GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

HOUSE BILL 722
RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT TO ALLOW MEMBERS OF THE TEACHERS' AND STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO PURCHASE CERTAIN PART-TIME SERVICE RENDERED WHILE FULL-TIME STUDENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 135-4(p1) reads as rewritten:
"(p1)	Part-Time Service Credit. –
(1)	Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, upon completion of five years of membership service, any member may purchase service previously rendered as a part-time teacher or employee of an employer as defined in G.S. 135-1(11) or G.S. 128-21(11), except for temporary or part-time service rendered while a full-time student in pursuit of a degree or diploma in a degree-granting program.  Payment shall be made in a single lump sum in an amount equal to the full actuarial cost of providing credit for the service, together with interest and an administrative fee, as determined by the Board of Trustees on the advice of the Retirement System's actuary. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 135-4(b), the Board of Trustees shall fix and determine by appropriate rules and regulations how much service in any year, as based on compensation, is equivalent to one year of service in proportion to "earnable compensation", but in no case shall more than one year of service be creditable for all service in one year. Service rendered for the regular school year in any district shall be equivalent to one year's service. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision that provide for the purchase of service credits, the terms "full cost", "full liability", and "full actuarial cost"include assumed annual post-retirement allowance increases, as determined by the Board of Trustees, from the earliest age at which a member could retire on an unreduced service allowance.
(2)	Under all requirements and conditions set forth in the preceding subdivision of this subsection (p1), except for the requirement that the completion of five years of membership service be subsequent to service rendered as a part-time teacher or employee of the State, any member with five or more years of membership service standing to his credit may purchase additional membership service for service rendered as a part-time teacher or employee of the State if (i) the member terminates or has terminated employment in any capacity as a teacher or employee of the State, (ii) the purchase of the additional membership service causes the member to become eligible to commence an early or service retirement allowance, and (iii) the member immediately elects to commence retirement and become a beneficiary.
(3)	Under all the requirements and conditions set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection, except for the condition that part-time service rendered when a full-time student in pursuit of a degree or diploma in a degree-granting program is not eligible for purchase, any member with five or more years of membership service standing to the member's credit may purchase creditable service for service rendered as a part-time teacher or employee of the State if that service was rendered on a permanent part-time basis and required at least 20 hours of service per week."
Section 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1999.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 12th day of May, 1999.

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	Dennis A. Wicker
	President of the Senate

	─────────────────── 
	James B. Black
	Speaker of the House of Representatives

	─────────────────── 
	James B. Hunt, Jr.
	Governor

Approved 	.m. this 	 day of 	, 19