2007 Minnesota Statutes

354.53 CREDIT FOR BREAK IN SERVICE TO PROVIDE UNIFORMED SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Eligibility; employee and employer contributions. (a) Any teacher who is
absent from employment by reason of service in the uniformed services, as defined in United
States Code, title 38, section 4303(13), and who returns to the employer providing teaching
service upon discharge from service in the uniformed service within the time frames required
in United States Code, title 38, section 4312(e), may obtain service credit for the period of
the uniformed service as further specified in this section, provided that the teacher did not
separate from uniformed service with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge or under other
than honorable conditions.
(b) The member may obtain credit by paying into the fund an equivalent employee
contribution based upon the contribution rate or rates in effect at the time that the uniformed
service was performed multiplied by the full and fractional years being purchased and applied to
the annual salary rate. The annual salary rate is the average annual salary during the purchase
period that the teacher would have received if the teacher had continued to provide teaching
service to the employer rather than provide uniformed service or if the determination of that rate
is not reasonably certain, the annual salary rate is the teacher's average salary rate during the
12-month period immediately preceding the period, or, if the preceding period is less than 12
months, the annualized rate derived from the teacher's average salary rate during the period of
teacher employment rendered immediately preceding the period of the uniformed service.
(c) The equivalent employer contribution and, if applicable, the equivalent additional
contribution provided in section 354.42 must be paid by the employing unit as provided in section
354.52, subdivision 4, using the employer and employer additional contribution rate or rates in
effect at the time that the uniformed service was performed, applied to the same annual salary rate
or rates used to compute the equivalent employee contribution.
    Subd. 2. Calculation of credit. (a) For purposes of computing a money purchase annuity
under section 354.44, subdivision 2, all payments into the fund under this section must be
considered accumulations after July 1, 1957.
(b) For purposes of computing a formula annuity under section 354.44, subdivision 6, if the
employee equivalent contributions provided in this section are not paid in full, the member's
formula service credit must be prorated by multiplying the full and fractional number of years
of uniformed service eligible for purchase by the ratio obtained by dividing the total employee
contribution received by the total employee contribution otherwise required under this section.
    Subd. 3. Eligible payment period. (a) To receive service credit under this section, the
contributions specified in this section must be transmitted to the Teachers Retirement Association
during the period which begins with the date on which the individual returns to teaching service
and which has a duration of three times the length of the uniformed service period, but not to
exceed five years.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if the payment period determined under paragraph (a) is
less than one year, the contributions required under this section to receive service credit may be
made within one year from the discharge date.
    Subd. 4. Limits on service credit. The amount of service credit obtainable under this section
may not exceed five years, unless a longer purchase period is required under United States Code,
title 38, section 4312.
    Subd. 5. Interest requirements. The employer shall pay interest on all equivalent employee
and employer contribution amounts payable under this section. Interest must be computed at a
rate of 8.5 percent compounded annually from the end of each fiscal year of the leave or the break
in service to the end of the month in which the payment is received.
History: Ex1957 c 16 s 17; Ex1959 c 50 s 20; 1965 c 821 s 13; 1967 c 834 s 7; 1971 c 40
s 27; 1973 c 270 s 12; 1974 c 289 s 46; 1975 c 306 s 23; 1977 c 67 s 11; 1977 c 97 s 4; 1981
c 224 s 122,123; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 11 s 8; 1992 c 598 art 3 s 7; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 81; 1997 c
233 art 1 s 53; 1999 c 222 art 16 s 17; 2004 c 267 art 3 s 6