Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 169
Teacher and School Employee Retirement Systems
←169.435
Section 169.440.1
169.450→
August 28, 2015
Years of service, how determined--purchase of credit for service, limitations and conditions.
169.440. 1. In no case shall more than one year of service be credited
for all service in one calendar year.
2. The board of trustees shall include an employee's accumulated and
unused days of sick leave, if any, in computing the employee's credited
service upon the employee's retirement.
3. Any member inducted into the Armed Forces of the United States while
an employee, and discharged or separated from such service by other than
dishonorable discharge, shall be credited with such period or periods of time,
not exceeding a total of four years, spent in such service during time of war
or national emergency, and any additional period or periods of involuntary
service as if such member had been for all effects and purposes in active
service as an employee during such period or periods of time. Periods of
national emergency, as that term is used in this section, shall be prescribed
by rule of the board of trustees, giving due regard to the acts and
resolutions of Congress and the proclamations and orders of the President.
4. Any member who is granted a leave of absence with reduced pay may
authorize deduction of contributions based on full compensation, the same as
if not on leave, and in such case the full compensation shall be used as
annual compensation in determining the final average compensation for
calculation of benefits.
5. A member may elect to purchase and receive credit for service in
accordance with the following conditions and limitations:
(1) The member must have a minimum of five years of continuous credited
membership service in this retirement system prior to the member's election to
purchase;
(2) The member must have one year of credited service in this retirement
system for each year to be credited;
(3) The member must purchase the entire amount of credited service the
member is eligible to purchase in a given category;
(4) Eligible categories of credited service that can be purchased are:
(a) Service rendered in a public school district in the state of
Missouri, or outside the state of Missouri;
(b) Service as an employee which at the time was not classified as
membership service nor were contributions paid but which would be classified
as membership service under later law and regulations;
(c) The period during which an employee's membership was terminated
during the years 1944 to 1947, inclusive, pursuant to a rule of the board of
education prohibiting the employment of married women teachers, provided the
member was reemployed on or before January 1, 1950, and was a member as of
October 13, 1969;
(d) A period of up to five years during which a member was involuntarily
laid off in a staff reduction by the board of education after 1980, provided
the member was restored to full-time employment and the member did not receive
a refund of the member's accumulated contributions for credited service
rendered prior to the layoff;
(e) Service for which the member received a refund of the member's
accumulated contributions;
(f) Up to three years of service rendered in a school, which is not part
of the public school system of this state and which charged tuition for the
rendering of elementary and secondary educational services, as a full-time
employee who was duly certified under the law governing the certification of
teachers during all of such years of employment;
(5) The member must pay for the purchase of service the amount required
by the rules and regulations established by the board of trustees of the
retirement system;
(6) The retirement system may accept a transfer of funds from a plan
qualified under Section 401(a) or 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code in full
or partial payment of the amount required to purchase the credited service;
(7) A member shall receive credit at retirement for only such service as
has met the conditions of this subsection. If the member has paid for any
service which has not been credited, the member shall receive a refund of the
excess payment. If the member has not completed such member's payment at time
of retirement, the first benefits from the retirement system shall be applied
to pay the balance of the amount due and thereafter the full benefits shall be
payable.
(L. 1943 p. 805 § 4, A.L. 1949 p. 532, A.L. 1953 p. 438, A.L. 1957
p. 462, A.L. 1961 p. 384, A.L. 1969 p. 282, A.L. 1972 H.B. 1266,
A.L. 1973 S.B. 256, A.L. 1978 S.B. 542, A.L. 1979 S.B. 392, A.L.
1981 H.B. 33, et al., A.L. 1983 S.B. 3, A.L. 1996 S.B. 860, A.L.
1997 H.B. 612 merged with S.B. 309, A.L. 2001 H.B. 660)
1997
1997
169.440. 1. The board of trustees shall fix and determine by proper
rules and regulations how much service in any year is equivalent to one
year of service, but in no case shall more than one year of service be
creditable for all service in one calendar year. Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this subsection, the board of trustees shall include an
employee's accumulated and unused days of sick leave, if any, in computing
the employee's creditable service upon the employee's retirement.
