Reinstatement and Credit Purchases

PURPOSE: This rule sets forth provisions relating to the reinstatement or purchase of membership service credit in the retirement system. (1) A member electing to reinstate or purchase membership service credit authorized by the laws governing the retirement system shall make the election to reinstate or purchase credit on a form provided by the retirement system and the reinstatement or purchase shall be effected through payment to the retirement system within the time period prescribed by law of the contributions due, together with interest, if applicable, computed at the purchase rate set by the board of trustees, in accordance with the provisions of 16 CSR 10-4.012. (2) Unless required to be allowed under federal law, a member cannot elect to purchase or claim credit for services outside of a district included in this retirement system, or to reinstate credit previously earned in this retirement system, for which the member is receiving or for which the member may, without additional services, become eligible to receive a benefit from another retirement system. A member cannot elect to purchase membership service credit from any source if the purchase would result in the member accruing more than one (1) year of membership service credit for any school year except as a result of the purchase of credit authorized by section 169.577, RSMo. (3) A member who applies to reinstate or purchase membership service credit must provide reliable documentation sufficient to establish each element required to qualify for the proposed reinstatement or credit purchase. Where the credit being purchased is based on a period of employment or a period of service covered by a retirement system, the documentation must include confirmation by the employer or retirement system of the relevant facts. (4) Once a member has filed an application to reinstate or purchase service credit, no additional application to reinstate or purchase such credit may be filed for the same period of employment unless the member terminates membership with the retirement system and subsequently reestablishes such membership. (5) Any credit earned for a period of leave under section 169.595, RSMo, shall be secured only if the necessary contributions are remitted by the employing district by June 30 of the school year that occurs two (2) years after the school year in which the leave period occurred and are accompanied by a statement from the employing district certifying the name of the member for whom the contributions are being remitted and that the member was either on sick leave in accordance with the sick leave provisions of the employer or was under Workers’ Compensation during the period of leave. (6) The following provisions shall apply to a purchase of mem bership service credit for maternity or paternity leave under section 169.056, RSMo: (A) A period of leave shall be considered maternity or pa ternity leave for which membership service credit may be purchased if— 1. The leave was unpaid; 2. The leave related to a natural birth, legal adoption, or terminated pregnancy by the member or the member’s spouse or significant other; 3. The member was employed in a position covered by the retirement system at the time the leave relating to the initial natural birth, legal adoption, or terminated pregnancy began; 4. The member provides written confirmation that the leave was maternity or paternity leave; 5. The member provides a copy of a birth certificate, or certification of adoption, or physician’s certification of termination of pregnancy, which indicates that the event occurred within a reasonable time before or after the period of maternity or paternity leave began; and 6. The member returns to employment in a position covered by the retirement system; (B) The maternity or paternity leave for which membership service credit may be purchased shall terminate upon the member’s return to covered employment and may not exceed one (1) year for each natural birth, legal adoption, or terminated pregnancy; and (C) A member may elect to purchase some or all of the period of maternity or paternity leave for which the member is eligible. (7) The following provisions shall apply to the purchase of creditable service under section 105.691, RSMo: (A) A member may elect to purchase creditable service under section 105.691, RSMo, only if the member had previously acquired creditable service in a retirement plan defined in that section for the employment to which the election applies; except that if the service did not meet the membership requirements of the employer’s retirement plan or the employer had no such retirement plan at the time the service was rendered, but the service would otherwise have met the membership requirements of this system as in effect when the election is made, the member shall be eligible to purchase such creditable service. The creditable service allowable shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of section 105.691, RSMo, and the rules of the board of trustees; and (B) A member who does not complete payment in full on an application to purchase creditable service under section 105.691, RSMo, within the time limit prescribed by law may reapply to purchase creditable service for that same period of employment. The member may apply within the limits of the law to purchase creditable service for any other period of employment for which application to purchase creditable service was not previously made. (8) The purchase of creditable service pursuant to section 169.577, RSMo, shall be administered as follows: (A) Any member will be considered “within five (5) years of being eligible to retire with a retirement allowance” if that person would be eligible to begin receiving a full or reduced retirement allowance from the public school retirement