If you establish membership in more than one retirement system, you may qualify as a dual member, even if your membership in another system has been terminated.
You qualify for dual membership if you meet all the following criteria:
The provisions of each plan determine the amount of your benefit and when it can begin. If you retire as a dual member, your total benefit cannot exceed the amount you would have received if all your service had been in a single system.
If you are a dual member and wish to restore service credit in a system other than SERS, you must repay the amount withdrawn, plus interest, within two years of first becoming a dual member or before you retire, whichever comes first. To determine how much you owe, contact DRS.
Be prepared to provide the following information:
Payment must be completed by the deadline or your service cannot be restored by this method. It is still possible to purchase service credit after the deadline; however, the cost is considerably more expensive. Read the DRS publication, Plan 3 Recovery of Withdrawn or Optional Service Credit.
SERS Plan 3 is a 401(a) defined benefit plan with a defined contribution component (see “Defined Contribution Component” below). This means that at retirement you will receive a benefit based on service credit and average final compensation. The amount of contributions made will not be a factor in calculating your defined benefit.
Your future defined benefit is funded by contributions made by your employer during your period of membership and the investment earnings from those contributions. Employer contributions are held in trust and invested by the WSIB.
Employer contributions are based on a percentage of your salary and are not matching. Employer contributions go toward future retirement benefits, are not credited to your account and cannot be withdrawn.
Your defined contribution benefit is funded by your contributions and the investment earnings from those contributions. The amount of your defined contribution benefit depends on the amount you contribute and the performance of your investments.