1. (a) A member or contributing member may purchase eligible service creditable in the retirement system in accordance with the Government Code, Chapter 813. The retirement system shall grant the applicable amount of service credit after each payment made under this section is equal to the amount required to establish one or more months of creditable service.
2. (b) Service credit that may be established or reestablished includes military service credit, service credit previously cancelled, and service credit not previously established.
3. (c) A contributing member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) may file with the member's state employer, a contract to establish or reestablish service credit through a monthly payroll deduction installment plan. The state agency shall provide the ERS a signed copy of the contract not later than the date the service purchase contribution is reported to the ERS. Members with payroll deductions that will result in less than the amount required to establish one month of creditable service by fiscal year end will be provided written notice at the time the contract is received by the ERS, that a balloon payment will be due at fiscal year end; otherwise additional penalty interest will accrue on the service cost.
4. (d) The contributing member shall designate the amount to be deducted from the member's salary and deposited each month with the ERS. The total amount deducted in any one fiscal year must equal or exceed the cost to establish one month of service credit. Excess payments of $5.00 or greater will be applied to the next fiscal year service purchase contract, if eligible. In the event the member does not negotiate a new contract within 60 days of a new fiscal year or there is no remaining service for purchase, any overpayment of $5.00 or greater will be refunded to the member. Any remaining credit of less than $5.00 will be deposited as penalty interest toward the last purchase period established and will not be subject to refund.
5. (e) A member who ceases to hold a position or who withdraws authority for payroll deduction while making payments through payroll deduction may contract with the ERS for an alternative method of continuing the payment in accordance with procedures developed by the ERS.
6. (f) The ERS shall develop procedures and forms to be used in connection with this section.

Source Note:The provisions of this §71.14 adopted to be effective September 2, 1993, 18 TexReg 5593; amended to be effective September 15, 1997, 22 TexReg 9004.