Section 47-3-85. Credit for service by former member of Employees' Retirement System of Georgia who withdrew contributions; credit for service before that retirement system established

   (a) Subject to the additional requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, any current member who was previously a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and who withdrew employee contributions from that system may reestablish the creditable service represented by the withdrawn contributions by paying to the board of trustees the minimum employee contributions required for continuous members of this retirement system, plus regular interest that would have accrued on such amount from the date that contributions to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia stopped being credited with interest. Upon receipt of notice from the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia that a member has repaid to it contributions previously withdrawn from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia shall pay an employer contribution plus regular interest to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia. The amount of such employer contributions shall be 6 percent of the reported compensation of the member while a member of said employees' retirement system. The employees' retirement system shall pay an additional amount of retirement contributions pursuant to Code Section 47-2-51 for an employees' retirement system member covered by Code Section 47-2-334. This payment shall be placed in the pension accumulation fund and will adjust the amount of employee retirement contributions required for service credit.

(b) A member must complete a minimum number of years of service as a contributing member of the retirement system before becoming eligible to reestablish creditable service under subsection (a) of this Code section as follows:

   (1) When accumulated contributions have been withdrawn not more than three times, the minimum shall be three years;

   (2) When accumulated contributions have been withdrawn not more than four times, the minimum shall be five years; and

   (3) When accumulated contributions have been withdrawn five or more times, the minimum shall be ten years.

(c) The regular interest rate provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be increased 2 percent for each withdrawal of accumulated contributions exceeding three such withdrawals.

(d) A member may establish a portion of the creditable service represented by all of the member's withdrawn contributions by paying to the board of trustees a pro rata amount based upon the total accumulated contributions withdrawn plus interest in accordance with rules adopted by the board of trustees and subject to the provisions of subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this Code section.

(e) Any current member who previously rendered service which would currently be covered by the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, but which was rendered prior to the establishment of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, may obtain credit for such service, provided that he renders at least five years of service as a contributing member of this retirement system; provided, further, that for all such service on and after January 1, 1945, such member pays into this retirement system the employee and employer contributions which would have been paid into this retirement system had he rendered such service as a member of this retirement system, plus the applicable rate of interest in accordance with regulations adopted by the board of trustees.

Ga. L. 1968, p. 1405, § 1; Ga. L. 1975, p. 1574, § 1; Ga. L. 1975, p. 1637, § 2; Ga. L. 1979, p. 930, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 1007, § 3; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 47; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1258, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1105, § 2; Ga. L. 1996, p. 723, § 1.