Military Service: USERRA-Covered Leave Affects Your Retirement Plan Coverage

The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights act of 1994 (USERRA) provides reemployment rights to individuals who interrupt employment for service in the U.S. Armed Forces or reserves, active or inactive duty training, Army or Air National Guard, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, or any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or national emergency.

If you are called or voluntarily enter the uniformed services from covered employment and are rehired by your previous employer, the USERRA-covered leave will not count as an absence from covered employment. While your PSRS membership cannot be terminated while you are on USERRA-covered leave, the leave period can only be used in the calculation of your monthly benefit if you purchase the leave. The period of uniformed service purchasable may not exceed five years, and if reemployed, you must make application to PSRS within five years of your reemployment.

To prevent your leave from affecting your service credit, you can buy up to five years of USERRA-covered leave. To do so, you must pay the contributions that would have been withheld from your salary during the period covered by USERRA. Cost is based on the rate of compensation you would have received from your employer had the absence not occurred.

As an example, if you served in the National Guard for 12 months, and your PSRS contribution amount for that time would have been $3,300, your cost to receive credit for the period of leave would be $3,300 ($30,000 compensation x 11.0% contribution rate = $3,300 cost of credit).

You have up to five years after reemployment to buy the service. When you do, the reemploying school district is required to pay the matching employer contributions plus interest by the end of the school year in which you choose to apply for the service.

Note to members: Under normal circumstances, membership in PSRS is automatically terminated when a member (who is not vested) remains out of covered employment for five consecutive school years. If you leave covered employment to enter the uniformed services, and then are reemployed by your previous employer, you and your employer should contact us concerning the purchase of your USERRA covered leave.

For more information on how military service affects your benefits, call us toll free at 800-392-6848 or email us at psrspeers@psrspeers.org. For more information on USERRA, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Web site at www.dol.gov/elaws/vets/userra/userra.asp.

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	Military Service: USERRA-Covered Leave Affects Your Retirement Plan Coverage The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights act of 1994 (USERRA) provides reemployment rights to individuals who interrupt employment for service in the U.S. Armed Forces or reserves, active or inactive duty training, Army or Air National Guard, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, or any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or national emergency. If you are called or voluntarily enter the uniformed services from covered employment and are rehired by your previous employer, the USERRA-covered leave will not count as an absence from covered employment. While your PSRS membership cannot be terminated while you are on USERRA-covered leave, the leave period can only be used in the calculation of your monthly benefit if you purchase the leave. The period of uniformed service purchasable may not exceed five years, and if reemployed, you must make application to PSRS within five years of your reemployment. To prevent your leave from affecting your service credit, you can buy up to five years of USERRA-covered leave. To do so, you must pay the contributions that would have been withheld from your salary during the period covered by USERRA. Cost is based on the rate of compensation you would have received from your employer had the absence not occurred. As an example, if you served in the National Guard for 12 months, and your PSRS contribution amount for that time would have been $3,300, your cost to receive credit for the period of leave would be $3,300 ($30,000 compensation x 11.0% contribution rate = $3,300 cost of credit). You have up to five years after reemployment to buy the service. When you do, the reemploying school district is required to pay the matching employer contributions plus interest by the end of the school year in which you choose to apply for the service. Note to members: Under normal circumstances, membership in PSRS is automatically terminated when a member (who is not vested) remains out of covered employment for five consecutive school years. If you leave covered employment to enter the uniformed services, and then are reemployed by your previous employer, you and your employer should contact us concerning the purchase of your USERRA covered leave. For more information on how military service affects your benefits, call us toll free at 800-392-6848 or email us at psrspeers@psrspeers.org. For more information on USERRA, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Web site at www.dol.gov/elaws/vets/userra/userra.asp.