You may reestablish service credit for earlier periods of TRS-covered employment, even though you may have withdrawn your contributions and terminated your membership for that period.
To restore withdrawn service credit in this plan, you repay the total amount withdrawn, plus interest, by the statutory deadline. The statutory deadline is within five years of the date you return to service, or before you retire, whichever comes first.
Payment must be completed by the statutory deadline or your service cannot be restored under this statute. You may complete repayment even if you leave public employment again, but you must meet the original deadline. You can learn more about restoring service credit by obtaining the DRS publication Plan 2 Recovery of Withdrawn or Optional Service Credit from your employer or DRS.
It is still possible to purchase withdrawn or optional service credit after the statutory deadline has passed. The cost for purchasing service credit after the deadline date is considerably more expensive. You can learn more about the purchase of service credit by obtaining the DRS brochure Plan 2 Recovery of Withdrawn or Optional Service Credit.
To establish service credit for military service that interrupts TRS service or for an unpaid, approved leave of absence, you must submit documentation verifying military service or leave approval and complete payment of the required amount within five years of resumption of TRS service, or before retirement, whichever comes first.
For more information, contact DRS toll-free at 1-800-547-6657 or in the Olympia area call (360) 664-7000.