A member is entitled to: eligibility service as provided in §§ 26-302 through 26-307 of this subtitle; and creditable service as provided in § 26-308 of this subtitle.

Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, a member is entitled to eligibility service for periods of employment while a member of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System. The Board of Trustees may not allow more than 1 year of service credit for a calendar year. If a member completes at least 500 hours of employment while a member in any fiscal year, the member is entitled to 1 year of eligibility service. Except in the first and last fiscal years, a member may not receive any eligibility service for a fiscal year in which the member completes less than 500 hours of employment while a member. In the first and last fiscal years, if a member completes less than 500 hours of employment while a member, the Board of Trustees shall prorate the eligibility service based on the number of hours worked. If a member who is subject to the Law Enforcement Officers’ Modified Pension Benefit under Subtitle 2, Part II of this title completes less than 500 hours of employment while a member, the Board of Trustees shall prorate the member’s eligibility service based on the number of hours worked.

This section applies to a member of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System who is subject to the Law Enforcement Officers’ Modified Pension Benefit under Subtitle 2, Part II of this title. A member is entitled to the eligibility service to which the member was entitled before the separation from employment if the member: was entitled to a vested allowance from the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System at the time of the separation from employment; and has completed 1 year of employment as a member of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System who is subject to the Law Enforcement Officers’ Modified Pension Benefit under Subtitle 2, Part II of this title.

A member is entitled to eligibility service that equals: the member’s service credit transferred from a retirement or pension system under Title 37 of this article; for a member who has transferred from the Employees’ Retirement System, the member’s creditable service recognized under the Employees’ Retirement System through the date before the member became a member of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System; and for a member who has transferred from the Employees’ Pension System, the member’s eligibility service recognized under the Employees’ Pension System through the date before the member became a member of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System.

A member is entitled to eligibility service equal to the military service credit granted under Title 38 of this article.

A member is entitled to eligibility service during a leave of absence if the leave of absence: is approved by the Board of Trustees under regulations that apply to all members similarly situated; and is not otherwise recognized as eligibility service under this subtitle. To receive service credit for a leave of absence described under subsection (a) of this section, a member shall pay the member contributions with regular interest, if any, as determined by the Board of Trustees under regulations that apply to all members similarly situated.

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. For good cause shown, the Executive Director, in the Executive Director’s sole discretion, may extend the time period to purchase service credit under paragraph (1) of this subsection if: the purchased service credit would allow the member to meet the eligibility service requirements to apply for an ordinary disability retirement under § 29–105(a) of this article; and the member completes the purchase of the service credit before the earlier of: 4 years after the expiration of the leave of absence; or the date membership ends. The Board of Trustees shall adopt regulations to carry out this subsection.

In the year of retirement, a member may purchase service credit for eligibility service of up to 10 years for periods of employment for which the member: would have been entitled to purchase the service credit under the Employees’ Pension System; and is not otherwise entitled to service credit under the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System. To purchase service credit under this section, a member must: complete a claim for the service credit and file it with the Board of Trustees on the 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. A member may purchase credit for eligibility service for previous service in a position described in § 23-204(a) of this article. To purchase the service credit, the member must pay, in a single payment, the contributions, with interest, that the Board of Trustees considers appropriate.

A member may purchase service credit as provided in subsection (b) of this section for periods of employment described in subsection (c) of this section for which the member is not otherwise entitled. 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. Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, a member may purchase service credit for a period of employment as a member of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System if the member: has withdrawn the member’s accumulated contributions after a prior termination of membership; and was subject to the modified pension benefit under Subtitle 2, Part II of this title when the member previously terminated membership in the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System. A member may not purchase eligibility service credit that exceeds the member’s creditable service credit.

For the purpose of computing benefits under this title, creditable service consists of: eligibility service as adjusted under subsection (b) of this section; and credit for unused sick leave as provided in § 20-206 of this article. This subsection does not apply to eligibility service that consists of: service credit transferred from another retirement or pension system; military service credit granted under Title 38 of this article; or service credit purchased under this subtitle. The Board of Trustees shall adjust a member’s eligibility service as provided in this subsection. The Board of Trustees shall adopt regulations to determine for any fiscal year the amount of creditable service that equals the eligibility service for a member who has completed less than the normal hours of employment for the member’s position. The normal hours of employment for a position equals the minimum number of hours to be completed by a full-time employee serving in the member’s position. The creditable service recognized for a fiscal year may not be less than the eligibility service for the member multiplied by a fraction, not to exceed 1, that has: as its numerator, the number of hours of employment as a member that the member has completed during that year; and as its denominator, the normal number of hours for the member’s position.