PRINTER'S NO. 903
No. 845 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY STAIRS, COLAFELLA, SCHULER, SEMMEL, HERMAN,
SHANER, E. Z. TAYLOR, BAKER, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF, CIVERA,
L. I. COHEN, M. COHEN, DEMPSEY, FAIRCHILD, FICHTER, GEIST,
HALUSKA, HARHAI, HORSEY, LAUGHLIN, MARKOSEK, McCALL, PESCI,
PETRARCA, PIPPY, PRESTON, RAMOS, READSHAW, SAINATO, STERN,
SURRA, TANGRETTI, THOMAS, VAN HORNE, WILLIAMS, WOGAN,
YOUNGBLOOD, BASTIAN, CORNELL, COY, DeWEESE, FLEAGLE, FRANKEL,
GRUCELA, HABAY, HANNA, HERSHEY, HESS, HUTCHINSON, JAMES,
McILHATTAN, ORIE, STEVENSON, STRITTMATTER, TRELLO, VEON, WILT
AND YEWCIC, MARCH 10, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 10, 1999
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 24 (Education) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, further providing for creditable nonschool service.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Sections 8304(b) and 8324(e) of Title 24 of the
6 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
7 § 8304. Creditable nonschool service.
8 * * *
9 (b) Limitations on nonschool service.--Creditable nonschool
10 service credit shall be limited to:
11 (1) Intervening military service.
12 (2) Military service other than intervening military
13 service and activated military service not exceeding five
14 years provided that a member with multiple service may not
1 purchase more than a total of five years of military service
2 in both the system and the State Employees' Retirement
3 System.
4 (3) Service in any public school or public educational
5 institution in any state other than this Commonwealth or in
6 any territory or area under the jurisdiction of the United
7 States. This paragraph includes service, prior to July 1,
8 1965, at a community college established under the act of
9 August 24, 1963 (P.L.1132, No.484), known as the Community
10 College Act of 1963.
11 (4) Service as an administrator, teacher, or instructor
12 in the field of public school education for any agency or
13 department of the government of the United States whether or
14 not such area was under the jurisdiction of the United
15 States.
16 (5) Previous service as an employee of a county board of
17 school directors which employment was terminated because of
18 the transfer of the administration of such service or of the
19 entire agency to a governmental entity.
20 (6) Previous service as a county employee as a nurse.
21 For every three years or major fraction thereof in previous
22 work experience, an individual may buy one year of creditable
23 service, not to exceed a total of five years. The purchase of
24 this service shall begin within three years of the employee's
25 eligibility to purchase this creditable service.
26 (7) (i) Service for the period of time spent on a
27 maternity leave of absence required by the employer,
28 which creditable service shall not exceed two years per
29 leave and shall be applicable only to a maternity leave
30 which was mandatory prior to May 17, 1975. The purchase
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1 of this service shall begin within one year of the
2 employee's eligibility to purchase the creditable service
3 under this subparagraph as originally enacted by the act
4 of August 5, 1991 (P.L.183, No.23), entitled "An act
5 amending Titles 24 (Education) and 71 (State Government)
6 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further
7 providing for the Public School Employees' Retirement
8 System and the State Employees' Retirement System; adding
9 and amending certain definitions; further providing for
10 membership in the systems, for creditable nonschool and
11 nonstate service and the purchase of credit, for
12 incentives for special early retirement, for
13 contributions to the retirement funds, for annuities and
14 the rights and duties of annuitants, for health insurance
15 premium assistance, for board membership and for the re-
16 amortization and management of the retirement funds."
17 (ii) Service for the period of time spent on a
18 maternity leave of absence required by the employer,
19 which creditable service shall not exceed two years per
20 leave and shall be applicable only to a maternity leave
21 that was mandatory and began after May 16, 1975, and
22 prior to November 1, 1978. The purchase of this service
23 shall begin within one year of the employee's eligibility
24 to purchase the creditable service under this
25 subparagraph.
26 (8) Service in the Cadet Nurse Corps with respect to any
27 period of training as a student or graduate nurse under a
28 plan approved under section 2 of the act of June 15, 1943
29 (Public Law 78-73, 57 Stat. 153), if the total period of
30 training under the plan was at least two years, the credit
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1 for such service not to exceed three years.
2 (9) Previous work experience used by the member to
3 obtain certification as a vocational teacher under a
4 nonbaccalaureate program. The previous work experience used
5 to obtain certification shall be verified by the department
6 upon request of the member and shall be transmitted to the
7 system. For every two years of the previous work experience,
8 a member may buy one year of creditable service, not to
9 exceed a total of three years. A fraction of a year of the
10 previous work experience that is equal to or greater than
11 one-half shall be considered one year for purposes of this
12 paragraph. The previous work experience does not include time
13 served in an apprenticeship.
14 (10) Previous service as a school employee, teacher or
15 instructor in an accredited Pennsylvania nonpublic elementary
16 or secondary school, if the member was entitled to a
17 provisional or professional certificate to teach in the
18 public schools of this Commonwealth at the time this service
19 was rendered. For every three years of the previous work
20 experience, a member may buy one year of creditable service,
21 not to exceed a total of five years. The department shall,
22 upon the request of the member, verify to the system the time
23 period during which a member was entitled to a provisional or
24 professional certificate to teach in the public schools of
25 this Commonwealth. The department may charge the member a fee
26 necessary to cover administrative costs incurred in verifying
27 the member's eligibility for certification.
28 * * *
29 § 8324. Contributions for purchase of credit for creditable
30 nonschool service.
19990H0845B0903 - 4 -
1 * * *
2 (e) Creditable work experience.--Contributions on account of
3 T-C credit for creditable work experience pursuant to section
4 8304(b)(6), (9) and (10) shall be the present value of the full
5 actuarial cost of the increase in the projected superannuation
6 annuity caused by the additional service credited on account of
7 the purchase of creditable work experience. The amount paid for
8 the purchase of credit for creditable work experience shall not
9 be payable as a lump sum under section 8345(a)(4)(iii) (relating
10 to member's options). [Any individual eligible to receive an
11 annuity, excluding an annuity received under the Federal Social
12 Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.), in another pension
13 system, other than a military pension system, shall not be
14 eligible to purchase this service.]
15 * * *
16 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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