19-6-803. Election to qualify law enforcement service performed in another state. (1) Except as provided in subsections (4) through (6), a member with 5 years or more of membership service in the retirement system may qualify 1 year of out-of-state law enforcement employment for each year of service credit under the retirement system, up to a maximum of 5 years, provided that the member is not eligible to receive a retirement benefit for that out-of-state law enforcement employment.
(2) To qualify this service, a member shall:
(a) at any time before the member's retirement, make a written election with the board to qualify the service; and
(b) contribute to the pension trust fund the actuarial cost of granting the service in the retirement system, as determined by the board, based on:
(i) the member's compensation for the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the member's election to cover the service under the retirement system; and
(ii) the total contribution rate in effect at the time of purchase of service.
(3) Contributions to qualify service under this section may be made in a lump-sum payment or in installments as agreed upon by the member and the board.
(4) Service qualified under this section may not be:
(a) credited in any other retirement system under Title 19; or
(b) used to qualify a member to purchase military service under 19-6-801.
(5) Service qualified under this section may not be used in calculating a member's retirement benefit unless the last 5 years of service credit were earned under the retirement system. If a member's qualified service may not be used in calculating the member's retirement benefit, the member may choose to receive a refund of the contributions made to qualify the service.
(6) The combined total service qualified under this section and military service qualified under 19-6-801 may not exceed 5 years.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 142, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 120, Ch. 265, L. 1993; Sec. 19-6-306, MCA 1991; redes. 19-6-803 by Code Commissioner, 1993.
