19-7-803. Election to qualify previous military service. (1) A member with 15 years or more of service credit may, at any time prior to retirement, make a written election with the board to qualify all or any portion of the member's active service in the armed forces of the United States for the purpose of calculating retirement benefits, up to a maximum of 5 years, except as provided in subsection (3), if the member is not otherwise eligible to receive credit. To qualify military service, the member shall contribute to the account the actuarial cost of granting the service, to be determined by the board based on the most recent actuarial valuation of the system. The member may not qualify more of the member's military service than the member has service credits in the sheriffs' retirement system in excess of 15 years. Military service purchased under this section is not membership service and may not be used in determining eligibility for a service retirement benefit.
     (2) If a member has retired from active duty in the armed forces of the United States with military retirement benefits, the member may not qualify the member's military service under subsection (1). However, a member who is serving or has served in the military reserves with the expectation of receiving a military service pension may qualify the member's active military service under subsection (1) if the member's active duty in the armed forces of the United States is not more than 25% of the total of all the member's years of military service, including reserve and active duty time.
     (3) The combined total purchase of additional years of service under the provisions of 19-7-804 and this section may not exceed 5 years.

     History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 31, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 214, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 142, Ch. 265, L. 1993; Sec. 19-7-310, MCA 1991; redes. 19-7-803 by Code Commissioner, 1993.