§ 22-802. Purchase of Governmental Service.

   (1)   Allowable other governmental service. 143 A member of the Retirement System may purchase credited service for other governmental employment which was full-time or its prorated equivalent (as determined by the Board) and which occurred prior to the member's current employment with the City, as follows:

      (a)   Service with the military (under a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States); or

      (b)   Service as a State employee of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or as an employee of any of its agencies, instrumentalities or general purpose political subdivisions, or with the School District of Philadelphia; or

      (c)   Other service (including parental, medical, sabbatical, and similar leave) as an employee of the Government of the United States, any State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing; or of an association of employees who are described in the foregoing clause; or of an educational organization which is a public school which provides elementary or secondary education (through grade 12), as determined under State law.

   (2)   Maximum purchase of service; limitation. 144 Credited service which may be purchased for allowable other governmental employment is limited to a maximum of ten (10) years and will be permitted only with respect to service for which the member is not or will not be entitled to a vested pension from another employer. However, a member may purchase credit for prior military service for which the member is or will be entitled to a military pension, if that member's entitlement to a military pension is based in whole or in part upon service in the military reserves. A member in Plan D, Plan J or Plan X shall not be eligible to purchase such service credits unless the member had a minimum of five (5) consecutive years of credited service with the Retirement System. A member in Plan A, Plan B, Plan L, Plan Y, Plan '10, or Plan 16 must file an application to purchase governmental service with the Board within one (1) year following date of employment for new employees, or within one (1) year following January 13, 1999, for members of the Plan on that date. Provided, however, that members of Plan A, Plan B, Plan L, Plan Y, Plan '10, or Plan 16 who file beyond the one-year deadline, may make such purchase by paying the additional interest provided in Section 22-807. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Title, for persons hired on or after July 1, 2010: service credits purchased pursuant to subsection 22-802(1) by a member who is not in the civil service and not represented by a union shall not count toward the vesting requirements set forth in Section 22-301. Application for purchase of credited service shall be made on forms provided by the Board and, in the case of an application for allowable military service, shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the applicant's military record plus proof of a discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States that is characterized as "honorable" or "under honorable conditions". Such discharge shall be a condition precedent to being entitled to the purchase of credited service with respect to military service.

   (3)   Computation of payment for Members in Plan D, Plan J and Plan X. In order to purchase allowable other governmental service, the member shall make payment to the Retirement System of a sum which is the product of:

      (a)   The average compensation received by the member for the first three (3) years of service with the City occurring after the period of governmental service being purchased; multiplied by

      (b)   the sum of the percentage of contributions paid by the member during the first three (3) years of service with the City plus the percentage equal to the current accruing costs to the City at the time of application, multiplied by

      (c)   the number of years and fraction thereof of governmental service (not to exceed ten (10) years) applied for.

   In addition, the member shall pay interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of the member's entry into City service until the date of application.

   (4)   Computation of payment for Members in Plan A, Plan B, Plan L, Plan Y, Plan '10, or Plan 16. 145 The employee may purchase governmental service by paying:

      (a)   The normal cost rate (employee plus employer) in effect on the date the employee becomes a member of Plan A, Plan B, Plan L, Plan Y, Plan '10, or Plan 16

   multiplied by

      (b)   The member's annual compensation at that time

   multiplied by

      (c)   The years of credited service being purchased.

   (5)   Installment and transfer payments. Payment for the purchase of governmental service may be made in accordance with Section 22-806 (Installment Payments) or Section 22-808 (Transfer Payments) of this Title, or any combination thereof. 146

 

Notes

143	Amended, Bill No. 000342 (approved January 23, 2001). Section 2 of Bill No. 000342 reads as follows: "Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective retroactively to January 13, 1999, except for amendments to Code Section 22-310, which shall be effective retroactively to June 28, 1999, and except that, as to members of Plan L, any part of this Ordinance that represents an increase or diminishment in the benefit rights of such members shall not apply to an elected official during any term of office to which such official was elected prior to the effective date of this Ordinance, but shall only apply to an elected official during a term of office to which such official was elected after the effective date of this Ordinance."
144	Amended, Bill No. 000342 (approved January 23, 2001). Section 2 of Bill No. 000342 reads as follows: "Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective retroactively to January 13, 1999, except for amendments to Code Section 22-310, which shall be effective retroactively to June 28, 1999, and except that, as to members of Plan L, any part of this Ordinance that represents an increase or diminishment in the benefit rights of such members shall not apply to an elected official during any term of office to which such official was elected prior to the effective date of this Ordinance, but shall only apply to an elected official during a term of office to which such official was elected after the effective date of this Ordinance." Amended, Bill No. 100225 (approved June 30, 2010), effective July 1, 2010; amended, Bill No. 100286 (approved June 23, 2010). See note 4 for effective date provisions. Amended, Bill No. 161013 (approved December 9, 2016); amended, Bill No. 180599-A (approved June 21, 2018). See note 5 for effective date provisions.
145	Amended, Bill No. 100286 (approved June 23, 2010). See note 4 for effective date provisions. Amended, Bill No. 161013 (approved December 9, 2016).
146	Amended, Bill No. 150235 (approved May 20, 2015). Section 2(g) of Bill No. 150235 provides: "The amendments to Sections 22-802(5), 22-803(2), 22-804(3), and 22-805(1), insofar as they relate to Section 22-808, are effective for trustee-to-trustee transfers after December 31, 2001."