2. Under such rules and regulations as the board of trustees shall
adopt, each employee who was employed by the school district on and prior
to the date this retirement system becomes operative and who becomes a
member within one year from such date, shall file a detailed statement of
all service as such employee rendered by the member to the school district
prior to that date and prior to the member's attainment of age sixty-five,
for which the member claims credit; provided, however, that teachers may,
in addition, claim credit in such statement for not more than ten years of
service rendered in public schools outside the school district. Any member
with service prior to January 1, 1944, who became a member after January 1,
1945, may file claim for prior service up to a maximum of twelve years
provided the member has a minimum of five continuous years of membership
service and a total membership service of not less than the years of prior
service being claimed.
3. Subject to the above restrictions and to such other rules and
regulations as the board of trustees may adopt, the board of trustees shall
verify the service claims as soon as practicable after the filing of such
statements of service.
4. Upon verification of the statements of service, the board of
trustees shall issue prior service certificates, certifying to each member
the length of prior service with which the member is credited on the basis
of the member's statement of service. So long as the holder of such a
certificate continues to be a member, a prior service certificate shall be
final and conclusive for retirement purposes as to such service; provided,
however, that any member may, within one year from the date of issuance, or
modification, of such certificate, request the board of trustees to modify
or correct the member's prior service certificate. When any employee
ceases to be a member the employee's prior service certificate shall become
void, and should such employee again become a member such employee shall
enter the retirement system as a member not entitled to prior service and
membership service credit. After the member has five years of continuous
membership service since last date of reemployment and provided the member
could not under the applicable law at date of the member's termination have
left such member's accumulated contributions for accrued deferred
retirement benefits, the member may reinstate the member's creditable
service as of such date by paying to the system the accumulated
contributions the member withdrew with interest to the date of repayment.
5. Membership service at retirement shall include creditable service
as an employee, on account of which contributions are made by the employing
board and by the member except as to creditable military service and
accumulated and unused days of sick leave.
6. Creditable service upon retirement of a member, or upon such other
date as a member shall cease to be an employee shall consist of membership
service, and if the member has a prior service certificate in full force
and effect it shall include service certified on the member's prior service
certificate, except that in determining the amount of any benefits pursuant
to sections 169.410 to 169.585 the years of prior service creditable shall
not exceed the number of years which, when added to the membership service
of the member, equals thirty-five years.
7. Any member inducted into the armed forces of the United States
while an employee, and discharged or separated from such service by other
than dishonorable discharge, shall be credited with such period or periods
of time, not exceeding a total of four years, spent in such service during
time of war or national emergency, and any additional period or periods of
involuntary service as if such member had been for all effects and purposes
in active service as an employee during such period or periods of time.
Periods of national emergency, as that term is used in this section, shall
be prescribed by rule of the board of trustees, giving due regard to the
acts and resolutions of Congress and the proclamations and orders of the
President.
8. Any employee whose membership was terminated during the years 1944
to 1947, inclusive, pursuant to a rule of the board of education
prohibiting the employment of married women teachers and who was reemployed
on or before January 1, 1950, and is a member as of October 13, 1969, may
reinstate the creditable service forfeited by the termination and acquire
credit as membership service for service rendered subsequent to the
termination. In order to obtain such credit, the member must pay the
unpaid accumulated contributions for the approved years of membership
service to be credited together with any contributions which have been
refunded to the member plus interest from the date of the refund or from
the date of membership service to the date of repayment as provided herein.
No prior service may be reinstated or other service credited unless full
payment is made for contributions for all possible service which is
classified as membership service.
9. Any member who is granted a leave of absence with reduced pay may
authorize deduction of contributions based on full compensation, the same
as if not on leave, and in such case the full compensation shall be used as
annual compensation in determining the final average compensation for
calculation of benefits.
