| Service Credit Purchases and Conversions |
CONTRA
COSTA COUNTY
EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION |
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Service credit purchase rules for Safety members are the same as for General members. However, there may be confusion if a Safety member had service in two or more tiers during his/her career. Below are some examples.
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| Example 1: |
| A member entered service in the Tier 3 designation prior to becoming a Safety tier member. During the Tier 3 service, the member took an unpaid medical leave of absence. After returning to work, the member changed jobs and became a Safety member. Can eligible medical leave of absence time from Tier 3 be purchased as Safety service credit? |
| The answer is "no." Eligible service credit can only be purchase under the original tier designation that was in effect during the leave of absence period. |
| Example 2: |
Prior to becoming a member of a Safety tier, a member was in military service, but will not receive a pension for the time served. This time may be purchasable as "Public Service." This time prior to membership can be purchased as "Safety," since the member is now a member in the Safety tier.
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Example 3: |
| A member was in a job classification that was not considered "Safety." By statute amendment, the position was later reclassified as "Safety." The member is now part of the Safety tier. Does the service credit earned automatically become "Safety" credit? |
| The answer is "no." Previous service does not automatically become Safety service, even though the retirement tier has changed, due to the difference in contribution rates between the tiers, and statutory law. However, a Safety member may convert all or any part of the qualifying previous service to Safety service, by electing to contribute an amount equal to the difference between the contributions actually made and the contributions the member would have made had he/she been a Safety member at time of original service. The amount will also include interest that would have accrued. |
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| The additional contributions are paid by monthly payroll deductions or a lump sum payment, which must be completed before the member retires. However, if the Safety member dies while employed, the surviving spouse/registered domestic partner may choose to pay any balance due within 90 days of the member's death to complete the conversion. If the payment contract is not fulfilled, the service credit will be pro-rated to reflect the contributions that were made. |
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| Example 4: |
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| Can service in a prior non-Safety tier be converted to Safety if the member changes employers and enters the Safety Tier? |
| "No." Service in another tier cannot be converted to Safety. This is a statutory mandate, as are other purchase and conversion rules. |
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| Redeposits |
| Safety members who leave membership and take a refund of contributions and interest are eligible to redeposit those withdrawn funds, if the member returns to Safety membership with CCCERA at a later time. (Members leaving to work in other 1937 Act systems, PERS agencies, or other reciprocal employers are not allowed to take a refund, if they continue working in a reciprocal agency.) |
| If the member returns to membership with CCCERA, he/she can choose to redeposit the refunded contributions, thus regaining service credit that was earned during the prior membership. After redeposit, the Safety member's age at entry (and therefore, contribution rate) returns to the original age at entry (after the redeposit is completed), which means a lower contribution rate going forward. This age-at-entry adjustment is only made if the redeposit is made within 6 months of the new membership. |
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| Law enforcement and fire suppression Safety members only may also choose to redeposit, even if they have not returned to membership with CCCERA or a reciprocal system, as long as their current employment is still as an officer or employee of a law enforcement or fire department agency. Principal duties must remain in active law enforcement or firefighting and prevention service, not, for example, as a telephone operator, mechanic, etc. |
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