Sec. 26. (a) A participant may purchase judge pro tempore service credit if:
(1) the participant has at least one (1) year of service in the fund;
(2) before the participant retires, the participant makes contributions to the fund:
(A) that are equal to the product of:
(i) the participant's salary at the time the participant actually makes a contribution for the service credit; multiplied by
(ii) a percentage rate, as determined by the actuary of the fund, that is based on the age of the participant at the time the participant makes a contribution for service credit and computed to result in a contribution amount that approximates the actuarial present value of the benefit attributable to the service credit purchased; multiplied by
(iii) the number of years of judge pro tempore service the participant intends to purchase; and
(B) for any accrued interest, at a rate determined by the actuary of the fund, for the period from the participant's initial membership in the fund to the date payment is made by the participant; and
(3) the fund receives verification from the applicable court that the judge pro tempore service occurred.
(b) A participant may not receive service credit under this section if the judge pro tempore service for which the participant requests credit also qualifies the participant for a benefit in another retirement system.
(c) A participant who:
(1) terminates service before satisfying the requirements for eligibility to receive a retirement benefit from the fund; or
(2) receives a retirement benefit for the same service from another retirement system, other than under the federal Social Security Act;
may withdraw the participant's contributions made under this section plus accumulated interest after submitting to the fund a properly completed application for a refund.
(d) The following apply to the purchase of service credit under this section:
(1) The board may allow a participant to make periodic payments of the contributions required for the purchase of the service credit. The board shall determine the length of the period during which the payments are to be made.
(2) The board may deny an application for the purchase of service credit if the purchase would exceed the limitations set forth in Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(3) A participant may not claim the service credit for purposes of determining eligibility or computing benefits unless the participant has made all payments required for the purchase of the service credit.
(e) To the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code and applicable regulations, the fund may accept, on behalf of a participant who is purchasing service credit under this section, a rollover of a distribution from any of the following:
(1) A qualified plan described in Section 401(a) or Section 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) An annuity contract or account described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(3) An eligible plan that is maintained by a state, a political subdivision of a state, or an agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state under Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(4) An individual retirement account or annuity described in Section 408(a) or Section 408(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) To the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code and the applicable regulations, the fund may accept, on behalf of a participant who is purchasing service credit under this section, a trustee to trustee transfer from any of the following:
(1) An annuity contract or account described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) An eligible deferred compensation plan under Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.
[Pre-2004 Recodification Citation: 33-13-8-27.]
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.17.