1. (a) An eligible member may purchase one or two years of equivalent membership service credit in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas ("TRS") for eligible work experience in accordance with Government Code, §823.404 and subject to the approval of TRS and to any plan qualification requirements, including contribution limitations under Government Code, §823.006 or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time. For the purpose of limitations on contributions under the Internal Revenue Code, the service credit authorized under Government Code, §823.404 is non-qualified permissive service credit. A member is eligible to establish up to two years of equivalent membership service credit for eligible work experience if, at the time of the purchase, the member has at least five years of membership service credit in TRS.
2. (b) Equivalent membership service credit for eligible work experience may be established by depositing with TRS the amounts described in subsection (c) of this section and by submitting certification, in the form and manner prescribed by TRS, that the member is entitled to salary step credit under Education Code, §21.403(b) and is eligible to purchase the service credit.
3. (c) For each year of equivalent membership service credit described in this section and approved by TRS, the eligible member must deposit the actuarial present value, at the time of deposit, of the additional standard retirement annuity benefits that would be attributable to the work experience service credit to be purchased under this section. Upon receipt by TRS of the required amount, the member will be credited with the additional year(s) of service credit purchased up to the maximum years of service credit allowed under Government Code, §823.404.
4. (d) To calculate these amounts, TRS will use the cost factors and method described in §25.302 of this title (relating to Calculation of Actuarial Cost).
5. (e) No credit will be applied to the cost of a year of work experience service credit for any TRS contributions made in the same school year.
6. (f) The purchase cost described in subsection (d) of this section assumes a lump-sum deposit will be made. If deposits are made under an installment agreement, a non-refundable installment fee of 9% applies.
7. (g) Service credit purchased under this section may be used to determine eligibility for the Texas Public School Retired Employees Group Insurance Program (TRS-Care) to the extent permitted under Insurance Code, Chapter 1575.
8. (h) Payments for the purchase of TRS service credit for eligible work experience shall be paid in a manner consistent with any applicable limitations of 26 United States Code §415, including any applicable limitations on payments as a percentage of compensation of the participant from the employer for the school year in which the payments are sought to be made. A member, or a beneficiary of a member if service is sought to be established after the death of the member, may not be permitted to purchase TRS service credit for some or all years of work experience if payments exceed applicable limitations on contributions.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.161 adopted to be effective February 4, 2000, 25 TexReg 598; amended to be effective December 9, 2001, 26 TexReg 8545; amended to be effective March 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 2100; amended to be effective April 3, 2006, 31 TexReg 2870; amended to be effective March 8, 2007, 32 TexReg 1085.