84-1325. Employees; military service; credit; payments.

(1)(a) For military service beginning on or after December 12, 1994, but before January 1, 2018, any employee who, while an employee, entered into and served in the armed forces of the United States and who within ninety days after honorable discharge or honorable separation from active duty again became an employee shall be credited, for the purposes of the provisions of section 84-1317, with all the time actually served in the armed forces as if such person had been an employee throughout such service in the armed forces pursuant to the terms and conditions of subdivision (b) of this subsection.

(b) Under such rules and regulations as the retirement board may adopt and promulgate, any employee who is reemployed pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq., may pay to the retirement system an amount equal to the sum of all deductions which would have been made from the employee's compensation during such period of military service. Payment shall be made within the period required by law, not to exceed five years. To the extent that payment is made, (i) the employee shall be treated as not having incurred a break in service by reason of the employee's period of military service, (ii) the period of military service shall be credited for the purposes of determining the nonforfeitability of the employee's accrued benefits and the accrual of benefits under the plan, and (iii) the employer shall allocate the amount of employer contributions to the employee's employer account in the same manner and to the same extent the allocation occurs for other employees during the period of service. For purposes of employee and employer contributions under this subsection, the employee's compensation during the period of military service shall be the rate the employee would have received but for the military service or, if not reasonably determinable, the average rate the employee received during the twelve-month period immediately preceding military service.

(c) The employer shall pick up the employee contributions made through irrevocable payroll deduction authorizations pursuant to this subsection, and the contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions in the same manner as contributions picked up under subsection (1) of section 84-1308.

(2)(a) For military service beginning on or after January 1, 2018, any employee who is reemployed pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq., shall be treated as not having incurred a break in service by reason of the employee's period of military service. Such military service shall be credited for purposes of determining the nonforfeitability of the employee's accrued benefits and the accrual of benefits under the plan.

(b) The agency employing the employee shall be liable for funding any obligation of the plan to provide benefits based upon such period of military service. To satisfy the liability, the agency employing the employee shall pay to the retirement system an amount equal to:

(i) The sum of the employee and employer contributions that would have been paid during such period of military service; and

(ii) Any actuarial costs necessary to fund the obligation of the plan to provide benefits based upon such period of military service. For the purposes of determining the amount of such liability and obligation of the plan, earnings and forfeitures, gains and losses, regular interest, interest credits, or dividends that would have accrued on the employee and employer contributions that are paid by the employer pursuant to this section shall not be included.

(c) The amount required pursuant to subdivision (b) of this subsection shall be paid to the retirement system as soon as reasonably practicable following the date of reemployment, but must be paid within eighteen months of the date the board notifies the employer of the amount due. If the employer fails to pay the required amount within such eighteen-month period, then the employer is also responsible for any actuarial costs and interest on actuarial costs that accrue from eighteen months after the date the employer is notified by the board until the date the amount is paid.

(d) The retirement board may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this subsection, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations on:

(i) How and when the employee and employer must notify the retirement system of a period of military service;

(ii) The acceptable methods of payment;

(iii) Determining the service and compensation upon which the contributions must be made;

(iv) Accelerating the payment from the employer due to unforeseen circumstances that occur before payment is made pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to, the employee's termination or retirement or the employer's reorganization, consolidation, merger, or closing; and

(v) The documentation required to substantiate that the individual was reemployed pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.

(3) This section only applies to military service that falls within the definition of uniformed service under 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. Military service does not include service provided pursuant to sections 55-101 to 55-181.

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