Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 27 - Personnel
Part 210 - PERS, Regulations for Retirement Plans Administered by the Board of Trustees
Chapter 64 - Purchase of Service Credit in the Public Employees' Retirement System at Actuarial Cost
Section 27-210-64-103 - Purchasing eligible professional leave

1. An eligible employee who has received professional leave without compensation for professional purposes directly related to his or her employment in state service may be eligible to purchase such service at actuarial cost.

2. The professional leave must be or have been performed with a public institution or public agency of this state, or another state or federal agency.

3. A member may not establish credit for professional leave for any period of time that the member has previously been awarded service credit under PERS.

4. Service credit for professional leave is awarded in the same manner that it would have been awarded if the service had been covered under PERS.

5. The employee must provide documentation from the employer showing (i) the reason the employer had for granting the leave and (ii) that a determination has been made by the employer that the professional leave will benefit the employee and employer.

6. Professional leave granted after the member withdraws from covered public service or retires does not qualify for purchase under this section. In no case shall professional leave be eligible for purchase for any period in which the member was drawing a retirement allowance.

7. To be eligible for purchase, (i) the professional leave may not have exceeded two years within any 10-year period of state service and (ii) immediately following the termination of the professional leave, the employee must have served the employer on a full-time basis for a period of time equivalent to the professional leave period granted.