Purchasing Service

Purchasing Service

Purchased Service Credit

In some cases, credit can be purchased for time you were employed for another educational institution or library and have withdrawn from their retirement system. Also, you may have had previous service with KCPSRS but have withdrawn your account when you left your employer.
Purchasing service may seem very confusing and pretty expensive, but it may be beneficial when it comes time to retire.  If you are eligible to use any of these purchase options, you should contact the Retirement Office to get a quote for the cost to purchase years.

Types of Service Purchases Available:

Reinstatement of Prior Service

If you terminate membership in KCPSRS by withdrawing all accumulated contributions, you may, after reemployment and before retirement, purchase all creditable service withdrawn.  The cost of the purchase will be the sum of the accumulated contributions and interest withdrawn plus interest from the date of withdrawal to the date of payment.

Leave of Absence

Any active member who is granted a qualified leave of absence may purchase creditable service for the period of leave if the following conditions are met:

1)    The leave must be granted by the Member’s board of directors for academic or health/family leave purposes.

2)    The Member must return to employment within one year of the leave approval date.

You must apply for service credit and pay for the credit before retirement.  The cost of the purchase and the method of payment will depend upon several factors.  Inquiries should be directed to the Retirement Office.

Missouri Public School Membership Credit

If you previously worked for another public school, library, college, junior college or university system in the State of Missouri, you may be able to purchase up to ten years of this service.  To do so you must meet certain requirements:

1)    Your credit toward retirement must be withdrawn from the previous system.
2)    You must be a regular full-time employee when you make the purchase.
3)    Application for the purchase must be made before you retire.
4)    Service purchase must be paid for before retirement.

Other requirements exist, depending on the amount of service you wish to purchase.  The cost of this type of purchase varies based on the number of years as well.  Contact the Retirement Office for more information.

Military Service Credit

Any active member of KCPSRS, who then enters service in the armed forces of the United States, after reemployment and before retirement, may purchase and receive credit for the military service.  In order for this service to be eligible for credit the period of leave must not exceed five years, it must have ended in an honorable discharge, and application for reemployment with one of the employers must have been filed within three months after discharge.  The application and the purchase must be made within five years from the date of reemployment.

Purchased service for periods of qualified military leave will apply toward the minimum service requirement for vesting and for disability retirement.

Out-of-State Service

If you were employed in another public school district, library, college, junior college or university outside the state of Missouri, you may be eligible to purchase credit for that service.  To do so you must withdraw all credit from the previous retirement system.

The Retirement Office can provide the details regarding eligibility and required steps for purchasing service credit.

Private Service

If you were employed by a private school, library, college, junior college or university prior to becoming an active member of KCPSRS, you may be eligible to purchase service credit in this system based on that prior employment.  To do so you must withdraw all credit from the previous retirement system, if any.

Five-tenths of a Year

Any person who is within five years of being eligible to retire may purchase up to five-tenths of a year of creditable service, for the purpose of achieving the minimum creditable service time for a retirement allowance.

The Retirement Office can provide details regarding eligibility and required steps for purchasing service credit.

NOTE:  PURCHASE OF ADDITIONAL CREDITABLE SERVICE MUST BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.