Purchase of prior service.

Richmond, Va., City Code § 22-177

in effect

Sec. 22-177. - Purchase of prior service. (a) Any vested member who is an eligible employee may purchase creditable service for service for all or part of the following: (1) Certified creditable service in the retirement system of the Commonwealth or another state or of a political subdivision. (2) Any period of full-time service rendered to a participating employer on a temporary, seasonal, provisional, Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) or contractual basis, provided that such period has not been previously included in the creditable service. (b) The service credits should not be considered in the calculation of any retirement benefit by another retirement system. (c) The member must pay an amount of the following percentages, for each year of creditable service to be credited, of the member's present annual creditable compensation or of the member's average final compensation during the member's 36 highest consecutive months of creditable service with the City, whichever is greater: (1) For a general member, an amount equal to ten percent; and (2) For a public safety member, an amount equal to 15 percent. (d) Creditable service purchased under this section shall not be considered in determining eligibility for unreduced early retirement, if the member's retirement is within five years of the date of purchase of service credit; provided, however, creditable service purchased in connection with a portability agreement shall be considered in determining eligibility for unreduced early retirement, provided such purchase is made at least 90 days prior to such retirement. (e) Payment may be made in a lump sum or by payroll deduction in equal installments over a period not to exceed the service credit being purchased. Should the deduction be terminated prior to purchasing the entire period, which might otherwise be credited, the member shall be credited with the number of additional months of service for which payments are made. If the deduction is continued beyond the point at which the entire period has been purchased, the member shall be credited with no more than the entire period, which might otherwise have been credited, and the excess amount deducted shall be refunded to the member. Any purchase of prior service made within 90 days of the member's effective date of retirement shall be made by a lump sum payment. (f) The system shall accept a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer of a lump sum in cash from a plan established pursuant to Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code by a governmental employer or a plan or program established pursuant to Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code as payment by a member for the purchase of creditable service. The cost will be determined as described in Subsection (c) of this section. (Code 1993, § 23.1-37; Code 2004, § 78-174; Code 2015, § 22-177; Code 2020, § 22-177; Ord. No. 2003-254-226, § 1, 7-28-2003)

Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH22PURE_ARTVICRSE_S22-177PUPRSEFetched: 11/8/2026