City of Baltimore
Baltimore City Code

§ 32. Service creditable.

(a) Statement of service.

Under such rules and regulations that, subject to Title 4 {"Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations"} of the City General Provisions Article, the Board of Trustees shall adopt, each member who was an employee at any time during the year immediately preceding the date of establishment shall file a detailed statement of all service rendered by him before the date of establishment for which he claims service credit, including all retirement systems service granted or credited to him under any other pension or retirement system supported wholly or in part by the City of Baltimore.

(b) Verification of statements.

Subject to the above restrictions and to such other rules and regulations that, subject to Title 4 {"Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations"} of the City General Provisions Article, the Board of Trustees may adopt, the Board of Trustees shall verify as soon as practicable after the filing of such statement of service, the service therein claimed.

(c) Service certificates.

Upon verification of the statement of service, the Board of Trustees shall issue service certificates certifying to each member the length of service rendered before the date of the establishment of the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System with which he is credited either as service or prior service. So long as membership continues, a service certificate shall be final and conclusive for retirement purposes as to such service; provided, however, that any member may, within 1 year from date of issuance or modification of such certificate, request the Board of Trustees to modify or correct his service certificate. When membership ceases, such service certificate covering the service and prior service shall become void. Should the employee again become a member, such employee shall enter the system as an employee not entitled to service credit, except as provided in § 34(g)(1) and § 34(k)(2) of this subtitle.

(d) Computation of service.

Subject to Title 4 {"Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations"} of the City General Provisions Article, the Board of Trustees shall fix and determine by appropriate rules and regulations how much service in any year is equivalent to a year of service, but in no case shall more than 1 year of service be credited for all service in 1 calendar year, nor shall the Board of Trustees allow credit as service for any period of more than 1 month's duration during which the employee was absent without pay.

(e) Credit for military service during employment.

(1) Scope of subsection.

This subsection applies only to a member of this system who:

(i) on account of military service, as defined in paragraph (7) of this subsection, is on leave of absence from City employment;

(ii) is eligible for reemployment with the City under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, as amended, 38 U.S.C. §§4301-4334 ("USERRA"); and

(iii) applies for service credit with the system.

(2) Service credit.

(1) A member of this system shall receive service credit for a period of absence from employment while in military service as though he or she had remained continuously employed with the City as an employee.

(2) The service credit shall include the period, if any, between the date the member completes military service and the date he or she is reemployed with the City, as long as the member retains his or her reemployment rights under USERRA during that period.

(3) Transfer of service credit.

A member of this system who receives service credit for military service under this subsection may transfer the credit to another state or local retirement or pension system.

(4) Member contributions.

(i) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, a member of this system described in paragraph (1) of thiss subsection shall be credited, at the City's sole account and expense, with military service contriburions that consist of the following:

(A) the contributions, if any, that the City would have made on behalf of the member if the member had not been absent, including DROP or DROP 2 contributions; and

(B) the contributions that the member would have made on his or her own behalf if the member had not been absent, including DROP or DROP 2 contributions.

(ii) On a member's terminating City employment, the member is not entitled to receive any part of these military service contributions. However, the military service contributions shall be used to fund:

(A) the annuity portion of a retirement allowance payable to that member under § 34; or

(B) the annuity portion of a lump-sum or periodic death benefit payable to that member's beneficiary under § 34.

(iii) The Board of Trustees shall refund to a member any contributions made to the system during a period of absence from employment for military service when the member is otherwise exempted under this paragraph from paying contributions into the system.

(5) Benefits unavailable during absence.

A member of this system, the member's beneficiary, or the member's estate is not entitled to line-of-duty disability benefits or line-of-duty death benefits arising from the member's death or disability during a period that the member is absent from employment for military service.

(6) DROP and DROP 2 benefits.

A member of this system described in paragraph (1) of this subsection is entitled to all of the rights and privileges relating to the Deferred Retirement Option Plan ("DROP") under § 36B or the Deferred Retirement Option Plan 2 ("DROP 2") under § 36C otherwise afforded to a member who is actively employed, including:

(i) after being reemployed on returning from military service, the right to elect retrospectively to participate in DROP or DROP 2 or to terminate DROP or DROP 2 participation, as of a date during the period of the member's absence from employment;

(ii) the right to accumulate DROP or DROP 2 contributions and benefits participation during the period of the member's absence from employment; and

(iii) the right to be credited with post-DROP or post-DROP 2 employment during the period of the member's absence from employment.

(7) "Military service" defined.

(i) In this subsection and in subsection (f) of this section, "military service"means any service that falls within the term:

(A) "service in the uniformed services", as defined by and interpreted under 38 U.S.C. § 4303(13); or

(B) "military service", as defined by and interpreted under State Personnel and Pensions Article §38-101(d);

(ii) "Military service" embraces all forms of duty, including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, and inactive duty training (such as drills), under competent authority, on a voluntary or involuntary basis, in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service commissioned corps, the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard, the Maryland National Guard, as well as the reserve components of each of these services, and any other category of persons designated by the President or the Governor of the State of Maryland in time of war or national or State emergency.

