If you leave covered employment, you can leave your defined contribution money in the plan.
As long as you have a balance in your defined contribution account, its value will continue to rise or fall depending on investment performance.
Federal law requires that you begin receiving a minimum amount from your retirement account by April 1 of the year after you reach age 70½, or when you retire, whichever comes later. The portion of your account that you must receive cannot be rolled over. The options you have for receipt of the money are outlined in the Plan 3 Request for Withdrawal of Defined Contributions booklet.
If you leave covered employment and leave your defined contributions in the plan, be sure to inform the record-keeper of any name, address and beneficiary changes. You will continue to receive quarterly statements and be able to move your money between investments.
To restore service credit, you must repay the total amount withdrawn within 60 service credit months of returning to service, or before you retire, whichever comes first. Payment must be completed by this deadline, or your service cannot be restored under this method.
It is still possible to purchase withdrawn and optional service credit after the deadline; however, the cost is considerably more expensive. You can learn more by reading the DRS online publication, Plan 3 Recovery of Withdrawn or Optional Service Credit.
If you are a dual member and wish to restore service credit in a system other than SERS, you must repay the amount withdrawn, plus interest from the date of the withdrawal until paid in full, within two years of first becoming a dual member or before you retire, whichever comes first. To find how much it will cost you to restore, contact DRS.
It may be possible to purchase service credit after the restoration deadline. For details, see the DRS publication, What is Dual Membership and How Does it Affect Me?