Title 22 — Subtitle 05. Service Credit

Personal illness;

Birth of a child;

Study;

Temporary assignment with another governmental employer; or

Legal adoption of a child.

Grant of Eligibility and Creditable Service for a Qualifying Leave of Absence.

Benefit Calculation.

Member Contributions.

Filing Procedures.

A qualifying leave of absence ends upon the earlier of:

Unless the member returns to work with the member’s employer or separates from employment, a request for a qualifying leave of absence may not be withdrawn or discontinued earlier than the end of the term of the leave approved by the member’s employer and determined by the Retirement Agency to be a qualifying leave of absence.

An individual may not retire with a disability retirement allowance or a service retirement allowance prior to the earlier of:

This regulation applies only to an individual who:

Subject to §C of this regulation, at retirement or on receipt of a vested allowance, a member or former member of the Employees' Pension System, Employees' Retirement System, Teachers' Pension System, or Teachers' Retirement System shall receive 1 year of creditable service for each year that the member or former member worked on a 10-month school year basis.

At retirement or on receipt of a vested allowance, the creditable service of a member or former member shall be pro-rated if the member or former member:

The Secretary to the Board of Trustees may approve retroactive payments by a member of a State system, if, in the secretary's discretion, the request is justified.

The Secretary to the Board of Trustees shall report a denial of a member's request to the Board of Trustees for review.

At any time before retirement, a member may purchase credit for eligibility service for each period of previous service in a position described in State Personnel and Pensions Article, §23-204(a), Annotated Code of Maryland.

Except as provided in §C of this regulation, to purchase the service credit, the member shall pay, in a single payment to the Retirement Agency, the sum of:

On receipt of documentation satisfactory to the Executive Director that a member did not elect to join the Employees' Pension System because the member was not aware of the member's option to elect to join the System, to purchase the service credit the member shall pay, in a single payment to the Retirement Agency, the sum of:

The Retirement Agency shall calculate the member's cost to purchase credit for eligibility service on receipt of documentation satisfactory to the Retirement Agency which verifies the following information:

If the Executive Director rejects a member's request to purchase the service credit by paying the amount determined under §C of this regulation, the member may request a hearing under COMAR 22.03.04.

In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

Terms Defined.

In order to claim for military service pursuant to State Personnel and Pensions Article, §38-104, Annotated Code of Maryland, an eligible member of a State system shall submit a completed application in the form that the State Retirement Agency provides, along with all documentation required by the State Retirement Agency.

The State Retirement Agency may not accept an application to claim military service from a member until the member has attained at least 10 years of creditable service in a State system.

Submit a completed application to transfer the service credit in the form that the Retirement Agency provides, along with all documentation required by the Retirement Agency; and

Deposit into the annuity savings fund of the new system any member contributions plus interest that are required to be deposited pursuant to State Personnel and Pensions Article, §37-203 or 37-203.1, Annotated Code of Maryland.

The Agency shall grant an automatic waiver of the 1-year filing requirement if:

The Agency may not apply the transferred service credit to the member's account until the required deposit of member contributions plus interest is made, in accordance with Regulation .02B of this chapter.

A member who fails to make a claim to transfer service credit within 1 year of becoming a member of the new system in accordance with Regulation .02 of this chapter for any reason other than is set forth in Regulation .03 of this chapter, may request the Executive Director to accept the member's claim to transfer service credit accrued in the individual's previous system by submitting a written statement, along with any supporting documentation, which details the reasons why the member did not make a claim to transfer service credit within 1 year of becoming a member of the new system.

A request for a waiver shall be made within 4 years of becoming a member of the new system. A member or former member who became eligible to transfer service credit prior to July 1, 2007, may apply for a waiver of the 1-year requirement on or before June 30, 2011.

A member who requests a waiver based on Regulation .05A(2) of this chapter shall provide written certification from the member's previous or current employer that the sole reason that the member failed to make a claim within 1 year was due to misinformation from or mishandling by the member's employer. The written certification shall be from the member's appointing authority, the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary of the member's principal department, or, if the member does not work for a principal department, the equivalent agency head.

Upon receipt of a request for waiver, the Executive Director may request, and the member shall provide, any additional information or documentation that the Executive Director considers appropriate to substantiate the member's request.

The Executive Director may accept a member's request for a waiver if the member demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, that:

If the Executive Director denies a request for a waiver, the Executive Director shall present the decision to the Administrative Committee of the Board of Trustees for review at a regular meeting of the Committee. The Executive Director shall notify the member of the date of the Administrative Committee meeting at which time the member shall have an opportunity to be heard.

The Administrative Committee may overturn the decision of the Executive Director and accept a member's request for a waiver if the Administrative Committee finds that the member's failure to make a claim to transfer service credit within 1 year was due to one of the reasons specified in Regulation .05A of this chapter.

The review of the denial of a request for a waiver by the Administrative Committee is not a contested case under State Government Article, §10-202, Annotated Code of Maryland, for which a hearing is required under COMAR 22.03.04.

In this chapter, the following term has the meaning indicated.

Term Defined. “Employee organization” means an organization designated as the exclusive representative under a public bargaining law or the State affiliate of an organization so designated.

the member remits member contributions, if any; and

the participating employer remits employer contributions payable with respect to the member’s earnable compensation as provided in the member’s State system. The employee organization may not remit payments of member or employer contributions to the Retirement Agency.

The member may only receive a maximum of 5 years eligibility and creditable service; and

The member must have 5 years of eligibility or creditable service with one or more participating employers before receiving eligibility or creditable service for time spent as an officer of an employee organization.