Creditable service defined.

Richmond, Va., City Code § 22-174

in effect

Sec. 22-174. - Creditable service defined. The term "creditable service" shall mean, for any member who is in service at any time after January 1, 1974, the member's total service as an eligible employee, whether or not continuous, exclusive of any separate period of service of less than nine months in duration. Creditable service shall be counted in terms of years, with creditable service in excess of complete years being counted as a fractional part of a year. Creditable service shall not include periods during which the member is on leave without pay and has not made the required member contributions unless otherwise required by law, and creditable service shall not include any service for which a member contribution was required if the member contribution account has been distributed. In addition, creditable service shall include the service described below: (1) Any person who was a member of the abolished system and in the Armed Forces of the United States on December 22, 1952, or any member of the system subsequently entering the Armed Forces of the United States, being on leave of absence from service, shall be entitled to have included as creditable service the member's period of service in the Armed Forces of the United States as defined in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the member's discharge therefrom was not dishonorable and the member reenters service within one year after discharge, in the case of military service ending prior to December 13, 1994, or within the time required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 for military service ending after December 12, 1994. This service shall only be included to the extent that such member makes up for any missed member contributions that would have been required under Section 22-112(a) had the member's employment not been so interrupted. (2) Creditable service shall also include any service as an employee of the State or an agency thereof which the City Council, by ordinance, has heretofore or shall in the future recognize as creditable service toward participation in retirement benefits of the system. (3) For vested members (other than those elected to participate in the defined contribution plan established pursuant to Section 22-142), creditable service shall also include 50 percent of a member's unused sick leave earned as an eligible employee of the City, however, creditable service of a DROP member is limited to 50 percent of such member's unused sick leave earned as an eligible employee of the City which the DROP member does not elect to retain as sick leave under the guidelines established pursuant to Section 22-204. (4) Creditable service shall also include part-time service in the classified or unclassified service where the member regularly served a minimum of at least 20 hours per week, such part-time service was for a period of at least 18 months, and such part-time service and service as an eligible employee has been continuous with no interval between such period of part-time service and service as an eligible employee. Creditable service for such part-time service shall be on the basis of one month for each two months of such service for which contributions are paid. (5) For members who transferred from City employment to employment with the Richmond Hospital Authority, in conjunction with the creation of the authority effective July 1, 1993, all unused sick leave which the member was not permitted to carry over at the time of transfer of employment shall be recognized and included as creditable service for purposes of participation in retirement benefits of the system, provided that the amount of unused sick leave to be included as creditable service shall be appropriately certified by the Department of Human Resources. (6) Creditable service shall include any period of severance that is authorized by ordinance. (7) In addition, any person admitted to membership in the system who was, at the effective date of the transfer and assignment to the Director of Finance of the duties of the Commissioner of Revenue of the City, an employee of the Commissioner of Revenue of the City and a member of the State Retirement System, shall be entitled to credit toward eligibility for retirement pursuant to Sections 22-197 through 22-199, 22-238 and 22-240 for the length of such service as an employee of the Commissioner of Revenue of the City. Such service, however, shall not be counted in determining the allowances or benefits that may be awarded pursuant to Sections 22-202, 22-239, 22-241, 22-296, 22-297, 22-299 and 22-317. (8) For a member whose employment is interrupted, creditable service shall be included only to the extent that such member makes up for any missed member contributions that would have been required under Section 22-112(a) had the member's employment not been so interrupted. Make up contributions shall be made starting with the date of reemployment and continuing for up to three times the length of the member's break in service; provided, however, that the repayment period shall not exceed five years. If the member does not make up all of the missed contributions, such member's creditable service under this section shall be prorated for the amount actually repaid. Makeup contributions shall not be subject to any otherwise applicable contribution limits under Section 402(g), 402(h), 403(b), 408, 415 or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code as applied with respect to the plan year or taxable year in which the contribution is made. (9) Any person with less than 35 years of creditable service who was a member of the system while employed by Richmond Public Schools and who subsequently is hired by the City as a result of a merger or consolidation of Richmond Public Schools and City job functions, shall: a. Remain in the system; b. Continue to accrue creditable service; and c. Not be deemed a member of the defined contribution plan under Section 22-142. (Code 1993, § 23.1-34; Code 2004, § 78-171; Code 2015, § 22-174; Code 2020, § 22-174; Ord. No. 2003-254-226, § 1, 7-28-2003; Ord. No. 2006-60-128, § 2, 5-30-2006; Ord. No. 2007-298-279, § 1, 12-10-2007; Ord. No. 2011-88-76, § 1, 5-23-2011)

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_S22-174CRSEDEFetched: 11/8/2026