(a)Creditable service at retirement consists of the membership service rendered by the member of the Retirement System and any prior service purchased or granted by this Article.
(b)Membership Service means the number of years served as a member of the General Assembly as of the establishment of the Retirement System and thereafter. One year of membership service is equal to 12 months for which a legislator received compensation.
(c)Prior service means:
(1)The number of years a present member of the General Assembly served in the General Assembly prior to becoming a member of the Retirement System;
(2)The number of years served by former members of the General Assembly who were vested in the Legislative Retirement Fund. One year of prior service is equal to 12 months for which a legis
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(a) Creditable service at retirement consists of the membership service rendered by the member of the Retirement System and any prior service purchased or granted by this Article.
(b) Membership Service means the number of years served as a member of the General Assembly as of the establishment of the Retirement System and thereafter. One year of membership service is equal to 12 months for which a legislator received compensation.
(c) Prior service means:
(1) The number of years a present member of the General Assembly served in the General Assembly prior to becoming a member of the Retirement System;
(2) The number of years served by former members of the General Assembly who were vested in the Legislative Retirement Fund. One year of prior service is equal to 12 months for which a legislator received compensation.
(c1) On or before December 31, 2024, any member of the Retirement System who was a member of the General Assembly as of January 1985 may purchase prior service credit for the month of January 1985 based upon seven percent (7%) of the compensation received for that period.
(d) Recodified as G.S. 120-4.12B(a) by Session Laws 2024-10, s. 15(b), effective June 20, 2024.
(e) Repealed by Session Laws 2024-10, s. 15(c), effective June 20, 2024.
(f) If a member who has not vested in this System on July 1, 2007, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120-4.33 for acts committed after July 1, 2007, then that member shall forfeit all benefits under this System. If a member who has vested in this System on July 1, 2007, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120-4.33 for acts committed after July 1, 2007, then that member is not entitled to any creditable service that accrued after July 1, 2007, regardless of whether that creditable service was earned by virtue of membership in the System, accrued by conversion of sick leave at the point of the member's retirement, accrued by transfer of service from another retirement system, purchased by the member in accordance with this Article, or accrued by any other means. No member shall forfeit any benefit or creditable service earned from a position not as a member of the General Assembly. For purposes of this subsection, creditable service attributable to the conversion of sick leave accrues in this System on the date of retirement, service transferred to this System from another system accrues in this System on the effective date of the transfer, and purchased service accrues in this System on the date of the purchase.
(g) If a member who is a present member of the General Assembly and who has not vested in this System on December 1, 2012, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120-4.33A for acts committed after December 1, 2012, then that member shall forfeit all benefits under this System, except for a return of member contributions plus interest. If a member who is a present member of the General Assembly and has vested in this System on December 1, 2012, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120-4.33A for acts committed after December 1, 2012, then that member is not entitled to any creditable service that accrued after December 1, 2012, regardless of whether that creditable service was earned by virtue of membership in the System, accrued by conversion of sick leave at the point of the member's retirement, accrued by transfer of service from another retirement system, purchased by the member in accordance with this Article, or accrued by any other means. For purposes of this subsection, creditable service attributable to the conversion of sick leave accrues in this System on the date of retirement, service transferred to this System from another system accrues in this System on the effective date of the transfer, and purchased service accrues in this System on the date of the purchase. (1983, c. 761, s. 238; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1034, ss. 187, 190; 1989, c. 762, s. 1; 1993, c. 321, s. 71; 2007-179, s. 1(b); 2009-281, s. 1; 2011-183, s. 89; 2012-193, s. 8; 2020-48, s. 4.4(g), (h); 2024-10, ss. 15(b), (c), 17(b).)
§ 120-4.12A. Reciprocity of creditable service with other state-administered retirement systems.
(a) Only for the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits accruing under this Article, creditable service standing to the credit of a member of the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System shall be added to the creditable service standing to the credit of a member of this System; provided, that in the event a person is a retired member of any of the foregoing retirement systems, such creditable service standing to the credit of the retired member prior to retirement shall be likewise counted. In no instance shall service credits maintained in the aforementioned retirement systems be added to the creditable service in this System for application of this System's benefit accrual rate in computing a service retirement benefit unless specifically authorized by this Article.
(b) A person who was a former member of this System and who has forfeited his creditable service in this System by receiving a return of contributions and who has creditable service in the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System may count such creditable service for the purpose of restoring the creditable service forfeited in this System under the terms and conditions as set forth in this Article and reestablish membership in this System.
(c) Creditable service under this section shall not be counted twice for the same period of time whether earned as a member, purchased, or granted as prior service credits. (1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1066, s. 35(a).)
§ 120-4.12B. Purchase of creditable service for service in Armed Forces.
(a) On or before December 31, 2024, any member of the Retirement System who has eight or more years of creditable service as a member of the General Assembly may purchase prior service credit for service in the Armed Forces of the United States at the same rates and conditions as set forth in G.S. 120-4.14 and G.S. 120-4.16; provided that credit is allowed only for the initial period of active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States up to the time the member was first eligible to be separated or released therefrom, and subsequent periods of such active duty as required by the Armed Forces of the United States up to the date of first eligibility for separation or release therefrom.
(b) On or after January 1, 2025, any member or retired member with five or more years of membership service may purchase creditable service for service in the Armed Forces of the United States by paying a lump sum amount to the Annuity Savings Fund. The amount payable shall be equal to the full liability increase of the Retirement System due to the additional service credits purchased plus an administrative fee that is set by the Board of Trustees. The full liability increase shall be calculated on the basis of the same assumptions used for the purposes of the actuarial valuation of the liabilities of the Retirement System, except for the following assumptions specific to this calculation: (i) the allowance shall be assumed to commence at the earliest age at which the member could retire on an unreduced retirement allowance and (ii) there shall be assumed annual postretirement allowance increases set by the Board of Trustees upon the advice of the consulting actuary.
(c) Only periods of active service in the Armed Forces of the United States are eligible for the purchase of creditable service under this section, except that service in the National Guard or any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be eligible. To make a purchase under this section, the member is required to submit satisfactory evidence of the claimed service in the Armed Forces of the United States. No purchase of service credit under this section shall be made if a benefit is allowable under another public retirement system as a result of the service in the Armed Forces of the United States. (2024-10, ss. 15(a), (b), 16.)