10. Any employee who rendered service which at the time was not
classified as membership service nor were contributions paid but which
would be classified as membership service under later law and regulations
may receive credit for such service by paying the required contributions
for such period of service with interest to date.
11. A member who has rendered service in a public school district in
the state of Missouri, or outside the state of Missouri, may elect to
purchase and receive credit for such service in accordance with the
following conditions and limitations:
(1) The member must have a minimum of five years of continuous
creditable membership service in this retirement system prior to the
member's election to purchase;
(2) Service to be credited must be service for which the member did
not and could not receive accrued benefits by leaving contributions with
any other retirement system under the applicable law in effect at the
termination of such service;
(3) The member must have one year of creditable service in this
system for each year to be credited;
(4) The maximum period of service which can be credited pursuant to
this subsection is ten years;
(5) The member must pay for the purchase of service after January 1,
1944, the total amount of member's contributions for such years being
purchased plus interest at the rates fixed by the board of trustees with
the contributions based on the compensation at which the member initially
was employed in this school district and the contribution rates then in
effect;
(6) If all service after January 1, 1944, for which a member is
eligible has been purchased and it is less than ten years, the member may
apply for credit for service prior to January 1, 1944, provided the total
credit does not exceed ten years, subject to applicable conditions and
limitations in this subsection, but no payment shall be required;
(7) A member shall receive credit at retirement for only such service
as has met the conditions of this subsection. If the member has paid for
any service which has not been credited, the member shall receive a refund
of the excess payment. If the member has not completed such member's
payment at time of retirement, the first benefits from the system shall be
applied to pay the balance of the amount due and thereafter the full
benefits shall be payable; and
(8) Any credit granted for service outside the school district prior
to January 1, 1944, pursuant to subsection 2 of this section shall be
included in determining whether any additional credit may be obtained
pursuant to this subsection.
12. An active member who is involuntarily laid off in a staff
reduction by the board of education or board of regents after 1980 may, if
the member is restored to full-time employment, elect to purchase and
receive credit for service retirement for the period of such layoff in
accordance with the following conditions and limitations:
(1) The member shall be an employee with a minimum of five years of
continuous creditable membership service in this retirement system prior to
the time the member elects to purchase service for the period of such
layoff;
(2) The member shall not have been paid the member's accumulated
contribution credited to the member's individual account after such layoff;
(3) The maximum period of creditable service which may be credited
pursuant to this subsection is five years;
(4) The member shall pay for the purchase of creditable service the
total cost of such service as determined by the board of trustees based on
accepted actuarial methods using the same assumptions used by the
retirement system at the time of such election. Such cost shall include
both the employee's and the system's share of the cost of such credited
service;
(5) The member shall make payment in full for the purchase of
creditable service pursuant to this subsection over a period not to exceed
five years, measured from the date of election, or prior to the effective
date of retirement of the member, whichever is earlier, and with interest
compounded annually at the rate established by the board of trustees.
13. Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 169.410 to
169.540 to the contrary, any member with five or more years of creditable
service who ceased to be an employee, who has received a refund of such
member's accumulated contributions pursuant to subsection 9 of section
169.460, who again becomes a member of the retirement system, may elect to
reinstate any creditable service forfeited at time or times of any previous
refunds. Such reinstatement shall be effected by the member paying to the
retirement system with interest the amount of accumulated contributions
refunded to the member on or after the time such member ceased to be an
employee, and by continuous employment in the district for at least an
additional seven years of creditable service before such member retires.
Such payment with interest shall be made over a period of not longer than
five years from the date of such member's election to reinstate creditable
service, provided that such payment shall in all events be made prior to
the retirement of such member. The member electing to reinstate such
creditable service may not receive or be eligible to receive retirement
benefits from any other retirement system for the period for which
creditable service is being reinstated, and such member shall furnish an
affidavit to the retirement system so stating.
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