(a) Options available to employees.--Any employee who is a member of a retirement system other than an active member or inactive member on leave without pay of the State Employees' Retirement System, an active participant or inactive participant on leave without pay of the State Employees' Defined Contribution Plan, an active or inactive member of the Public School Employees' Retirement System or an active or inactive participant of the School Employees' Defined Contribution Plan at the time he is granted a military leave of absence shall be entitled to exercise any one of the following options in regard thereto:

(1) He may continue to make regular payments into the fund during the period of his military leave of absence. The amount of such payments shall be the same as they would have been, had he not been granted a military leave of absence, but had instead remained actively in his employment. The time of making such payments shall be mutually agreed upon by the employee and the retirement association of which he is a member, but in no event shall be less frequent than semiannually. The employer shall make its contributions on the same basis as is used to compute the employee's contributions. In this case, his retirement rights shall be determined on the basis that he was in the active, continuous and uninterrupted employ of his employer for the period during which he was on military leave of absence.

(2) He may discontinue making payments into the fund during the period of his military leave of absence. In such event, the employer shall also discontinue making its contributions during this period. In this case, his retirement rights shall be determined by completely disregarding the period of his military leave of absence for all purposes.

(b) Exercise of options.--Any employee, desiring to exercise option (1) in subsection (a), shall so signify, in writing, to the retirement association of which he is a member within 60 days after the commencement of his military leave of absence or within 60 days after the effective date of this chapter, whichever shall later occur. Any employee who does not exercise option (1) in this manner will be deemed to have exercised option (2).

(c) Change of option.--Any employee who has exercised option (2) in subsection (a), but who, upon the expiration of his military leave of absence, returns to his employment and desires to receive the benefits of option (1), shall have the right to receive such benefits if he shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) He shall, within six months after he returns to his employment, give written notice to the retirement association of which he is a member of his desire to receive the benefits of option (1).

(2) He shall pay into the retirement fund an amount equal to the total payments he would have made had he exercised option (1). Payment of such amount may be spread over a period of time agreeable to the retirement association and the employee, which in no event shall exceed a period commencing with the date he returned to his employment and equal in duration to the duration of his military leave of absence. Such agreed upon payments shall be made in the same manner as his regular payments into the fund are made. In this case, his employer shall pay into the fund an amount equal to the total payments it would have made had the employee exercised option (1). Payment of such amount by the employer shall be spread over the same time as the employee's payments.

(d) Members of State Employees' Retirement System.--An employee who is an active member or inactive member on leave without pay of the State Employees' Retirement System at the time he is granted a military leave of absence shall be entitled to receive credit in the State Employees' Retirement System for the leave as provided in 71 Pa.C.S. Pt. XXV (relating to retirement for State employees and officers).

(e) Members of Public School Employees' Retirement System.--An employee who is an active member or inactive member of the Public School Employees' Retirement System at the time he is granted a military leave of absence shall be entitled to receive credit in the Public School Employees' Retirement System for the leave as provided under 24 Pa.C.S. Pt. IV (relating to retirement for school employees).

(f) Participant of a defined contribution plan.--

(1) (Reserved).

(2) An employee who is an active participant or inactive participant on leave without pay of the State Employees' Defined Contribution Plan at the time the employee is granted a military leave of absence shall be entitled to make contributions to the State Employees' Defined Contribution Trust for the leave as provided by 71 Pa.C.S. Pt. XXV.

(Oct. 24, 2012, P.L.1436, No.181, eff. Dec. 31, 2012; July 1, 2013, P.L.174, No.32, eff. July 1, 2013; June 12, 2017, P.L.11, No.5, eff. imd.)

2017 Amendment. Act 5 amended subsec. (a) intro. par. and added subsec. (f). See section 401 of Act 5 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability.

2013 Amendment. Act 32 amended subsec. (a) and added subsec. (e). See sections 13 and 20 of Act 32 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability and qualifications under Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

2012 Amendment. Act 181 amended subsec. (a) and added subsec. (d). See sections 12(1) and 20 of Act 181 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability and requirements for qualification as qualified pension plan.

Cross References. Section 7306 is referred to in section 7308 of this title; section 8302 of Title 24 (Education); section 5302 of Title 71 (State Government).