Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a) A
shared-cost purchase is one in which the member pays only the employee's share
and not the employer's share of the purchase. A member may purchase all or a
portion of such eligible service. A share-cost purchase will be calculated on
the basis or the actuarial purchase factor established for the member's age at
the time of the purchase request times the higher of either the member's
current annual base salary or highest fiscal year base salary. The following
types of purchases are shared-cost purchases:
1. Former membership credit with a New Jersey
State-administered retirement system and any service which would have been
eligible for purchase under that membership;
2. Former service with any other employer
that was not certified for membership but which would have qualified on an
optional or compulsory basis at the time the service was rendered;
3. Temporary Service:
i. "Special Police Officer" service cannot be
purchased; and
ii. Police academy
or firefighting training cannot be purchased unless the training was rendered
while serving and receiving compensation in an eligible New Jersey police or
firefighting position;
4. Leaves of absence without pay when:
i. The period of the leave is for personal
reasons, which does not exceed 93 days. Childcare is considered leave for
personal reasons; and
ii. The
period of the leave is up to two years for personal illness. The Division may
require proof from the employer that the illness existed for the length of the
leave; and
5. Eligible
out-of-State public employment, up to a total purchase of 10 years.
Out-of-State service cannot be used to qualify for an ordinary disability
retirement.
(b) The
types of purchases indicated in (b)1 through 5 below are considered to be
full-cost purchases. A member may purchase all or a portion of such eligible
service. The lump sum purchase cost shall be calculated on the basis of the
actuarial purchase factor established for the member's nearest age at the time
of the purchase request times the higher of either the member's current actual
base salary or highest fiscal year base salary. The computed lump sum purchase
cost shall then be doubled to establish the full cost to the member. This cost
is calculated in this manner as
N.J.S.A. 43:16A-11.9, 11.11 and 11.12 provide that the
employer shall not be liable for any costs of purchasing this service;
therefore, the member must pay both the employee and employer share.
1. Active duty military service prior to
enrollment. Active military service that is eligible for purchase means
full-time duty in the active military service of the United States. Such term
includes full-time training duty, and attendance, while in the active military
service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary
of the military department concerned. It does not include periods of service of
less than 30 days. It does not include weekend drills or annual summer training
of a National Guard or reserve unit, nor does it include periods when the
member was on-call. It also does not include time spent in the Reserved
Officers Training Corps or as a cadet or midshipmen at one of the service
academies. Military service before enrollment cannot be used to qualify for an
ordinary disability retirement;
2.
Employment with the Federal government. United States government service cannot
be used to qualify for an ordinary disability retirement;
3. Service established under a local
municipal or county retirement system within the State of New Jersey;
4. Up to three years of service established
for certain periods of employment with public agencies or private non-profit
agencies pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 43:16A-11.9;
5. Up to three years of service credit for
police members who were laid off in good standing and not by removal for cause
or charges of misconduct or delinquency from employment in police service
positions and subsequently rehired in PFRS police service positions in
accordance with
P.L.
1999, c. 338,
N.J.S.A. 43:16A-11.13 or up to three years of service
credit for firefighter members who were laid off in good standing and not by
removal for cause or charges of misconduct or delinquency from employment in
firefighter positions and subsequently rehired in PFRS firefighter positions in
accordance with
P.L.
2001, c. 228. The
purchase cost is based on the actuarial purchase factor established for the
member's nearest age at the time of the purchase request and the member's
salary during the 12 months preceding the layoff. The computed lump sum
purchase cost will then be doubled to establish the full cost to the
member.
(c) A member
shall be eligible to purchase an aggregate of up to 10 years of out-of-State
public employment, military service and Federal employment provided that the
member is not receiving nor is entitled to receive a retirement allowance for
such service from any other public retirement system and provides proof to the
Division of Pensions and Benefits that the member has withdrawn from such other
system. A qualified veteran shall be eligible to purchase an additional five
years of military service rendered during periods of war for an aggregate of 15
years of such service.
