§ 16. Additional opportunity for Class A and Class B members to obtain credit for service and prior service.

(a) Credit for pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment.

Any person who is a member of the Employees' Retirement System and who did not receive service credit in the Employees' Retirement System or the Maryland State Retirement System for any previous employment either as a temporary, provisional, contract, emergency or similar employee, or as an official of the City of Baltimore or of the State of Maryland, which employment ripened into regular and permanent employment with essentially the same duties which the employee was performing prior to obtaining such permanent status, shall be entitled to receive service credit for such pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment. Any person who is a member of the Employees' Retirement System and who did not receive service credit in the Employees' Retirement System or the Maryland State Retirement System for any previous regular and permanent employment, as an employee of the City of Baltimore or the State of Maryland, shall be entitled to receive service credit for such pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment. To obtain such credit the member shall file claim therefor with the Board of Trustees within 6 months after December 1, 1975, and shall pay to the Retirement System by a single payment or by an increased rate of contribution, as may be approved by the Board of Trustees, the contributions, with regular interest, which he would have paid had he been a member of the Employees' Retirement System of the City of Baltimore or the Maryland State Retirement System while such pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment was rendered, and that this payment shall be completed at least 90 days before the effective date of the member's retirement. After December 1, 1975, those existing employees who are not members of the Retirement System and who join after December 1, 1975, shall be entitled to make application to purchase any pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment credit during the period expiring 6 months after becoming a member. All persons who become new employees of the City of Baltimore after the effective date of this ordinance shall not be entitled to any credit for pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment if they have failed to join the Retirement System within 6 months of entering such employment. Any pre-membership or pre-enrollment payments which have in the past been recorded for a member as service credit under the Retirement System shall continue to be recognized as service credit entitling the member to all of the benefits under this subtitle.

(b) Service credit for previous membership in this system.

Any person who is now a member of the Employees' Retirement System, and who at any time in the past was a member of the Employees' Retirement System, having previously left City employment and withdrawn the contributions which he had previously made to this system, shall be entitled to receive service credit for such previous membership; provided that at any time after the completion of 6 months of continuous service since last becoming a member of the Employees' Retirement System, he shall file a claim with the Board of Trustees and shall pay to the Employees' Retirement System by a single payment or by an increased rate of contribution, as may be approved by the Board of Trustees, the contributions which he had previously withdrawn from this system, together with interest from the date of withdrawal to the date that the redeposit is completed, and that this payment shall be completed at least 90 days before the effective date of the employees' retirement. Service shall be credited pro rata at the time each payment for such service is made.

All purchases of service credit for membership in other retirement systems in Maryland and all transfers of service for membership credits between retirement systems in Maryland shall be subject to the pertinent provisions contained in the State Personnel and Pensions Article and other applicable provisions of the Maryland Code and shall include any future amendments thereto of the State law pertaining to pensions.

(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this subtitle, any non-City employee of the Baltimore Museum of Art who became a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Baltimore City during the month of February, 1977, and who did not receive service credit in the Employees' Retirement System or the Maryland State Retirement System for any previous employment either as a temporary, provisional, contract, emergency or similar employee, or as an official of the City of Baltimore or of the State of Maryland, which employment ripened into regular and permanent employment with essentially the same duties which the employee was performing prior to obtaining such permanent status, shall be entitled to receive service credit for such pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment. Any person who is a member of the Employees' Retirement System and who did not receive service credit in the Employees' Retirement System or the Maryland State Retirement System for any previous regular and permanent employment as a non-City paid employee of the Baltimore Museum of Art or as an employee of the City of Baltimore, or the State of Maryland, shall be entitled to receive service credit for such pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment. To obtain such credit the member shall file claim therefor with the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System within 90 days after the effective date of this ordinance, and shall pay to the Employees' Retirement System, by a single payment or by an increased rate of contribution, as may be approved by the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System, the contributions, with regular interest, which the member would have paid had the member been a member of the Employees' Retirement System of the City of Baltimore or the Maryland State Retirement System while such pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment was rendered, and this payment shall be completed at least 90 days before the effective date of the member's retirement.

(e) Additional opportunity to purchase credit for service for Baltimore City employment.

Any Class A or Class B member shall be entitled to purchase service credit for any employment or membership service earned by regular and permanent employment with the City of Baltimore regardless of retirement or pension system membership, provided:

(1) the employment or service did not result in the member's being entitled to any current or future benefits for such employment or service in such other retirement or pension system; and

(2) the Class A or Class B member pays to the Employees' Retirement System by a single payment the employee's contribution equal to the current salary of the employee in the year of purchase multiplied by the employees' contribution rate of 5%, if the purchase is made prior to July 1, 1992, or by the employees' contribution rate of 4%, if the purchase is made after June 30, 1992, multiplied by the number of years or part of a year being purchased; plus, the employer's contribution equal to the current salary of the employee in the year of purchase multiplied by the employer rate for the normal cost multiplied by the number of years or part of a year being purchased.

(3) In addition, any Class A or Class B member shall be entitled to purchase service credit for the member's pre-enrollment or pre-membership employment with the City of Baltimore under the same conditions as § 16(e)(2) above.

If a member purchases service credit as described above, and thereafter dies or leaves City employment for any reason with or without any vested benefit due to the member or member's beneficiary under the provisions of this subtitle, then the member or the beneficiary shall be entitled to receive in lieu of any other benefit under the provisions of the Employees' Retirement System of Baltimore City, a lump sum equal to the total amount paid by the member for such purpose, plus interest at the rate of 5½% per year.

(f) Repurchase of previous service credited with retirement system of State or its subdivisions.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, any previous service credited with a retirement system of the State of Maryland and/or its subdivisions which was repurchased prior to March 25, 1988, by any member or retiree, who was a member of the Employees' Retirement System before July 1, 1979, shall be deemed to be a valid credit of service in this system for such member or retiree.

(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, beginning March 25, 1988, any previous service credited with a retirement system of the State of Maryland and/or its subdivisions may be repurchased by any member, who was a member of the Employees' Retirement System, before July 1, 1979, by paying to the Employees' Retirement System by a single payment or by an increased rate of contribution, the contributions which he had previously withdrawn from the retirement systems of the State of Maryland and/or its subdivisions, together with interest from the date of withdrawal to the date that the repurchase is completed. Service shall be credited pro rata at the time each payment for such service is made.

(3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, beginning March 25, 1988, any previous service credited with a retirement system of the State of Maryland and/or its subdivisions may be repurchased by any member, who was a member of the Employees' Retirement System before July 1, 1979, and who retired on or after March 25, 1988, and before March 31, 1989, from this system by paying to the Employees' Retirement System by a single payment which shall be completed prior to June 30, 1989, the contributions which he had previously withdrawn from the retirement systems of the State of Maryland and/or its subdivisions, together with interest from the date of withdrawal to the date that the repurchase is completed. Upon completion of the repurchase, the retiree will receive credit for such additional service and will be entitled to receive retroactive to his original date of retirement any additional retirement benefits which become due or payable.