Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) The receipt of a public pension or retirement benefit is expressly conditioned upon the renderings of honorable service by a public officer or employee. If the Board of an employee's former system determines that all or a portion of the employee's prior service is dishonorable, that portion of prior service deemed dishonorable will not be transferable.
(b) Except as noted at (a) above, a member is eligible to transfer the former membership in a State-administered defined benefit retirement system into the retirement system that covers the new eligible employment, if the member has first ended employment with the former employer, and has not taken another position subject to coverage in the State-administered retirement system of the former account which would have the same effective date as the membership in the new State-administered retirement system.
1. A member desiring to transfer service credit and contributions from one State-administered defined benefit retirement system to another must file an "Application for Interfund Transfer." This application will void all possible claims against the former system when approved and the new membership is commenced in the new system.
2. The member's accumulated contributions, full interest included, less any outstanding loan, shall be transferred to the new membership account of the respective member. Any outstanding loan, back deductions, or arrears obligation will be scheduled for repayment.
3. A statement reflecting the member's status as of the date of transfer shall be prepared by the Withdrawal Section of the Division and a copy forwarded to the former account.
4. The member's service credit established in the former system shall be transferred into the new system.
5. The member is not eligible to transfer service credit if any of the following conditions apply:
i. The member has withdrawn the former membership;
ii. The member has credit in the former system for service earned after the date of enrollment in the new system (concurrent service) unless the member meets the criteria established by N.J.S.A. 43:15A-14. N.J.S.A. 43:15A-14 provides that a member of the TPAF at the time of enrollment in the PERS may transfer the non-concurrent TPAF service if the member ceased to be an active contributing member of the TPAF three or less years from the date of enrollment in the PERS. The member must apply to transfer this service no more than two years from the date of the last contribution to the TPAF, or the member's TPAF account has not expired due to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:66-8. A member who transfers service under this provision shall receive credit for the salaries earned in both the TPAF and PERS during the period of concurrent service; or
iii. The account is inactive; that is, it has been more than two years from the date of the last contribution nor has the member's account remained active due to the provisions of 43:15A-8.
6. A data sheet shall be created for the member's new account that will indicate an interfund transfer from the member's former system and the service credit transferred into the new membership account.
7. The member's original enrollment date established in the former system shall be transferred into the new system.
(c) The system will transfer membership to any State-administered defined benefit retirement system, as provided in (b) above.
(d) The reserves accrued in the former system will be valued and compared to the reserves required in the new system.
1. If the reserves accumulated or provided for in the former system are less than those required in the new system, the full reserve will be transferred.
2. If the reserves accumulated or provided for in the former system are more than those required in the new system, only the amount required to establish the credit will be transferred.
(e) Years of credit will be subject to the benefit formula of the new system after transfer.
