SB 88

This bill establishes a program under which participating employees in the

Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) may purchase years of creditable service under

the WRS for all years of active service in the U.S. armed forces. A number of

conditions must be satisfied to receive creditable service under the program, the

most important of which include the following:

1. The employee pays to the Department of Employee Trust Funds (DETF) for

each year of creditable service to be purchased the employee required contribution

on earnings for general employees — currently, 5 percent of earnings — based on the

employee's final average earnings, determined as if the employee had retired on the

first day of the annual earnings period during which DETF received the application.

2. The employee may not purchase more than four years of creditable service

under the program.

3. The employee must have been discharged from the U.S. armed forces under

conditions other than dishonorable.

4. The employee may not receive creditable service under the program for any

active service in the U.S. armed forces that is also used to qualify for the current law

creditable military service program.

Because this bill relates to public employee retirement or pensions, it may be

referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems for a report to be

printed as an appendix to the bill.