The amount of your service retirement benefit depends upon your time in service and your final average salary (FAS). Service that counts toward determining your benefit is called “service credit.”
Service credit is provided for service you render as a fire fighter or law enforcement officer:
You receive a month of service credit for each calendar month in which you receive basic salary for 70 or more hours. No more than one month of service credit may be obtained during any calendar month, even if you receive basic salary for more than 70 hours from each of two employers in a month. Years of service credit are calculated by dividing the total months of service credit by 12.
Suppose you were hired November 1, 1968, and worked until May 15, 2000, when you retired at age 52. In your final month of employment, you received basic salary for 80 hours. Your service credit would be as follows:
| Prior Service | Months |
|---|---|
| November 1968 through December 1968 | 2 |
| January 1969 through February 1970 | 14 |
| Membership Service | |
| March 1970 through December 1970 |
10 |
| January 1971 through December 1999 |
348 |
| January 2000 into May 2000 | 5 |
| Total service credited with LEOFF | 379 |
379 months ÷ 12 months = 31.58 years of service credit
You may also receive service credit for the following:
When you have five or more service credit years, you have a “vested” right to a retirement benefit at age 50. “Vesting” means you have earned the right to a future benefit, even if your covered employment ends. However, if you withdraw your contributions and terminate your membership, you give up your right to retirement benefits.
Suppose you leave LEOFF employment at age 46 with 15 years of service credit. If you do not withdraw your contributions, you will be entitled to a retirement benefit when you reach age 50. This benefit is based on your service credit and final average salary as of the date you left your LEOFF employment.