Members of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011 who leave state employment may choose to either request a refund (if they don’t anticipate returning to state employment) or leave their contributions with MOSERS (if they do anticipate returning to state employment).

If you decide to request a refund of your employee contributions, please be aware that there is a 90-day waiting period from the date of termination before MOSERS can issue a refund. You must complete the Member Request for Refund of Employee Contributions form, get it notarized, and submit it to MOSERS.

Please note that, if you take a refund, you will forfeit all your credited service. Alternatively, you may leave your contributions with the System if you think you might return to work for the state at some point in the future and would like for those years of service to count toward an eventual retirement benefit. To learn more, please visit our Refund of Employee Contributions page. 

No, that is not true. A retired member may return to work with a MOSERS-covered employer as long they follow the termination and reemployment rules.

Before receiving a benefit payment from MOSERS, an employee must have a “bona fide termination". For purposes of the MOSERS’ board rules, a "bona fide termination" occurs when:

1. You have completely severed employment;
2. You have not entered into a prearranged agreement, prior to retirement, with any employer for subsequent employment on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other); and
3. You are not subsequently employed by any employer on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other) within 30 days after your employment with your prior employer has ended.

For purposes of these rules, “employer” means the State of Missouri or any other MOSERS-covered employer. See FAQs on Separation of Service for more information.

Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position.

You are correct. Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position (i.e. a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours a year).

Contracted employees working directly under a private firm are not typically classified as state employees. Such employment should not interfere with your ability to receive your MOSERS benefit, however, we recommend that you contact the employer to confirm that anyone employed as such would not be considered a state employee.

If you return to work for the state of Missouri in a MOSERS or MPERS benefit-eligible position:

• Your monthly pension payment will stop.
• Depending on various factors (your plan, how long you work, etc.), you may or may not earn additional credited service during reemployment.
• When you retire again, your monthly pension payment will equal the amount you were receiving when you returned to work plus any additional benefit you may have earned during reemployment.

It is the responsibility of your employer, not MOSERS, to determine if the position you are working in is a MOSERS benefit-eligible position. Generally speaking, an employee must work in a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours per year to qualify for MOSERS benefits. If your employer determines that the position is not benefit-eligible and you have followed the termination and reemployment rules outlined below, you may work in that position and still get your MOSERS pension benefits.

Termination and Reemployment Rules

Before receiving a benefit payment from MOSERS, IRS rules require a “bona fide termination” of your employment. For purposes of MOSERS Board Rules, a "bona fide termination" occurs when:

• You have completely severed employment;
• You have not entered into a prearranged agreement (written or oral), prior to retirement, with the State of Missouri or any MOSERS-covered employer for subsequent employment on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other); and
• You are not subsequently employed with the State of Missouri or any MOSERS-covered employer on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other) within 30 days after your employment with your prior employer has ended.

See FAQs on Termination and Reemployment Rules and a flyer on Termination and Reemployment Rules for more information.

Reemployment

Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position.

If you return to work for the state of Missouri in a MOSERS or MPERS benefit-eligible position:

• Your monthly pension payment will stop.
• Depending on various factors (your plan, how long you work, etc.), you may or may not earn additional credited service during reemployment.
• When you retire again, your monthly pension payment will equal the amount you were receiving when you returned to work plus any additional benefit you may have earned during reemployment.

A vested member of MOSERS who later takes a job covered by PSRS/PEERS may elect to transfer their service. This transfer is not a day-for-day transfer. The transferring system sends the actuarial value of the member’s service to the other system, which then converts that value to service. Members may purchase any remaining service not covered by the transfer at full actuarial cost.

There are a variety of provisions that may allow employees to purchase or transfer service between MOSERS and another public retirement plan in Missouri. You are not required to purchase or transfer service if you move from one retirement system to another. You can potentially earn retirement benefits from more than one system.

Depending on your plan, see either the Purchasing and Transferring Service Credit brochure (MSEP & MSEP 2000) or the Purchasing and Transferring Service Credit brochure (MSEP 2011), or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for more information about your individual situation.