system, by virtue of accrual of five (5) or fewer years of creditable service or the passage of five (5) or fewer calendar years; (B) The salary used in calculating the cost of creditable service purchased pursuant to section 169.577, RSMo, is not “compensation payable to a member” as that phrase is used in section 169.010(8), RSMo, and shall not be used in determining final average salary; (C) Credit purchased shall be used for all purposes except vesting; (D) The cost of the purchase shall be calculated pursuant to the provisions of 16 CSR 10-4.012; (E) A purchase shall be made in increments of at least oneone-hundred thousandth (0.00001) year and may not exceed five-tenths (0.5) year; and (F) If the total payments made prior to termination of membership with the retirement system are insufficient to purchase all the credit for which the member applied, proportional credit shall be allowed based upon the ratio between the amount due for the entire period for which election to purchase was made and the total amount of the payments applied to reduce the principal amount due in increments of one-one-hundred thousandth (0.00001) year. The amount of partial payments not used to purchase credit or pay interest shall be refunded. (9) A member electing to purchase membership service credit for service in the armed forces shall receive one (1) year of credit for each twelve- (12-) month period of such service. For any such period of service in the armed forces of less than twelve (12) months, the member shall receive proportional credit computed to the nearest one-one-hundred thousandth (0.00001) of a year, provided that, if the member entered on active duty in the armed forces no later than the date on which the member’s services were to have begun under an employment agreement with a district included in the retirement system and if the total period of active military service that year would have entitled the member to a year of creditable service had that service been rendered in that position with the district, the member shall be entitled to purchase a full year of membership service credit for the period of service. No more than one (1) year of membership service credit shall be allowed for service in the armed forces or for a combination of service in the armed forces and actual service in a district included in the retirement system, for any one (1) school year. (10) Unless otherwise required by law, membership service credit purchased under the laws governing the retirement system cannot be used to establish eligibility for benefits under sections 169.010 to 169.141, RSMo, but such purchased credit may be used in computing the value of any benefits to which a member would otherwise qualify under those sections. (11) Unless a different amount is required by law, members must have accrued at least one (1) year of membership service credit for employment in a position covered by the retirement system in order to apply to purchase service credit. (12) Unless otherwise required by law, if the total payments made within the time allowed to purchase credit is insufficient to purchase all the credit for which the member applied, proportional credit shall be allowed based on the ratio between the amount due for the entire period for which the member applied and the total amount of the payments applied to reduce the principal amount due. (13) Members electing to reinstate or purchase credit may make payments in any amount and at any time during the period allowed for payment. (14) A purchase of credit for Social Security covered employment pursuant to section 169.056.11, RSMo, shall be allowed only in a manner consistent with Title 26 of the United States Code and, in addition, shall be governed by the following provisions: (A) The member must have five (5) years of creditable service and be vested with the retirement system prior to purchasing credit for Social Security covered employment pursuant to section 169.056.11, RSMo; (B) The retirement system shall allow the purchase of no more than five (5) years of credit for “nonqualified service” as that term is defined in section 415 of Title 26 of the United States Code if doing so would jeopardize the tax qualified status of the retirement system pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code and the retirement system determines that the provisions of section 415(n) of Title 26 of the United States Code apply to the purchase of such member’s purchase; (C) The member must supply evidence satisfactory to the retirement system that the member is eligible to purchase credit for Social Security covered employment pursuant to section 169.056.11, RSMo; (D) The member must submit to the retirement system a detailed statement of the member’s employment history created by the Social Security Administration in a format satisfactory to the retirement system; and (E) The retirement system shall determine the amount of credit that may be purchased for Social Security covered employment pursuant to section 169.056.11, RSMo, based on the information provided pursuant to this section of this rule. AUTHORITY: section 169.020, RSMo Supp. 2025.* Original rule filed June 23, 1998, effective Jan. 30, 1999. Amended: Filed Oct. 25, 1999, effective April 30, 2000. Amended: Filed Aug. 21, 2000, effective Feb. 28, 2001. Amended: Filed Feb. 14, 2002, effective July 30, 2002. Amended: Filed Aug. 29, 2003, effective Feb. 29, 2004. Amended: Filed Sept. 1, 2005, effective Feb. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed June 30, 2011, effective Jan. 30, 2012. Amended: Filed April 30, 2014, effective Oct. 30, 2014. Amended: Filed Feb. 2, 2026, effective Aug. 30, 2026. *Original authority: 169.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1951, 1953, 1967, 1973, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2020.