Member Purchases
Member Purchases
If you are missing service and/or salary during your career, you may qualify to purchase the credit. Purchasing the credit is optional, but could result in a larger benefit with PERA. Opportunities to purchase credit are provided below:
Repaying a PERA refund
If you were previously a PERA member who left public service and received a refund, you have the option to repay the refund plus interest to restore the lost credit with PERA.
Leave purchases
During your career, you may take a leave from your public position covered by PERA. You may purchase missing contributions plus interest to restore the lost credit.
Types of leaves include:
- Authorized Leave (medical, FMLA, parental, personal, etc.)
- Workers’ Compensation Leave
- Military Leave
- Employer-Sponsored Leave (furlough, special leave, budgetary)
- Strike
Actuarial Military Purchase
Legislation passed during the 2019 Minnesota legislative session provides PERA members the option to purchase service credit for one or more prior military leave period(s) that occurred:
- before becoming a public employee, or
- during public employment covered by a PERA pension plan, and you missed the original purchase timeframe.
Please contact a PERA Service Representative for more information on this actuarial purchase option at 651.296.7460 or 1.800.652.9026.
Purchase Cost
- Repaying a Refund. The amount of your original refund plus interest.
- Leave Purchase. Generally, the amount of your missing employee and employer contributions during the leave period, plus interest.
- Actuarial Military Purchase. The cost is the actuarial present value of the increase to your future monthly benefit due to the service purchase.
Interest Rates
Interest is compounded based on rates specified by the Minnesota Legislature:
- 8.5 percent through June 30, 2015
- 8.0 percent July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2018
- 7.5 percent July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023
- 7.0 percent July 1, 2023 forward
Payment Options
You have two methods to provide payment to PERA:
- Personal check payable to “PERA”
- Direct Rollover from another qualified plan
The payment could be a combination of a personal check and a direct rollover. Or, the payment could be multiple direct rollovers from different qualified plans.