North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 120. General Assembly § 120-4.12B. Purchase of creditable service for service in Armed Forces

(a) On or before December 31, 2024, any member of the Retirement System who has eight or more years of creditable service as a member of the General Assembly may purchase prior service credit for service in the Armed Forces of the United States at the same rates and conditions as set forth in G.S. 120-4.14 and G.S. 120-4.16;  provided that credit is allowed only for the initial period of active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States up to the time the member was first eligible to be separated or released therefrom, and subsequent periods of such active duty as required by the Armed Forces of the United States up to the date of first eligibility for separation or release therefrom.

(b) On or after January 1, 2025, any member or retired member with five or more years of membership service may purchase creditable service for service in the Armed Forces of the United States by paying a lump sum amount to the Annuity Savings Fund.  The amount payable shall be equal to the full liability increase of the Retirement System due to the additional service credits purchased plus an administrative fee that is set by the Board of Trustees.  The full liability increase shall be calculated on the basis of the same assumptions used for the purposes of the actuarial valuation of the liabilities of the Retirement System, except for the following assumptions specific to this calculation:  (i) the allowance shall be assumed to commence at the earliest age at which the member could retire on an unreduced retirement allowance and (ii) there shall be assumed annual postretirement allowance increases set by the Board of Trustees upon the advice of the consulting actuary.

(c) Only periods of active service in the Armed Forces of the United States are eligible for the purchase of creditable service under this section, except that service in the National Guard or any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be eligible.  To make a purchase under this section, the member is required to submit satisfactory evidence of the claimed service in the Armed Forces of the United States.  No purchase of service credit under this section shall be made if a benefit is allowable under another public retirement system as a result of the service in the Armed Forces of the United States.