§ 24-7-602 - Military service credit.
24-7-602. Military service credit.
(a) (1) If an active member of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System enters the armed forces of the United States during any period of compulsory military service, after receiving a refund of member contributions from the system, the compulsory military service required of the member may be established as credited service under this subchapter if after discharge from the armed forces and before retirement the member repays to the system the amount, if any, the member was refunded at the time of termination together with interest from the date of the refund to the date of repayment.
(2) In addition, an active member who entered the armed forces of the United States during any period of compulsory military service and who becomes an active member within one (1) year of his or her discharge from the armed forces is eligible to receive military service credit under this section, whether or not the member has five (5) or more years of credited service at the time of the reemployment.
(b) An inactive member who entered the armed forces shall have the period of armed forces service credited as service in the system without cost to the member if the member satisfies the following conditions:
(1) He or she completes five (5) or more years of actual service in the system; and
(2) (A) The armed forces service is not credited as service under any other retirement plan except social security.
(B) Receipt of a pension from the federal military retirement system paid solely for disability shall not be considered as having service credit with another retirement plan.
(c) If mandated by federal law prior to December 12, 1994, armed service not otherwise creditable under the provisions of this section shall be creditable, provided the member pays both the employee and employer contributions required by the system, plus interest from the date of discharge from active duty until paid in full.
(d) (1) Effective December 12, 1994, a member who leaves employment with a school to serve, on a voluntary or involuntary basis, in the uniformed services of the United States and returns to employment with a school shall be treated as not having incurred a break in service with the employer. The employer shall certify to the system that reemployment was in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 4312 of Pub. L. No. 103-353, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994.
(2) Under this subsection, uniformed services of the United States is limited to the armed forces, the Army and the Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and any other category of persons designated by the President of the United States in time of war or emergency.
(3) The cumulative length of the absence from a position of employment with the employer by reason of service in the uniformed services shall not exceed five (5) years.
(4) A member reemployed under this subsection shall be entitled to accrue benefits for the time he or she served in the uniformed services by paying the employee contributions set forth in 24-7-406.
(5) An employer reemploying a member under this subsection shall pay to the system the employer contributions due for the time the member served in the uniformed services and shall be those required by 24-3-103 [repealed]. However, should a member not pay the employee contributions due, then no employer contributions shall be due.
(6) For the purposes of determining the employee and employer contributions due, the member's compensation during the period of service in the uniformed services shall be computed at:
(A) The rate the member would have received had he or she not served in the uniformed services; or
(B) The member's average compensation level during the twelve-month period, or shorter, if applicable, immediately preceding the service.
(7) If both employee and employer contributions are not paid, the member shall not be entitled to any accrued benefits for the time served in the uniformed services.
(e) In no event shall a person be credited with a total of more than five (5) years of armed service, except that service credited under subsection (e) of this section shall be in addition to that amount.
(f) In any case of doubt as to the period of the armed service to be credited a member, the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System shall have the power to determine the period.