§ 120‑4.12. Creditable service.

(a) Creditable service at retirement consists of the membership service rendered by the member of the Retirement System and any prior service purchased or granted by this Article.

(b) Membership Service means the number of years served as a member of the General Assembly as of the establishment of the Retirement System and thereafter. One year of membership service is equal to 12 months for which a legislator received compensation.

(1) The number of years a present member of the General Assembly served in the General Assembly prior to becoming a member of the Retirement System;

(2) The number of years served by former members of the General Assembly who were vested in the Legislative Retirement Fund. One year of prior service is equal to 12 months for which a legislator received compensation.

(c1) Any member of the Retirement System who was a member of the General Assembly as of January 1985 may purchase prior service credit for the month of January 1985 based upon seven percent (7%) of the compensation received for that period.

(d) Any member of the Retirement System who has eight or more years of creditable service as a member of the General Assembly may purchase prior service credit for service in the Armed Forces of the United States at the same rates and conditions as set forth in G.S. 120‑4.14 and G.S. 120‑4.16; provided that credit is allowed only for the initial period of active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States up to the time the member was first eligible to be separated or released therefrom, and subsequent periods of such active duty as required by the Armed Forces of the United States up to the date of first eligibility for separation or release therefrom; and further provided that the member submits satisfactory evidence of the service claimed and that service credit be allowed only for the period of active service in the Armed Forces of the United States not creditable in any other retirement system, except the National Guard or any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(e) Any member of the Retirement System who has five or more years of creditable service as a member of the General Assembly may purchase credit for service in the Armed Forces of the United States eligible under subsection (d) of this section by making a lump sum payment into the Annuity Savings Fund equal to the full actuarial cost as provided for in G.S. 135‑4(m).

(f) If a member who has not vested in this System on July 1, 2007, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120‑4.33 for acts committed after July 1, 2007, then that member shall forfeit all benefits under this System. If a member who has vested in this System on July 1, 2007, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120‑4.33 for acts committed after July 1, 2007, then that member is not entitled to any creditable service that accrued after July 1, 2007, regardless of whether that creditable service was earned by virtue of membership in the System, accrued by conversion of sick leave at the point of the member's retirement, accrued by transfer of service from another retirement system, purchased by the member in accordance with this Article, or accrued by any other means. No member shall forfeit any benefit or creditable service earned from a position not as a member of the General Assembly. For purposes of this subsection, creditable service attributable to the conversion of sick leave accrues in this System on the date of retirement, service transferred to this System from another system accrues in this System on the effective date of the transfer, and purchased service accrues in this System on the date of the purchase.

(g) If a member who is a present member of the General Assembly and who has not vested in this System on December 1, 2012, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120‑4.33A for acts committed after December 1, 2012, then that member shall forfeit all benefits under this System, except for a return of member contributions plus interest. If a member who is a present member of the General Assembly and has vested in this System on December 1, 2012, is convicted of an offense listed in G.S. 120‑4.33A for acts committed after December 1, 2012, then that member is not entitled to any creditable service that accrued after December 1, 2012, regardless of whether that creditable service was earned by virtue of membership in the System, accrued by conversion of sick leave at the point of the member's retirement, accrued by transfer of service from another retirement system, purchased by the member in accordance with this Article, or accrued by any other means. For purposes of this subsection, creditable service attributable to the conversion of sick leave accrues in this System on the date of retirement, service transferred to this System from another system accrues in this System on the effective date of the transfer, and purchased service accrues in this System on the date of the purchase. (1983, c. 761, s. 238; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1034, ss. 187, 190; 1989, c. 762, s. 1; 1993, c. 321, s. 71; 2007‑179, s. 1(b); 2009‑281, s. 1; 2011‑183, s. 89; 2012‑193, s. 8; 2020‑48, s. 4.4(g), (h).)