New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 2 - PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM › Subchapter 5 - PURCHASES AND ELIGIBLE SERVICE › Section 17:2-5.5 - Optional purchases of eligible service

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) A
				shared-cost purchase is one in which the member pays only the employee's share
				and not the employer's share of the purchase. A member may purchase all or a
				portion of such eligible service. A shared-cost purchase will be calculated on
				the basis of the actuarial purchase factor established for the member's age at
				the time of the purchase request times the higher of either the member's
				current annual base salary or highest fiscal year base salary. The following
				types of purchases are shared-cost purchases:
1. Former membership credit in a New Jersey
				State-administered retirement system;
2. Former service with any other employer
				which was not certified for membership but which would have qualified on an
				optional or a compulsory basis at the time the service was rendered;
3. Continuous temporary service without
				interruption, substitute service, or intermittent service immediately preceding
				enrollment is eligible for purchase provided the following conditions are met:
i. Continuous temporary service without
				interruption must be employment without a break in service. For an employer
				that reports on a monthly basis, a break in service is defined as no salary
				earned by an employee during a month. For an employer that reports on a
				biweekly basis, a break in service is defined as no salary earned by an
				employee during a biweekly pay period;
ii. Substitute service is eligible provided
				the employment immediately precedes enrollment in the PERS. Immediately
				preceding enrollment is defined as employment rendered during the month or
				biweekly pay period prior to the date of enrollment. The period(s) of
				substitute service that a member can request to purchase must meet the
				following criteria:
(1) A year of substitute
				service wherein a 10-month employee worked an average of 10 days per month and
				an aggregate of 100 days during a regular work year. A 12-month employee is
				required to have worked an average of 10 days per month and an aggregate of 120
				days per year;
(2) Substitute
				service for a period of less than one year immediately preceding enrollment is
				eligible for purchase provided the member works a minimum average of 10 days
				per month for each month of substitute service; and
(3) When more than one year of substitute
				service is requested for purchase, each year of substitute service rendered
				prior to enrollment is reviewed and each year is required to meet the criteria
				set forth under the provisions of (a)3ii(1) above; and
iii. Intermittent service, as defined by
				17:2-2.3(a)8 
				must result without interruption in permanent employment with the same
				employer. The intermittent service must have been in a position which satisfied
				the job's requirement for experience needed to qualify for the permanent
				title;
4. Leaves of
				absence without pay:
i. The period of the
				leave for personal reasons, which does not exceed 93 days. Child care is
				considered leave for personal reasons. Union leave after January 12, 2007 is
				considered leave for personal reasons;
ii. The period of the leave up to two years
				for personal illness. The Division may require proof from the employer that the
				illness existed for the length of the leave;
iii. Maternity leave may consist of a
				personal illness component and a personal reasons component (for childcare).
				Members who apply to purchase any period of a maternity leave as personal
				illness must provide certification from their physician, verifying that the
				member was disabled during the requested purchase period, due to pregnancy or
				childbirth. Absent physician certification, three months is the maximum
				allowable period of purchase for maternity leave for personal reasons;
				and
iv. A leave of absence shall be
				deemed to have ended upon resignation, termination or return to covered
				payroll;
5. Members may
				purchase continuous service subsequent to the date their employer adopted the
				PERS, provided the service was with the same employer to the date of
				enrollment;
6. Non-veterans hired
				prior to July 1, 1966, whose employers have not adopted the PERS and are
				otherwise eligible for enrollment, may enroll any time and purchase continuous
				service retroactive to July 1, 1966, provided the service was with the same
				employer to the date of enrollment;
7. Eligible out-of-State public employment,
				up to a total purchase of 10 years, provided the member is not receiving or
				eligible to receive a retirement benefit from any other system for the same
				period of time.
i. As provided in
				43:15A-42, out-of-State service
				cannot be used to qualify for an ordinary disability retirement.
ii. For purchase applications received
				November 1, 2008 or later, out-of-State purchases cannot be used to qualify for
				post-retirement medical benefits; and
8. Non-concurrent TPAF service if a dual
				member of TPAF and PERS pursuant to
				P.L.
				2001, c. 6
				(43:15A-14 ). All or a portion of
				non-concurrent service in the PERS from an expired or withdrawn account may be
				purchased.