Teachers' Retirement System and Employees' Retirement System; purchase of certain federal service credit by participating member

SB280 ENROLLED
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SB280
SLA9377-3
By Senator Waggoner
RFD: Finance and Taxation Education
First Read: 10-Feb-26
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SB280 Enrolled
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First Read: 10-Feb-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to the Retirement Systems of Alabama; to add
Section 36-27-49.4 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to allow
participating members of the Teachers' Retirement System and
the Employees' Retirement System to purchase certain federal
service credit.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 36-27-49.4 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§36-27-49.4
(a)(1) A member of the Teachers' Retirement System or a
member of the Employees' Retirement System may receive up to
four years of creditable service for federal nonmilitary
employment rendered for the United States, provided: (i) the
member of the retirement system claiming the credit shall have
attained not less than 10 years of contributing membership
service credit, exclusive of military service credit, under
the retirement system of which he or she is a member; and (ii)
the member performs and complies with the conditions
prescribed in subdivision (2).
(2) Before receiving credit pursuant to subdivision (1)
the member shall first:
a. Before the date of his or her retirement and for
each year of service credit, contribute to his or her
respective retirement system the full actuarially determined
cost for each year of claimed service as determined by the
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cost for each year of claimed service as determined by the
system's actuary;
b. Have the public retirement system of the federal
government certify in writing to the applicable state
retirement system that the member had credit under the federal
retirement system for the service claimed; and
c. Claim, purchase, and receive credit for qualified
federal service in increments of not less than one year. If
the member's total or balance of qualified federal service is
less than one year, he or she may claim and purchase credit
for the entire time period.
(b) Any provision of this section to the contrary
notwithstanding, a member may not receive credit for federal
employment rendered for the United States if, at the time of
retirement, he or she has credit or is entitled to any
benefits whatsoever for the same service under any other
retirement or pension plan which is wholly or partly funded
from public funds. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to apply to participation in the federal Social
Security program. If federal nonmilitary employment service
credit is not qualified, any contribution made pursuant to
this section by a member shall be refunded to him or her.
(c) The applicable retirement system may deduct in 12
equal installments, from the retirement allowance payable to a
retired member, any additional contribution necessary to pay
the administrative cost incurred in granting the credit under
this section if the applicable Board of Control and consulting
actuary for the system determine that the amounts contributed
by the member pursuant to this section are insufficient to pay
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by the member pursuant to this section are insufficient to pay
the administrative cost.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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1, 2026.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB280
Senate 10-Mar-26
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate, as amended.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Passed: 07-Apr-26
By: Senator Waggoner
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