9-3-424. Refund of contributions upon termination of employment; procedure; redeposit; limitation on refund.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, any member covered by this article, including an at-will contract employee under W.S. 9-2-1022(a)(xi)(F)(III) or (IV), who terminates his employment or any employee of the agricultural extension service of the University of Wyoming who has not elected to continue to be covered by this article is entitled to a refund of his account. In addition, any member who is entitled to a refund who is an at-will contract employee under W.S. 9-2-1022(a)(xi)(F)(III), shall be entitled to a refund of his account plus any employer matching contributions made by that member. In addition, any member who is entitled to a refund who is an at-will contract employee under W.S. 9-2-1022(a)(xi)(F)(IV), shall be entitled to a refund of his account plus any employer matching contributions made by that member. The refunds shall be made only upon written request to the board. A member may elect, at the time and in the manner prescribed by the system, to have the refund of his account paid directly to an eligible retirement plan as specified by the member. Any member who withdraws from the system under this section shall forfeit all rights to further benefits, employer matching contributions and service credit under the system. Any person who later returns to service covered by this article may redeposit a single lump-sum amount equal to the amount of the contributions withdrawn, together with an amount equal to the actuarial equivalent of the benefits to be derived from the redeposit, past employer contributions, the individual's attained age and the benefit structure of the appropriate plan, and upon earning not less than two (2) years service credit, may reestablish his service credits as of the time of withdrawal of his contributions. For service prior to July 1, 2002, any law enforcement member covered under W.S. 9-3-432 may redeposit the amount of contributions withdrawn for service covered under W.S. 9-3-432, in a lump sum, together with interest and the actuarial equivalent of the difference between the benefit provided under W.S. 9-3-415 through 9-3-419 and the benefit provided under W.S. 9-3-432, and upon earning not less than two (2) years service credit, may reestablish his service credit as of the time of withdrawal of his contributions. Any redeposit payment pursuant to this subsection shall be made not later than ten (10) years following the date of reemployment or prior to retirement, whichever first occurs. A member may make a redeposit under this subsection with personal funds or, subject to rules and regulations established by the board, through rollover contributions. Unless received by the system in the form of a direct rollover, the rollover contribution shall be paid to the system on or before sixty (60) days after the date it was received by the member. Unless otherwise permitted by section 401(a)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code, forfeitures shall not be applied to increase the benefits that any employee would otherwise receive under the system.

(b) No member is entitled to a refund of any contributions if he is employed for a salary by an employer.