742-5-09. Purchase of lay-off service credit

(A) Upon a member's request to purchase service credit for any period during which the member was laid off, OP& F shall provide the member with certification forms to be completed by both the member and the member's employer where the period of lay-off occurred. The member shall certify all of the following information to OP& F:

(1) The date that he or she was removed from active service as a result of an involuntary lay-off;

(2) The name of the employer that laid the member off;

(3) The date that the member returned to full-time service; and

(4) That, during the period of lay-off, the member did not render any service that is used in the calculation of any public or private retirement benefit, except any federal social security retirement benefit.

(B) The employer shall certify all of the following to OP& F:

(1) That the member was hired into a full-time position;

(2) That the member was involuntarily laid off from the full-time position;

(3) The last day the member worked prior to the involuntary lay-off;

(4) The first day the member worked after the involuntary lay-off; and

(5) The total gross wages subject to retirement contributions the member would have received had he or she not been laid off.

(C) The member service credit purchase certification form and the employer service credit purchase certification form, last modified June 12, 2013, can be found on OP& F's website, www.op-f.org. Notwithstanding these certifications, OP& F will review the documentation and determine the member's eligibility to purchase the service credit. If the member is eligible to purchase the lay-off credit, OP& F shall provide the member with a cost statement to purchase the service credit.

(D) For purposes of division (C) of section 742.27 of the Revised Code, the "additional liability" to OP& F resulting from the purchase of lay-off credit shall be the amount that the member and his or her employer would have contributed during the lay-off period, including interest. The amount of the contributions shall be based upon the salary that the member would have earned had there not been an interruption in service. Interest shall be calculated at OP& F's actuarially assumed interest rate and compounded annually based on the effective method of calculating interest from the date the member returned to full-time active service to the date that OP& F receives payment for the lay-off service credit.

(E) Service credit for lay-off time shall be purchased in increments of one-year periods, unless the period of lay-off is less than one year. If the lay-off period is less than one year, then the purchase shall be for the full amount of the lay-off time. If the member submits a payment that is less than the full amount of the cost statement, OP& F shall prorate the amount of lay-off service credit. The prorated amount of service credit will be determined by dividing the amount received by the total amount due, then multiplying the result by the amount of service credit the cost was calculated for.

Replaces: 742-5-09

Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/28/2019 and 01/28/2024
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 742.10
Rule Amplifies: 742.27
Prior Effective Dates: 07/17/1993, 03/09/2001 (Emer.), 05/24/2001, 05/24/2004, 09/28/2014

Prior History: (Effective: 09/28/2014
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 09/28/2019
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 742.10
Rule Amplifies: 742.27
Prior Effective Dates: 07/17/93, 3/9/01 (Emer.), 5/24/01, 5/24/2004)