19-19-406. Election to qualify previous military service. (1) A member with 15 years or more of service as a police officer may, at any time prior to his retirement, make a written election with the board to qualify all or any portion of his active service in the armed forces of the United States for the purpose of calculating retirement benefits, up to a maximum of 5 years, if he is not otherwise eligible to receive credit. To qualify this service he must contribute to the account the actuarial cost of granting the service to be determined by the board based on his compensation and normal contribution rate as of his 16th year and as many succeeding years as are required to qualify this service, with interest from the date he becomes eligible for this benefit to the date he contributes. He may not qualify more of his military service than he has service as a police officer in excess of 15 years. Military service purchased under this section may not be used in the determination of eligibility for a service retirement requiring a minimum of 20 years service.
     (2) If a member has retired from active duty in the armed forces of the United States with normal service retirement benefits, he may not qualify his military service under subsection (1). However, a member who is serving or has served in the military reserves with the expectation of receiving a military service pension may qualify his active military service under subsection (1) if his active duty in the armed forces of the United States is not more than 25% of the total of all his years of military service, including reserve and active duty time.

     History: En. 11-1842.1 by Sec. 1, Ch. 368, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 11-1842.1; amd. Sec. 24, Ch. 114, L. 1979; Sec. 19-10-406, MCA 1991; redes. 19-19-406 by Code Commissioner, 1993.