HOUSE BILL 893

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Joni Marie Gutierrez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT; PROVIDING FOR CREDIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE WITHOUT REQUIRING RETURN TO WORK IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 10-11-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 253, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

     "10-11-6. CREDITED SERVICE--CREDIT FOR [INTERVENING] MILITARY AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SERVICE.--

          A. A member who leaves the employ of an affiliated public employer to enter a uniformed service of the United States shall be given service credit for periods of service in the uniformed services subject to the following conditions:

                (1) either:

                     (a) the member is reemployed by an affiliated public employer within ninety days following termination of the period of intervening [serving] service in the uniformed service; [or]

                     (b) the affiliated public employer certifies in writing to the association that the member is entitled to reemployment rights under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994; or

                     (c) the member is not reemployed by an affiliated public employer, but, within thirty days of terminating service in the uniformed service, is employed by the United States or a uniformed service of the United States, provided that: 1) within thirty days of employment with the United States or uniformed service, the member applies for the service credit with the association; and 2) the service credit given pursuant to this subparagraph shall not exceed five years;

                (2) the member retains membership in the association during the period of service in the uniformed services;

                (3) free service credit shall not be given for periods of intervening service in the uniformed services following voluntary reenlistment. Service credit for such periods shall be given only after the member pays the association the sum of the contributions that the person would have been required to contribute had the person remained continuously employed throughout the period of intervening service following voluntary reenlistment, which payment shall be made during the period beginning with the date of reemployment and whose duration is three times the period of the person's intervening service in the uniformed services following voluntary reenlistment, not to exceed five years;

                (4) service credit shall not be given for periods of intervening service in the uniformed services that are used to obtain or increase a benefit from another state system or the retirement program provided under the Educational Retirement Act; and

                (5) the member must not have received a discharge or separation from uniformed service under other than honorable conditions.

     Notwithstanding any provision of this plan to the contrary, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service [will] shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

          B. For a member who is subsequently employed by the government of the United States within thirty days of leaving the employ of an affiliated public employer:

                (1) that member may continue membership in the association subject to the following conditions:

                     (a) the member has fifteen or more years of credited service;

                     (b) employment by the government of the United States commences within ninety days of termination of employment with the last affiliated public employer;

                     (c) the member files with the association a written application for continued membership within ninety days of termination of employment with the last affiliated public employer; and

                     (d) the member remits to the association, at the times and in the manner prescribed by the association, the member contributions and the employer contributions that would have been made had the member continued in the employ of the last affiliated public employer;

                (2) the contributions required by Paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be based on a salary equal to the member's monthly salary at time of termination of employment with the last affiliated public employer;

                (3) credited service [will] shall be determined as if the employment by the government of the United States was rendered the last affiliated public employer; and

                (4) the employer contributions remitted by the member shall be credited to the [employer] employers accumulation fund and shall not be paid out of the association in the event of subsequent cessation of membership."

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