HARRISBURG – Bipartisan legislation is being introduced to ensure PA teachers who serve in the military have adequate time to purchase military service toward their Public School Employees’ Retirement System or PSERS benefits. Senate Bill 1033 would give all active PSERS members who had activated military service between July 1, 1990, and June 30, 2013, until their date of termination of service to purchase service credit for activated military service. Under current law, military service members are given until termination of service to purchase non-intervening military service – or military service prior to becoming a PSERS member – toward their PSERS retirement benefit. If, however, between July 1, 1990, and June 30, 2013, a PSERS member was called to active duty and did not continue contributions to PSERS while deployed, they had only one year after returning to PA public school service from their activated military service to apply to PSERS to purchase the service credit. Military service after June 30, 2013, falls under the guidelines of the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Republican Sen. Greg Rothman of Cumberland, Dauphin, & Perry Counties and Democrat Sen. Katie Muth of Berks, Chester, & Montgomery Counties have offered the bill. Both serve as members of the PSERS Board of Trustees.
SEN. KATIE MUTH
REP. GREG ROTHMAN