A member of the Local Fire and Police System is entitled to: eligibility service as provided in §§ 28-302 through 28-307 of this subtitle; and creditable service as provided in § 28-308 of this subtitle.

Subject to subsection (b) of this section, a member is entitled to eligibility service for periods of employment while a member of the Local Fire and Police System. 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.

In this section, “break in service” means a period of separation from employment in a fiscal year after the one in which a member first becomes employed, if during that fiscal year the member does not complete more than 350 hours of employment while a member. A former member is entitled to the eligibility service to which the former member was entitled before the separation from employment if: the former member has not incurred a break in service; the former member was entitled to a vested allowance at the time of separation from employment; or the former member has completed 1 year of eligibility service after a break in service; and the number of consecutive years in which the member incurred a break in service is less than the years of eligibility service as a member before the break in service. To determine if a former member is eligible for prior eligibility service under subsection (b)(3)(ii) of this section, the Board of Trustees shall determine the number of years of prior eligibility service: as of the day the former member separated from employment; but excluding any eligibility service lost because of a prior break in service.

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; and the member’s service credit transferred from a retirement or pension system on or before December 31, 2005.

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.

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 service credit under the Employees’ Pension System; and is not otherwise entitled to service credit under the Local Fire and Police 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.

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 one, 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.