(8) Deadline for purchase of service.

For a member of this system described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, any deadline for transferring and purchasing service otherwise applicable under § 32(k) shall be extended by the period of service credited to the member under paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(9) Rules and regulations.

Subject to Title 4 {"Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations"} of the City General Provisions Article, the Board of Trustees may adopt rules, resolutions and regulations to carry out the provisions of this subsection as long as those rules, resolutions, and regulations are consistent with USERRA.

(f) Credit for military service prior to employment.

(1) Upon proper application to this system, a member who has acquired at least 10 years of service and attained age 50, or who has acquired 20 years of service, shall be granted credit for military service, as defined in subsection (e)(7) of this section, prior to employment with the City, unless otherwise provided in this Article 22.

(2) A member may not be awarded credit under this subsection if he or she has received credit for a period of military service under another retirement system for which retirement benefits have been or will be received by him or her. However, this exclusion does not apply to any such credit provided through Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (Social Security), or to any benefits provided under Title 32 or Title 10, Chapter 1223, §§ 12731 through 12741 of the U.S. Code.

(3) The military service credit provided under this subsection may not exceed 3 years.

(4) The City shall make all necessary contributions for the funding of military service credit.

(g) - (j) {Repealed by Ord. 19-254}

(k) Purchases and transfers of service.

(1) Definitions.

(i) In this subsection, the following words have the meanings indicated.

(ii)(A) "Former system" means an actuarially funded contributory or non-contributory federal state, or local governmental defined benefit retirement or pension system located within the United States.

(B) "Former system" includes:

1. this system;

2. the Employees' Retirement System of the City of Baltimore;

3. the Elected Officials' Retirement System of the City of Baltimore; and

4. even though it is not actuarially funded, the Retirement Savings Plan of Baltimore City.

(iii) "Uniformed position" means a fireman's or policeman's position held by a transferring employee.

(iv) "Fireman's position" means a position held by an employee of a federal, state, or local fire department whose services bear a substantial and direct relationship to extinguishing fires or protecting lives or property endangered by fires.

(v) "Policeman's position" means a position held by an employee of a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency who is regularly engaged in enforcing the public peace and whose duties include the power of arrest.

(vi) "Civilian position" means a position held by a transferring employee that was not a uniformed position.

(vii) "Former City service" means:

(A) prior service;

(B) service for any regular and permanent employment with the City that resulted in the member's being vested in the City Retirement Savings Plan or credited for service in a defined benefit City Retirement System other than this system; or

(C) non-credited City service.

(viii) "Earnable compensation" means the annual salary authorized for the member as of the date of the member's system entry date.

(ix) "Prior service" means service credit previously earned or purchased in this system but lost due to separation from employment.

(x) "Non-credited City service" means service for any regular and permanent employment with the city that did not result in the member's being credited for service in any City retirement system or vested in the City Retirement Savings Plan.

(xi) "Maryland Police Corps service" means service, not to exceed 6 months, earned by a member while successfully completing the Maryland Police Corps training program.

(2) In general.

(A) Purchases and transfers authorized.

An employee who becomes a member of this system may purchase and transfer all or any portion of service previously earned or acquired in a former system or through Maryland Police Corps service if:

(i) for service purchases and transfers of other than prior service, non-credited City service, or Maryland Police Corps service, the member begins employment covered by this system within 90 days of terminating employment covered by the former system;

(ii) the member files an application with this system to purchase and transfer that service within 1 year of his or her system entry date;

(iii) the member's former system or employer provides verification to this system of the member's transferable service; and

(iv) on transferring service from the member's former system or Maryland Police Corps service, the member would no longer be eligible to receive a present or future benefit for the service transferred.

(B) Limit of years transferable.

(i) If the service from the former system was acquired or earned on account of employment in a uniformed position, the member may purchase and transfer up to 10 years of that service, in addition to any prior service, non-credited City service, and Maryland Police Corps service.

(ii) If the service from the former system was acquired or earned on account of employment in a civilian position, the member may purchase and transfer up to 5 years of that service, in addition to any prior service, non-credited City service, and Maryland Police Corps service.

(C) Payment amount.

For service transferred from a former system, the member must pay:

(i) an amount equal to the product of:

1. the member's earnable compensation, multiplied by

2. the number of years or part of a year of service to be transferred, multiplied by

3. either:

A. for service that is former City service, the member contribution rate under § 36(h)(5) in effect on the date of the member's application, or

B. for service that is not former City service, twice the member contribution rate under § 36(h)(5) in effect on the date of the member's application, less

(ii) accumulated contributions, with interest, that the member may have retained in this system for his or her prior service.

(D) Payment methods, deadline.

The payment for transferred service must be by a single payment made before the earlier of:

(i) 10 years from the member's system entry date; or

(ii) the member's retirement date.

(E) Pro rata credit.

The transferred service shall be credited pro rata at the time each payment for the service is made.

(l) - (m) {Repealed by Ord. 19-254}