§ 18-11-20 — Members withdrawing from association - Members in military service

Each association shall adopt bylaws and regulations providing that in the event any member
withdraws from employment in the department or ceases to be a member of the association,
whether by death or otherwise, the member is entitled to a return of an amount which is not less
than fifty percent nor more than one hundred percent of the member's contributions paid to the
association without interest. Any benefits already received by that member must be deducted
from the amount which would be returned to the member. Any applicant for a service pension
who, subsequent to entry into the service of such fire department, has served in the military
forces of the United States, may not have the period of that military service deducted in the
computation of the period of service herein provided for, but that military service must be
construed and counted as a part and portion of the member's active duty in that fire department.
However, that credit for military service may not exceed five years. Any such member, who was
a full-time regular firefighter at the time of the member's entry into the armed services and who
seeks credit for that military service, shall, upon return to employment in the fire department,
pay into the pension fund for each year of military service the same amount of money as the
member would have contributed from the member's salary had the member been in the
continuous employment of the department.