A person's periods of duty with the Armed Forces of the United States shall be credited as city service as follows:
(A) For periods of military service before December 12, 1994, a person who leaves or left city employment to enter any armed service of the United States during time of war, period of compulsory military service, or period of national emergency recognized by the City Commission shall have required periods of active duty credited as city service, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The person is re-employed by the city within 90 days from and after the date of termination of required active duty;
(2) The person becomes a member and repays to the retirement system the total amount of accumulated contributions previously withdrawn, if any, plus regular interest from the date(s) of withdrawal to the date(s) of repayment; and
(3) In no case shall more than 6 years of service be credited on account of all military service.
(B) For periods of military service on or after December 12, 1994, a person who leaves or left city employment to enter the Armed Forces of the United States for service that satisfies the requirements of qualified military service under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 ("USERRA") shall have the period of such service credited as city service, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The person is re-employed by the city within the period prescribed by USERRA.
(2) The person becomes a member and repays to the retirement system the accumulated contributions previously withdrawn, if any, plus regular interest from the date(s) of withdrawal to the date(s) of repayment. Such repayment must be made during the period beginning with the member's date of re-employment and ending with the shorter of:
(a) Five years; or
(b) Three times the period of the member's military service.
(3) Repayment of such accumulated contributions may, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, be made by regular deduction from the member's pay and be paid to the retirement system. If, at the time a benefit is first payable to the member or the member's beneficiary, the full amount of accumulated contributions has not been repaid by the member (or by a beneficiary), pro rata city service shall be provided in the ratio of the principal amount of accumulated contributions which have been repaid, over the total principal amount of accumulated contributions which were to be repaid.
(4) Effective for transfers of benefits after December 31, 2001, a member who wishes to have military service credited as city service may make a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer of benefits, as permitted by §§ 413(b)(13)(B) and 457(e)(17)(B) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, from:
(a) An annuity contract described in § 403(b) of the United States Internal Revenue Code; or
(b) An eligible plan under § 457(b) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which is maintained by a state, political subdivision of a state, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state to repay to the retirement system the accumulated contributions previously withdrawn by the member.
(5) In no case shall the amount of military service credited as city service be less than the amount required by USERRA and § 414(u) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
(C) The Board of Trustees shall determine the amount of service to be credited to a person under the provisions of this section.
(Ord. passed 11-20-1980; Am. Ord. 02-01, passed 6-27-2002; Am. Ord. 02-02, passed 6-30-2002; Am. Ord. 09-01, passed 2-5-2009)