Ohio Code 145.2911 – Eligibility for credit for service in Cincinnati retirement system
(A) If the conditions described in division (B) of section 145.2910 of the Revised Code are met, a member of the public employees retirement system who is not receiving a pension or benefit from the public employees retirement system is eligible to obtain credit for service as a member of the Cincinnati retirement system under this section.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 145.2911
- Contributing service: means both of the following:
(1) All service credited to a member of the system since January 1, 1935, for which contributions are made as required by sections 145. See Ohio Code 145.01
- Disability benefit: means a benefit paid as disability retirement under section 145. See Ohio Code 145.01
- employer: means the employer of any public employee. See Ohio Code 145.01
- Employer contribution: means the amount paid by an employer as determined under section 145. See Ohio Code 145.01
- Member: includes a PERS retirant who becomes a member under division (C) of section 145. See Ohio Code 145.01
- Ohio service credit: means credit for service that was rendered to the state or any of its political subdivisions or any employer. See Ohio Code 145.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B) A member of the public employees retirement system who has contributions on deposit with, but is no longer contributing to, the Cincinnati retirement system shall, in computing years of service credit, be given credit for service credit earned under the Cincinnati retirement system or purchased or obtained as military service credit if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The member’s service credit in the public employees retirement system is greater than the amount of credit that would be obtained under this division.
(2) The member is eligible, or with the credit will be eligible, for a retirement or disability benefit.
(3) The member agrees to retire or accept a disability benefit not later than ninety days after receiving notice from the public employees retirement system that the credit has been obtained.
(4) For each year of service, the Cincinnati retirement system transfers to the public employees retirement system the sum of the following:
(a) The amount contributed by the member, or, in the case of military service credit, paid by the member, that is attributable to the year of service;
(b) An amount equal to the lesser of the employer‘s contributions to the Cincinnati retirement system or the appropriate employer contributions under section 145.48 or 145.49 of the Revised Code;
(c) Interest on the amounts specified in divisions (B) (4)(a) and (b) of this section from the last day of the year for which the service credit was earned or in which payment was made for military service credit to the date the transfer is made.
(C) A member of the public employees retirement system with at least eighteen months of contributing service credit with the public employees retirement system who has received a refund of the member’s contributions to the Cincinnati retirement system may obtain credit for service credit earned under the Cincinnati retirement system or purchased or obtained as military service credit if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The member’s service credit in the public employees retirement system is greater than the amount of credit that would be obtained under this division.
(2) The member is eligible, or with the credit will be eligible, for a retirement or disability benefit.
(3) The member agrees to retire or accept a disability benefit not later than ninety days after receiving notice from the public employees retirement system that the credit has been obtained.
(4) For each year of service, the public employees retirement system receives the sum of the following:
(a) An amount, paid by the member, equal to the sum of the following:
(i) The amount refunded by the Cincinnati retirement system to the member for that year for contributions and payments for military service, with interest at a rate established by the public employees retirement board on that amount from the date of the refund to the date of payment;
(ii) The amount of interest, if any, the member received when the refund was made that is attributable to the year of service.
(b) An amount, transferred by the Cincinnati retirement system to the public employees retirement system, equal to the sum of the following:
(i) Interest on the amount refunded to the member that is attributable to the year of service from the last day of the year for which the service credit was earned or in which payment was made for military service credit to the date the refund was made;
(ii) An amount equal to the lesser of the employer’s contributions to the Cincinnati retirement system or the appropriate employer contribution under section 145.48 or 145.49 of the Revised Code, with interest on that amount from the last day of the year for which the service credit was earned to the date of the transfer.
(D) The amount transferred under division (C) (4)(b)(i) of this section shall not include any amount of interest the Cincinnati retirement system paid to the person when it made the refund.
(E) On receipt of payment from the member under division (C) (4)(a) of this section, the public employees retirement system shall notify the Cincinnati retirement system. On receipt of the notice, the Cincinnati retirement system shall transfer the amount described in division (C) (4)(b) of this section.
(F) Interest charged under this section shall be calculated separately for each year of service credit. Unless otherwise specified in this section, it shall be calculated at the lesser of the actuarial assumption rate for that year of the public employees retirement system or the Cincinnati retirement system. The interest shall be compounded annually.
(G) At the request of the public employees retirement system, the Cincinnati retirement system shall certify to the public employees retirement system a copy of the records of the service and contributions of a member of the public employees retirement system who seeks service credit under this section.
(H) Service credit purchased or otherwise obtained under this section shall be considered the equivalent of Ohio service credit.
The public employees retirement system shall withdraw the credit and refund all amounts paid or transferred under this section if either of the following occurs:
(1) The member fails to retire or accept a disability benefit not later than ninety days after receiving notice from the public employees retirement system that credit has been obtained under this section.
(2) The member’s application for a disability benefit is denied.
(I) A member may choose to purchase only part of the credit the member is eligible to purchase under division (C) of this section, subject to rules of the public employees retirement board.
(J) A member is ineligible to purchase or otherwise obtain credit under this section for the service to be used in calculation of any retirement benefit currently being paid or payable to the member in the future.