Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 45-21 - Retirement of Municipal Employees
Section 45-21-16. - Retirement on service allowance.

§ 45-21-16. Retirement on service allowance.
Retirement of a member on a service retirement allowance shall be made by the retirement board as follows:
(1)(i) Any member who is eligible to retire on or before June 30, 2012, may retire upon the member’s written application to the retirement board as of the first day of the calendar month in which the application was filed, provided the member was separated from service prior to the application, and provided, further, that if separation from service occurs during the month in which application is filed, the effective date is the first day following the separation from service, provided that the member at the time so specified for the member’s retirement has attained the applicable minimum retirement age and has completed at least ten (10) years of total service or who, regardless of age, completed thirty (30) years of total service, and notwithstanding that during the period of notification the member has separated from service. The minimum ages for service retirement (except for employees completing thirty (30) years of service) is fifty-eight (58) years.
(ii) Effective July 1, 2012, the following shall apply to all members not eligible to retire prior to July 1, 2012:
(A) A member with contributory service on or after July 1, 2012, shall be eligible to retire upon the completion of at least five (5) years of contributory service and attainment of the member’s Social Security retirement age.
(B) For members with five (5) or more years of contributory service as of June 30, 2012, with contributory service on and after July 1, 2012, who have a retirement age of Social Security retirement age, the retirement age will be adjusted downward in proportion to the amount of service the member has earned as of June 30, 2012, but in no event shall a member’s retirement age under this subparagraph (B) be prior to the attainment of age fifty-nine (59) or prior to the member’s retirement age determined under the laws in effect on June 30, 2012. The proportional formula shall work as follows:
(1) The formula shall determine the first age of retirement eligibility under the laws in effect on June 30, 2012, which shall then be subtracted from Social Security retirement age;
(2) The formula shall then take the member’s total service credit as of June 30, 2012, as the numerator and the projected service at retirement age in effect on June 30, 2012, as the denominator;
(3) The fraction determined in (2) shall then be multiplied by the age difference determined in (1) to apply a reduction in years from Social Security retirement age.
(C) Effective July 1, 2015, a member who has completed twenty (20) or more years of total service and who has attained an age within five (5) years of the eligible retirement age under subparagraphs (ii)(A) or (ii)(B) above or subsection (iii) below, may elect to retire provided that the retirement allowance shall be reduced actuarially for each month that the age of the member is less than the eligible retirement age under subparagraphs (ii)(A) or (ii)(B) above or subsection (iii) below in accordance with the following table:
(D)(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of § 42-21-16(1)(ii), a member who has completed ten (10) or more years of contributory service as of June 30, 2012, may elect to retire at his or her eligible retirement date as determined under paragraph (i) above provided that a member making an election under this paragraph shall receive the member’s retirement benefit determined and calculated based on the member’s service and average compensation as of June 30, 2012. This provision shall be interpreted and administered in a manner to protect a member’s accrued benefit on June 30, 2012.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other provisions of subsection (ii) above, effective July 1, 2015, members in active service shall be eligible to retire upon the earlier of: (I) The attainment of at least age sixty-five (65) and the completion of at least thirty (30) years of total service, or the attainment of at least age sixty-four (64) and the completion of at least thirty-one (31) years of total service, or the attainment of at least age sixty-three (63) and the completion of at least thirty-two (32) years of total service, or the attainment of at least age sixty-two (62) and the completion of at least thirty-three (33) years of total service; or (II) The member’s retirement eligibility date under subsections (ii)(A) or (ii)(B) above.
(2) Except as specifically provided in §§ 45-21-19 — 45-21-22, no member is eligible for pension benefits under this chapter unless:
(I) On or prior to June 30, 2012, the member has been a contributing member of the employees’ retirement system for at least ten (10) years; or
(II) For members in active contributory service on or after July 1, 2012, the member shall have been a contributing member of the employees’ retirement system for at least five (5) years.
(i) Provided, however, a person who has ten (10) years service credit on or before June 16, 1991, is vested.
(ii) Furthermore, any past service credits purchased in accordance with § 45-21-62 are counted towards vesting.
(iii) Any person who becomes a member of the employees’ retirement system pursuant to § 45-21-4 shall be considered a contributing member for the purpose of this chapter.
(iv) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no more than five (5) years of service credit may be purchased by a member of the System. The five (5)-year limit does not apply to any purchases made prior to the effective date of this provision. A member who has purchased more than five (5) years of service credit maximum, before January 1, 1995, shall be permitted to apply the purchases towards the member’s service retirement. However, no further purchase will be permitted. Repayment, in accordance with applicable law and regulation, of any contribution previously withdrawn from the System is not deemed a purchase of service credit.
(v) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective July 1, 2012, except for purchases under §§ 16-16-7.1, 36-5-3, 36-9-31, 36-10-10.4, and 45-21-53:
(I) For service purchases for time periods prior to a member’s initial date of hire; the purchase must be made within three (3) years of the member’s initial date of hire; and
(II) For service purchases for time periods for official periods of leave as authorized by law, the purchase must be made within three (3) years of the time the official leave was concluded by the member.
Notwithstanding (I) and (II) above, service purchases from time periods prior to June 30, 2012, may be made on or prior to June 30, 2015.
(3) No member of the municipal employees’ retirement system is permitted to purchase service credits for casual, temporary, emergency or seasonal employment, for employment as a page in the general assembly, or for employment at any state college or university while the employee is a student or graduate assistant of the college or university.
(4) A member does not receive service credit in this retirement system for any year or portion of a year, which counts as service credit in any other retirement system in which the member is vested or from which the member is receiving a pension and/or any annual payment for life. This subsection does not apply to any payments received pursuant to the federal Social Security Act or to payments from a military pension earned prior to participation in state or municipal employment, or to military service credits earned prior to participation in state or municipal employment.
(5) A member who seeks to purchase or receive service credit in this retirement system has the affirmative duty to disclose to the retirement board whether or not he or she is a vested member in any other retirement system and/or is receiving a pension retirement allowance or any annual payment for life. The retirement board has the right to investigate whether or not the member has utilized the same time of service for credit in any other retirement system. The member has an affirmative duty to cooperate with the retirement board including, by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, the duty to furnish or have furnished to the retirement board any relevant information which is protected by any privacy act.
(6) A member who fails to cooperate with the retirement board shall not have the time of service counted toward total service credit until a time that the member cooperates with the retirement board and until a time that the retirement board determines the validity of the service credit.
(7) A member who knowingly makes a false statement to the retirement board regarding service time or credit is not entitled to a retirement allowance and is entitled only to the return of his or her contributions without interest.
History of Section.P.L. 1951, ch. 2784, § 8; G.L. 1956, § 45-21-16; P.L. 1959, ch. 23, § 1; P.L. 1962, ch. 143, § 4; P.L. 1968, ch. 116, § 1; P.L. 1970, ch. 204, § 1; P.L. 1970, ch. 224, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 373, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 306, art. 3, § 2; P.L. 1993, ch. 231, § 5; P.L. 1994, ch. 139, § 2; P.L. 2003, ch. 245, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 302, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 408, § 11; P.L. 2011, ch. 409, § 11; P.L. 2015, ch. 141, art. 21, § 16.

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