(a) The participant who returns to employment with the same employer which had employed the participant immediately prior to the eligible period of service in the uniformed services, in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 43 (commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code, shall be treated as not having incurred a break in the performance of creditable service by reason of that participant’s period or periods of service in the uniformed services. The length of each period of service in the uniformed services shall not exceed five years unless otherwise permitted pursuant to Section 28004. Each period of service in the uniformed services by the participant shall, upon that participant’s return to employment with the same employer or employers which had employed the participant immediately prior to the eligible period of service in the uniformed services, constitute employment toward the performance of creditable service provided that participant elects to remit the employee contributions that would have been made during the period of service in the uniformed services. The remittance of employee contributions shall be calculated pursuant to Sections 26501 and 28003. In no event shall that remittance exceed the amount the participant would have been required to contribute during that period of performance of creditable service had the participant remained continuously employed by the last employer and not served in the uniformed services throughout that period.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 26506, remittance of employee contributions in accordance with subdivision (a) shall be made by the employer pursuant to Section 26502 upon the employer’s receipt of written consent of the participant specifying a schedule of repayments. That remittance shall commence during the period beginning with the date of return to employment and may continue for three times the period of the participant’s eligible period of service in the uniformed services, not to exceed five years. The plan’s receipt of the remittance payments to the plan with respect to the Cash Balance Benefit Program shall be credited pursuant to Chapter 7 of this part. Contributions, interest, and additional earnings credits the participant would have earned had the participant remained continuously employed during the period of eligible service in the uniformed services shall be credited to employee and employer accounts retroactively upon receipt of the employee contributions. Upon receipt of the remittance payments to the plan, the payments shall be subject to the same terms and conditions under the program as if the payments had been employee contributions made by the participant had the participant not served for a period in the uniformed services. In no event shall the current year contributions and contributions made for purposes of purchasing service exceed the maximum exclusion allowance as set forth in the Internal Revenue Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 218, Sec. 47. (SB 1352) Effective January 1, 2017.)