8-35-203 - Membership of employees Credit for prior service.
8-35-203. Membership of employees Credit for prior service.
(a) (1) Membership in the retirement system for employees of employers which are admitted as provided in this part shall be:
(A) Optional for all employees in the service of the employer on the date the approval is given; and
(B) Mandatory for all eligible employees entering the service of the employer thereafter.
(2) Credit for such periods of previous service as shall be certified as creditable service by the employer for service rendered to such employer or its predecessor, or in any other capacity approved by the employer and the board, for which the employer is willing to make accrued liability contributions shall be credited to employees and teachers who meet all of the following conditions:
(A) The employee or teacher must have been employed by the employer on the date the approval is given and continuously for the thirty (30) days immediately preceding that date; provided, that in the event the employee or teacher was not continuously employed by the employer from the period of previous service claimed through and including the date the approval is given, the employee or teacher must have been employed by the employer on the date the approval is given and continuously for the six (6) months immediately preceding or after that date;
(B) The employee or teacher must have become a member of the retirement system within thirty (30) days after the approval is given;
(C) The employee or teacher must pay whatever back contributions and interest due to establish service authorized by the employer. Such payment may be made through amounts transferred from any pre-existing pension plan maintained on behalf of the employee by the employer; and
(D) (i) If the employer maintained a preexisting pension plan on behalf of the employee or teacher during any period of the previous service authorized by the employer under this subdivision (a)(2), then the employee or teacher shall have six (6) months from the employer's participation date in the retirement system to elect to establish the previous service rendered while a participant in the preexisting plan, and one (1) year from the employer's participation date in the retirement system to transfer to the retirement system all sums maintained on behalf of the employee or teacher under the preexisting plan. The provisions of this subdivision (a)(2)(D)(i) shall only apply if the transferred sums are the only payment required by the member to establish that service.
(ii) Any employee or teacher who fails to make the election provided for in subdivision (a)(2)(D)(i) and transfer within the time periods set forth in subdivision (a)(2)(D)(i) shall not later be eligible to establish the previous service rendered while a participant in the preexisting plan.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any member who establishes prior service credit in the retirement system pursuant to this subdivision (a)(2)(D) may at a later date establish any additional periods of the previous service authorized by the employer under this subdivision (a)(2); provided, that the member establishes all the additional periods of service before the service is creditable.
(iv) This subdivision (a)(2)(D) shall only apply to employees of employers that are admitted pursuant to this part on or after June 5, 2006.
(3) After becoming a member, service by such employee for which contributions are made shall be considered creditable service.
(b) (1) A participating political subdivision may allow any employee previously denied service credit due to advanced age to establish such service. The chief governing body may authorize this credit by passing a resolution and accepting the liability.
(2) The employee may then establish such credit by making a lump sum payment of the contributions the employee would have made had the employee been a member of the system during the period claimed, plus interest at the rate provided for in § 8-37-214.
(c) An employee or elected or appointed official of this state or any political subdivision thereof who is convicted in any state or federal court of a felony arising out of the employee's or official's employment or official capacity constituting malfeasance in office shall forfeit that employee's or official's retirement benefits in accordance with § 8-35-124.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, any current member of the consolidated retirement system who would have been eligible for service credit in the retirement system pursuant to § 8-35-226, but was not in service with the local government on the date the provisions of § 8-35-226 were adopted by the local government, may be eligible for retirement credit for such prior service at the option of the political subdivision for whom such prior service was rendered upon satisfying the following conditions:
(A) The chief legislative body of such political subdivision authorizes and pays for the cost of an actuarial study to determine the liability associated with the granting of such service credit; and
(B) Following review of the cost of granting such service credit, the chief governing body of such political subdivision passes a resolution authorizing such service credit and accepting the liability for such credit.
(2) Any service established shall be subject to the same limitations as contained in § 8-35-226.
[Acts 1972, ch. 814, § 10; T.C.A., § 8-3934(2); Acts 1980, ch. 654, §§ 5, 6; 1982, ch. 771, §§ 4, 8; 1987, ch. 54, § 8; 1988, ch. 973, § 4; 1989, ch. 178, § 1; 1992, ch. 843, §§ 14-16; 1993, ch. 508, § 3; 2004, ch. 631, § 5; 2006, ch. 870, §§ 13, 14.]