Section 15.02 - Purchase of Prior Membership Creditable Service; Purchase of Creditable Service for Nonmembership Service; Rates of Contribution Upon Return to Active Service(1)Purchase of Prior Membership Creditable Service. Any member authorized by law to purchase prior creditable service may purchase such service by paying an amount equal to the accumulated regular deductions withdrawn by the member, together with the appropriate statutorily defined interest. Any member may make a lump sum payment or installment payments over a period not exceeding five years and may, with the approval of the board, make installment payments over a period exceeding five years.(2)Purchase of Non-membership Creditable Service. Upon submission of documentation satisfactory to the retirement board and consistent with M.G.L. c. 32, a member will be allowed to purchase creditable service for periods of non-membership employment. The amount of creditable service that may be purchased shall be determined by the retirement board in a manner consistent with the retirement board's supplementary regulations that have been approved by PERAC pursuant to 840 CMR 14.00: Applicability of Commissioner's Rules; Supplementary Rules. The member may purchase less than all non-membership service available for purchase; provided, however, that in such event the member must purchase the most recent time first.(3) If more than one type of purchase is available, the member can choose which type of service they wish to purchase. Additionally, if the member can complete both a purchase of non-membership and membership service, the member has the option to choose which to complete first.(4)Rates of Contribution upon Return to Active Service. The rates of contribution for members formerly in service who have returned to the service of the same or another governmental unit shall be as follows: (a) for any member who contributed to a retirement system and did not receive a refund of accumulated deductions when he or she left service, the contribution rate upon the member's return to service shall be the same rate as the member was contributing at the time he or she left service;(b) the contribution rate for any member who contributed to a retirement system, and received a refund of accumulated deductions after termination of service, shall be the contribution rate in effect when the member re-established membership, whether or not the member purchases prior creditable service.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1518, eff. 3/29/2024.