A member of the Employees’ Retirement System or Teachers’ Retirement System is entitled to: eligibility service as provided in §§ 22-303 through 22-307 of this subtitle; and creditable service as provided in § 22-308 of this subtitle.

Subject to subsections (b) through (d) of this section, the Board of Trustees shall adopt regulations that specify the period of employment in a year that is equal to 1 year of service credit. The Board of Trustees may not allow more than 1 year of service credit for a calendar year. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section or § 22-304(c)(2) of this subtitle, a member is entitled to receive: 1 year of service credit for: employment for the normal working time in a year for the member’s position; or regular part-time employment for a calendar year; and 1 month of service credit for employment for a month or a part of a month if a member contribution is made in the month. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a member of the Employees’ Retirement System who is an elected or appointed official is entitled to receive 1 year of service credit for each 12-month period during which the member holds the office. Except for an official of a participating governmental unit, an appointed official who is appointed on or after July 1, 1979, is not entitled to receive service credit if the normal working time for the position is less than 130 days per year. An elected or appointed official who purchases service credit under § 22-307 of this subtitle, is entitled to receive 1 year of service credit for a part of a year of employment if the part of the year is at least equal to the number of days of the regular session of the General Assembly for the year for which the service credit is requested.

Eligibility service for a member of the Employees’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Retirement System consists of service credit: for employment as a member; transferred from a retirement or pension system under Title 37 of this article or Title 31, Subtitle 1 of this article; for military service, as provided in Title 38 of this article; purchased under this subtitle; and that equals, for a member who has transferred between the Employees’ Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System, the member’s eligibility service recognized under the previous system through the date before the member became a member of the current system.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a member may not purchase service credit under this title if the member is separated from employment. A member who is separated from employment may purchase service credit under this title for a leave of absence approved by the Board of Trustees under regulations that apply to all members, if the member purchases the service credit within 60 days after the expiration of the leave of absence.

A member may purchase service credit as provided in subsection (b) of this section for periods of employment described in subsection (c) or (d) of this section for which the member is not otherwise entitled to service credit. A member who purchases service credit under this section shall: complete a claim for the service credit and file it with the Board of Trustees on a form that the Board of Trustees provides; and pay to the Board of Trustees in a single payment the member contributions the member would have made for the period of employment for which service credit is being purchased plus regular interest to the date of payment. A member may pay for service credit purchased under this section at any time before retirement. A member of the Employees’ Retirement System may purchase service credit for a period of employment: by the State or a participating governmental unit; as a member of the State Police Retirement System for which the member was not vested in that State system; when the member was on an employer-approved leave of absence not exceeding 2 years that has qualified for purchase under regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees; by the Department of Legislative Services, the Office of the Attorney General, or as secretary to the Speaker of the House of Delegates or as secretary to the President of the Senate during a session of the General Assembly; by a member of the Senate or House of Delegates or the Office of the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House of Delegates; as a member of the Employees’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Retirement System for which the member had withdrawn the member’s accumulated contributions after a prior termination of membership; or when membership was mandatory but for which member contributions were not made. For service credit purchased under: paragraph (1)(iv) of this subsection, a year or part of a year of employment equals 1 year of service credit; and paragraph (1)(v) of this subsection, employment for at least 130 days per year as a legislative employee equals 1 year of service credit. A member of the Teachers’ Retirement System may purchase service credit for periods of employment: during which a member held an emergency teaching certificate; as a member of the State Police Retirement System for which the member was not vested in that State system; when membership was mandatory but for which member contributions were not made; when the member was on an employer-approved leave of absence not exceeding 2 years that has qualified for purchase under regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees; as a member of the Employees’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Retirement System for which the member had withdrawn the member’s accumulated contributions after a prior termination of membership; or by the State or a participating governmental unit on a permanent basis.

