You may purchase pension fund credit for prior fire or rescue squad service if: 

• you were a member of an eligible fire department or rescue squad before its participation in the fund. 
• you were previously eligible but did not choose to join the pension fund. 
• you had earlier service with a department or squad other than the department or squad through which you joined the pension fund. 
• you had eligible service for the prior year but did not make prior year contributions or your prior year contributions were returned because they were received after March 31. 

If you are 34 or younger, the cost to purchase prior service is $10 a month plus interest of an annual rate determined by the LGERS Board of Trustees. If you are 35 or older, the cost is equal to the full actuarial liability. You may purchase prior service in both a fire department and a rescue squad as long as the service periods do not overlap. Visit ORBIT for all service purchase forms. 

Service for current year contributions must be received in the Pension Fund office by March 31 of the following year in order to be properly credited. These contributions will not be included in the estimate to purchase pension fund credit for prior fire or rescue squad service. 

You cannot purchase service credit for any periods of time for which you received a refund of your pension fund contributions. 

Any service that was forfeited due to a felony conviction cannot be repurchased. See p. 5 for information about forfeiting eligibility based on criminal offenses.

You may take a leave of absence for one tour of military service and earn service credit during that period if you continue making your fund contributions during your tour. After your return, you will need to submit a copy of your military discharge papers, such as your DD214, that reflect the date you entered and the date you were released from active duty.