Section 36-27-11 - Determination of prior creditable service; computation of creditable service at retirement; procedure for restoration of creditable service to certain persons; payment of makeup contributions by certain persons(a) Under such rules and regulations as the Board of Control shall adopt, each member who was an employee prior to October 1, 1945, and who has made up contributions for time served as a nonmember and who becomes a member prior to September 1, 1966, shall file a detailed statement of all service as an employee rendered by him prior to October 1, 1945, for which he claims credit.(b) The Board of Control shall fix and determine by appropriate rules and regulations how much service in any year is equivalent to one year of service, but in no case shall it allow any credit for a period of absence without pay of more than one month's duration, nor shall more than one year of service be creditable for all service in one calendar year.(c) Subject to the restrictions in subsection (b) of this section and to such other rules and regulations as the Board of Control may adopt, the Board of Control shall verify, as soon as practicable after the filing of the statements of service provided for in subsection (a) of this section, the service therein claimed.(d) Upon verification of the statements of service, the Board of Control shall issue prior service certificates certifying to each member the length of service rendered prior to October 1, 1945, with which he is credited on the basis of his statement of service. Any beneficiary retired prior to October 1, 1945, and any other person receiving a retirement allowance on account of a beneficiary retired prior to said date shall be entitled on and after said date to have his pension increased to take account of any service rendered as an employee established under the provisions of this article. So long as membership continues, a prior service certificate shall be final and conclusive for retirement purposes as to such service; provided, however, that any member may, within one year from the date of issuance or modification of such certificate, request the Board of Control to modify or correct his prior service certificate. When membership ceases, such prior service certificate shall become void. Should the employee again become a member, he shall enter the system as an employee not entitled to prior service credit.(e) Creditable service at retirement on which the retirement allowance of a member shall be based shall consist of the membership service rendered by him since he last became a member, and also, if he has a prior service certificate which is in full force and effect, the amount of the service certified on his prior service certificate.(f) Any person who was a member of the retirement system on July 1, 1961, and who prior to said date had been ineligible to receive credit for service rendered as an employee prior to October 1, 1945, for reasons other than having been employed as a nonmember shall be eligible under the provisions of this article to receive credit for all service as an employee rendered by him prior to October 1, 1945; provided, that such person has never waived his claim on the funds of the retirement system by withdrawing his accumulated contributions to said funds and has not been absent from service more than five years in any period of six consecutive years after becoming a member of the retirement system.(g) Any member entitled to prior service credit as provided in this section who served as a teacher in the public schools or colleges of the state on a full-time basis prior to October 1, 1945, may claim prior service credit for all such service not otherwise creditable to him under the retirement system, such service, anything in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, to be considered service as an employee. Such claim shall be subject to such rules and regulations as the Board of Control shall adopt.(h) Anything in this article to the contrary notwithstanding, any employee who is a member of the retirement system or any future employee who becomes a member of the retirement system who shall have previously withdrawn his funds from either the Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement System or whose account shall have been terminated due to five years absence shall have restored to him all creditable service; provided, that said employee shall complete two years of contributing membership service after he again becomes a member of the retirement system and shall repay the amount previously returned to him, including compounded interest of eight percent to the date of repayment, to the treasurer of the retirement system prior to the date of retirement of said employee. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions any member who elects to purchase credit for withdrawn service shall be eligible to purchase such credit only to the extent that such member does not have credit established with any other public retirement system for such period of service. Should any member have established part credit with another public retirement system for any period of withdrawn service, then such member shall only be eligible to purchase that portion of such withdrawn service for which such member does not otherwise have credit. In determining credit with other public retirement systems coverage under the federal Social Security program shall not be considered.(i) Anything in this article to the contrary notwithstanding, any employee who has been retired from service and who has been receiving a service retirement allowance or a disability retirement allowance, as of October 1, 1981, pursuant to Section 36-27-16, who had five years or more of contributing membership service in the Employees' Retirement System immediately prior to being retired and who had previously withdrawn his funds from either the Teachers' Retirement System or the Employees' Retirement System or whose account had been terminated due to five years absence, shall have restored to him all credited service; provided that said retired member shall repay to the treasurer of the retirement system within one year after October 1, 1982, the amount previously returned to him including compounded interest of eight percent to the date of repayment.(j) Anything in this article to the contrary notwithstanding, any member who has served as a county engineer shall be allowed to make contributions to the retirement system, together with regular interest to date of payment, on the basis of the amount he would have contributed had he as a county engineer been allowed to contribute on that part of his salary paid by the State Highway Department. Such makeup contribution shall be for service from October 1, 1945, to September 30, 1965, and shall be paid in a lump sum before January 1, 1966, whereupon after payment is received the member shall be credited with membership service based on the percentage of the salary as county engineer which was paid by said Highway Department funds.(k) Any member who was in service as a teacher in the public schools of Alabama subsequent to October 1, 1945, who resigned from service as a teacher to become employed by the state as a department head authorized to exercise sovereign power of the state may be allowed to make contributions to the retirement system, together with regular interest to date of payment, on the basis of the amount he would have contributed had he been allowed to become a member of the system upon such employment. Such makeup contributions shall be paid in a lump sum before January 1, 1966.Ala. Code § 36-27-11 (1975)
Acts 1945, No. 515, p. 734, §4; Acts 1947, No. 606, p. 445, §3; Acts 1949, No. 543, p. 853, § 1; Acts 1951, No. 696, p. 1200, §;2; Acts 1955, No. 478, p. 1085, §2; Acts 1957, No. 158, p. 205, §1; Acts 1961, No. 713, p. 1008, §2; Acts 1963, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 44, p. 144, §3; Acts 1965, No. 282, p. 395, §1; Acts 1982, No. 82-470, p. 780, §2; Acts 1987, No. 87-676, p. 1206, §1.