Service credit is an important factor in determining your defined benefit. “Service credit” is based on the number of hours of compensated employment reported by your employer.
You receive one service credit month for each calendar month in which you earn compensation for 90 or more hours. No more than one service credit month can be obtained in any calendar month, even if you work more than 90 hours for each of two or more employers in a month. Beginning September 1, 1991, one half of a service credit month is granted for any calendar month in which you receive compensation for fewer than 90, but at least 70 hours. One quarter of a service credit month is granted for fewer than 70 hours in a calendar month.
Your service credit years at retirement are calculated by dividing service credit months by 12.
| Hours worked | Service credit earned |
|---|---|
| Less than 630 hours or less than 9 months of the school year | 1 service credit month for each month you work 90 or more hours |
| 0.5 service credit month for each month you work 70 to 89 hours | |
| 0.25 service credit month for each month you work 69 hours or less (but at least one) | |
| 630 - 809 hours and work at least 9 months of the school year | 6 service credit months per school year (September 1 through August 31) |
| 810 hours or more and work at least 9 months of the school year | 12 service credit months per school year (September 1 through August 31) |
| Suppose you worked full-time starting with the 2001-02 school year and continued through the end of the 2007-08 year – seven full years, then reduced your hours. During the 2008-09 school year, your hours and service credit were as follow: | ||
| Hours | Service Credit Months | |
|---|---|---|
| September | 140 |
1 |
| October | 140 |
1 |
| November | 0 |
0 |
| December | 0 |
0 |
| January | 70 |
0.5 |
| February | 120 |
1 |
| March | 100 |
1 |
| April | 110 |
1 |
| May | 120 |
1 |
| June | 40 |
0.25 |
| July | 0 |
0 |
| August | 0 |
0 |
| Total | 840 |
6.75 |
| Although you worked more than 810 hours in the 2008-09 school year, you worked less than nine months in the school year, so you would receive 6.75 service credit months. Your total service credit for the period starting with the 2001-02 school year and ending with the 2008-09 school year would be seven years and 6.75 months. | ||
If you work as a classified substitute, your employer(s) will advise you quarterly of the amount of service you performed. To receive credit for your service, you must apply to DRS each year after August 31. For more information, see the publication, The Classified Substitute’s Guide to Obtaining Service Credit, available from your employer or the DRS Web site.
You may be able to combine your SERS service credit with credit earned in other Washington state retirement systems in order to qualify for retirement. For more information, see What if I’ve previously been a member of another retirement system?.
EXAMPLESuppose you are a 55-year old SERS Plan 3 member with 13 years of service credit. You also have seven years of membership in the Teachers’ Retirement System. That gives you a total of 20 years — enough to retire. |
You may be eligible to receive up to five years of service credit for military service by paying member contributions for the time spent in the military. You must complete payment of these contributions prior to retirement or five years from the time you resume employment, whichever comes first. To qualify you must have:
For more information, refer to the Military Service Credit publication for SERS Plan 3 members on the DRS Web site.
Note: Effective July 24, 2005, a member who becomes totally incapacitated for continued employment as a result of service in the uniformed services of the United States, or the surviving spouse or eligible children of a member who dies while serving in the uniformed services of the United States, may apply for military service credit without returning to employment. The member or eligible spouse or children would pay only the employee contributions. Contact DRS for more information.
You may earn service credit for an unpaid leave of absence authorized by your employer. Pre-1990 military service falls under this category. Service credit for a leave of absence is limited to a maximum of two years during your working career.
To obtain service credit for unpaid leave, you must return to work in an eligible position for a SERS-covered employer, and pay both member and employer contributions, including interest for both, for the time on leave. Payment must be completed within five years of returning to service, or retirement, whichever comes first.