A member may purchase service credit as provided in this section for periods of employment described in subsection (c) or (d) of this section for which the member is not otherwise entitled to service credit. A member who purchases service credit under this section shall: complete a claim for the service credit and file it with the Board of Trustees on a form that the Board of Trustees provides; and pay to the Board of Trustees an amount equal to the annuity reserve and pension reserve required to fund the additional allowance. Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection, the member shall pay for service credit purchased under this section at retirement. The surviving spouse of a member of the Teachers’ Retirement System may pay for the appropriate final adjustment under paragraph (3) of this subsection if: the member dies while employed as a member; the member was purchasing service credit through a payroll deduction; and the service credit qualifies for benefits under § 29-205 of this article. A member of the Employees’ Retirement System may purchase service credit for a period of employment: not exceeding 10 years of out-of-state public school teaching service; not exceeding 10 years for public or nonpublic school teaching service; not exceeding 5 years for postsecondary school teaching service; not exceeding 10 years of federal service or out-of-state service with a political subdivision; or as an employee of a political subdivision of the State if: the member is not otherwise entitled to receive service credit for the same period under this Division II; the member is not receiving retirement benefits from a political subdivision of the State for the same period; and the member, the political subdivision, or both, pay the amount required under subsection (b)(1) of this section. A member of the Teachers’ Retirement System may purchase service credit for a period of employment: not exceeding 10 years of out-of-state public school teaching service; not exceeding 10 years of public or nonpublic school teaching service; not exceeding 5 years of postsecondary school teaching service; on or before December 31, 1970, with Baltimore City as a teacher on a verified leave of absence not exceeding 2 years that is similar in all respects to leaves of absence approved by the Board of Trustees; not exceeding 10 years of federal or out-of-state municipal service; or employment as an employee of a municipal corporation of the State if the member is not otherwise entitled to receive service credit under this Division II.

This section applies only to a member of the Employees’ Retirement System who: was an employee of the State prior to November 1, 1996; as of November 1, 1996, was employed by a private vendor to provide child support enforcement services in Baltimore City; and resumed employment with the State as of November 1, 2002. A member described in subsection (a) of this section is entitled to receive service credit for the time the member was employed by a private vendor to provide child support enforcement services in Baltimore City prior to October 31, 2002. Prior to the member’s date of retirement, and subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a member who receives service credit under this subsection shall deposit in the annuity savings fund or other corresponding fund an amount of money equal to the contribution payments that the member would have paid had the member been a State employee, including regular interest on the contributions at the rate of 4% per year compounded annually. On retirement, the member’s retirement allowance shall be reduced by the actuarial equivalent of the amount determined under paragraph (2) of this subsection if the member elects not to deposit this amount in the annuity savings or other corresponding fund.

An elected or appointed official who elected to become a member of the Employees’ Retirement System may receive service credit for previous service as an official with the State or a participating governmental unit including service as an official before the establishment of the Employees’ Retirement System. To receive service credit for previous service, an elected or appointed official shall complete a claim for the service credit and file it with the Board of Trustees on a form the Board of Trustees provides. On receiving a claim for service credit for service as an official with a participating governmental unit, the Board of Trustees shall: verify the previous service and the amount of service credit to which the member is entitled; compute the amount due from the participating governmental unit because of the claim; and submit a statement to the participating governmental unit for that amount. The computation made under paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection shall be based on the compensation actually received by the official from the participating governmental unit during the period for which service credit is to be granted. A participating governmental unit that receives a statement from the Board of Trustees shall pay the amount immediately to the Board of Trustees or place it in the next budget for prompt payment when that budget becomes effective. On receiving a claim for service credit for service as an official with the State, the Board of Trustees shall: compute the amount due from the State; and include in the State budget for the next fiscal year an appropriation for the amount due from the State. An official who receives service credit under this section: shall pay to the Board of Trustees in a single payment, within the period determined by the Board of Trustees, the member contributions, plus regular interest, that the official would have paid had the official been a member of the Employees’ Retirement System; or subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, may waive the payment of any part of the member contributions plus regular interest. If an official who receives credit under this section waives payment of any contributions or interest, the Board of Trustees shall reduce the official’s allowance by the actuarial equivalent of those contributions, plus interest to the date of retirement, that the official had not paid.

A member of the Employees’ Retirement System who had served as an elected or appointed official of the State or a participating governmental unit may receive service credit for the previous service as an official including service before the establishment of the Employees’ Retirement System, if the member makes a single payment, within the period determined by the Board of Trustees, of the member contributions, plus interest, that the Board of Trustees considers appropriate.

Creditable service on which the allowance of a member is based consists of: eligibility service, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section; and credit for unused sick leave as provided in § 20-206 of this article. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a member’s creditable service for a period of regular part-time employment equals the member’s actual employment during that period. Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a member’s creditable service for a period of regular part-time employment equals the member’s eligibility service for that period if: the medical board determines that the member’s part-time employment is a result of a medically determined disability that prevents full-time work; and the member then elects to make the contributions for full-time employment required by § 22-214 of this title. Except to the extent that a disability was aggravated after a member’s enrollment, paragraph (2) of this subsection does not apply to a disability incurred before a member’s enrollment.