1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to retirement; authorizing Vietnam veterans 
  1.3             to purchase service credit in the public employees 
  1.4             retirement association for certain periods for a 
  1.5             defined amount; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.6             section 353.01, subdivision 16a. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 353.01, 
  1.9   subdivision 16a, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 16a.  [UNCREDITED MILITARY SERVICE CREDIT PURCHASE.] 
  1.11  (a) A public employee who has at least three years of allowable 
  1.12  service with the public employees retirement association or the 
  1.13  public employees police and fire plan and who performed service 
  1.14  in the United States armed forces before becoming a public 
  1.15  employee, or who failed to obtain service credit for a military 
  1.16  leave of absence under subdivision 16, paragraph (h), is 
  1.17  entitled to purchase allowable service credit for the initial 
  1.18  period of enlistment, induction, or call to active duty without 
  1.19  any voluntary extension by making payment under section 356.55 
  1.20  if the public employee is not entitled to receive a current or 
  1.21  deferred retirement annuity from a United States armed forces 
  1.22  pension plan and has not purchased service credit from any other 
  1.23  defined benefit public employee pension plan for the same period 
  1.24  of service. 
  1.25     (b) A public employee who desires to purchase service 
  1.26  credit under paragraph (a) must apply with the executive 
  2.1   director to make the purchase.  The application must include all 
  2.2   necessary documentation of the public employee's qualifications 
  2.3   to make the purchase, signed written permission to allow the 
  2.4   executive director to request and receive necessary verification 
  2.5   of applicable facts and eligibility requirements, and any other 
  2.6   relevant information that the executive director may require. 
  2.7      (c) Allowable service credit for the purchase period must 
  2.8   be granted by the public employees association or the public 
  2.9   employees police and fire plan, whichever applies, to the 
  2.10  purchasing public employee upon receipt of the purchase payment 
  2.11  amount.  Payment must be made before the effective date of 
  2.12  retirement of the public employee. 
  2.13     (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a public employee who 
  2.14  has at least three years of allowable service with the public 
  2.15  employees retirement association or the public employees police 
  2.16  and fire plan and who is a Vietnam veteran who served after July 
  2.17  1, 1961, and before July 1, 1978, and who served in the active 
  2.18  military service in a branch of the armed forces of the United 
  2.19  States in conducting a foreign war and was discharged under 
  2.20  honorable conditions, is entitled to purchase allowable service 
  2.21  credit for the initial period of enlistment, induction, or call 
  2.22  to active duty without any voluntary extension by making payment 
  2.23  in the amount of $5,000 per year of service credit if the public 
  2.24  employee is not entitled to receive a current or deferred 
  2.25  retirement annuity from a United States armed forces pension 
  2.26  plan and has not purchased service credit from any other defined 
  2.27  benefit public employee pension plan for the same period of 
  2.28  service.  Paragraphs (b) and (c) apply to any service credit 
  2.29  purchases made under this paragraph.