Reinstating Previously Refunded Service Credit
Active employees with existing records of eligible, non-forfeited service credit with URS may reinstate, or their employers may reinstate, a previous refund of member contributions if it represents eligible service. The total reinstatement payment must be completed before the effective retirement date set with our office.
Note: The reinstatement must be credited to the employee’s account four years before qualifying for a non-line-of-duty disability benefit in the Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System.
Active employees with an existing record of four or more years of eligible service credit with URS may buy, or their employers may buy, the following:
» Active full-time United States military service, if it doesn’t otherwise qualify for service credit under a system administered by URS; or
» Any amount of the following qualified service equal to the period of employment, if the service has been forfeited under any other retirement system or plan. This includes:
o United States federal employment.
o Private school employment based in the United States.
o Public employment in another state or territory of the United States.
o Public service in this state.
o Full-time employment while on an approved leave of absence.
o Workers’ compensation, long-term and short-term disability benefit period for which the employee was paid and no benefit protection contract existed.
o Employment covered by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA).
o Utah Charter School employment.
o Exempt service.
It’s the employee’s responsibility to officially set a retirement date by completing an Application for Service Retirement. The application must be filed with the Retirement Office no more than 90 days before or 90 days after the retirement date. This is a completely separate process from filing paperwork for the reinstatement or purchase of service credit before retirement. Failure to complete a retirement application could result in an employee losing benefits if the application is not filed according to the time frame stated in this paragraph. Service retirement applications are only available at our office.
Upon terminating all URS covered employment, eligible employees at retirement age, may elect to receive a lump-sum refund of their member contribution accounts, if applicable. This is a total distribution. Employees who elect to refund their member contributions forfeit service credit associated with their Contributory Retirement System accounts. Any eligible service associated with a Noncontributory Retirement System is not forfeited. For more information about refunds, see the Refunds section.
At retirement, eligible employees who participate in the Tier 1 Retirement System have the option to receive a lump-sum payment equal to 12 months or 24 months of their lifetime monthly retirement benefit. By electing to receive a lump-sum payment, employees accept a permanently reduced lifetime monthly benefit.
Note: The PLSO is not available for firefighters on a disability retirement. This option is made available once disability benefits terminate and the disability retirement is converted to a service retirement.
A Partial Lump-Sum Option (PLSO) brochure is available from our office and at www.urs.org in the Publications section.
For more information on final average salary, formulas for calculating a retirement benefit, payout plans, life insurance, and other information, refer to the Highlights brochures available from our office or at www.urs.org.