To restore service credit for a period of employment for which you’ve withdrawn your contributions, you must begin repaying the amount withdrawn plus interest by June 30 of the fifth school year following your return to membership, or by retirement, whichever comes first. See “Payment schedule” below.
Payments may be made in a lump sum or in installments. The first installment must be at least 20 percent of the amount due, and the final payment must be made by June 30 of the fourth school year following the school year in which the first payment was made, or before retirement, whichever comes first. All payments must be completed by the statutory deadline. Partial restorations are not allowed. This payment schedule does not apply to restoring dual membership service credit.
It is still possible to purchase withdrawn and some optional service credit after the statutory deadline. The cost for purchasing service credit after the deadline is considerably more expensive. You can learn more about purchasing service credit by obtaining the DRS brochure, Plan 1 Recovery of Withdrawn or Optional Service Credit from this site, your employer, or DRS.