Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 25 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; PUBLIC RECORDS (§§ 25-1-1 — 25-65-33) › Chapter 13 - HIGHWAY SAFETY PATROL RETIREMENT SYSTEM (§§ 25-13-1 — 25-13-35) › Section 25-13-17 - Credit for prior time served in highway safety patrol, armed forces

(1)
All persons who are covered under the terms of this chapter on July 1, 1958 and who become members of the retirement system shall cease to be members under the provisions of Sections
25-11-101
through
25-11-139
upon July 1, 1958, and shall become members of this retirement system with full credit for all prior service with the Highway Safety Patrol.
(2)
In computing the period of service of a member of the Highway Safety Patrol, any member who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, or who served in maritime service during periods of hostility in World War II, shall be entitled to creditable service at no cost for his service on active duty in the Armed Forces or in such maritime service, provided he entered state service after his discharge from the Armed Forces or entered state service after he completed such maritime service. The maximum period for such creditable service for all military service as defined in this subsection (2) shall not exceed four (4) years unless positive proof can be furnished by such person that he was retained in the Armed Forces during World War II or in maritime service during World War II, by causes beyond his control and without opportunity of discharge. The member shall furnish proof satisfactory to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System of certification of military service or maritime service records showing dates of entrance into active duty service and the date of discharge. No creditable service shall be granted for any military service or maritime service to a member who qualifies for a retirement allowance in another public retirement system administered by the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System based in whole or in part on such military or maritime service. In no case shall the member receive creditable service if the member received a dishonorable discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States.
The credit for military service granted in this subsection shall apply to all persons who have retired from the Highway Patrol and who qualify for credit as outlined above, whether they retired before or after July 1, 2000; but this provision shall not operate to require any back payments of retirement.
(3)
(a)
Any member of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System whose membership service is interrupted as a result of qualified military service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code, and who has received the maximum service credit available under subsection (2) of this section, shall receive creditable service for the period of qualified military service that does not qualify as creditable service under subsection (2) of this section upon reentering membership service in an amount not to exceed five (5) years if:
(i)
The member pays the contributions he would have made to the retirement system if he had remained in membership service for the period of qualified military service based upon his salary at the time his membership service was interrupted;
(ii)
The member returns to membership service within ninety (90) days of the end of his qualified military service; and
(iii)
The employer at the time the member's service was interrupted and to which employment the member returns pays the contributions it would have made into the retirement system for such period based on the member's salary at the time the service was interrupted.
(b)
The payments required to be made in paragraph (a)(i) of this subsection may be made over a period beginning with the date of return to membership service and not exceeding three (3) times the member's qualified military service; however, in no event shall such period exceed five (5) years.
(c)
The member shall furnish proof satisfactory to the board of trustees of certification of military service showing dates of entrance into qualified service and the date of discharge as well as proof that the member has returned to active employment within the time specified.
Codes, 1942, § 8090-59; Laws, 1958, ch. 543, § 9; Laws, 1974, ch. 413; Laws, 1980, ch. 470, § 3; Laws, 2000, ch. 419, § 1; Laws, 2001, ch. 438, § 6; Laws, 2002, ch. 627, § 17, eff. 7/1/2002.