Prior Service Credit
Concurrent service (service credit earned in any other Ohio public retirement system with another employer at the same time that you were employed by the City of Cincinnati and a member of the Cincinnati Retirement System) is not eligible for purchase or transfer.
Service credit purchases and/or transfers must be completed prior to separation from employment. CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through service purchases or transfers. Any prior service credit purchased (or transferred) into a member's CRS account is credited to the member's current plan (multiplier) in effect at the time that the prior service is purchased (or transferred).
Service credit purchased or transferred from any of the Ohio public retirement systems, and service credit purchased for prior Federal or Out-of-State service, is determined according to the CRS service credit standard: One year service credit = 2080 paid base hours in a calendar year.
CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through service purchases or transfers.
Service credit purchased or transferred from any of the Ohio public retirement systems, and service credit purchased for prior Federal, Out-of-State, or Leave of Absence service counts toward retirement eligibility (creditable service), but does NOT count toward healthcare eligibility (minimum 20 years of membership service in the Cincinnati Retirement System). Retirement healthcare benefits are subject to change and are not a vested benefit.
City of Cincinnati Service
By obtaining a return of contributions, the member's original membership date is voided permanently and cannot be retrieved through future service purchase should the member be re-employed by the City and become a member of the Cincinnati Retirement System.
Active members of the Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) who have at least 18 months of service may re-purchase prior City of Cincinnati service credit earned as an employee of the City of Cincinnati for which pension contributions were paid to the Cincinnati Retirement System and for which the member received a refund of their CRS contributions for that period of employment service.
CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through service purchases or transfers.
A cost calculation will be prepared and mailed to the member upon receipt of their signed application for the purchase of eligible prior City of Cincinnati service. Members must repay the amount of the withdrawn CRS pension contributions, plus interest from the date of withdrawal, to obtain this prior service credit. Withdrawn prior City service credit purchased in the Cincinnati Retirement System counts toward retiree healthcare eligibility - if you qualify. The purchase of prior service credit must be completed prior to your separation from employment with the City.
Employment service with the City of Cincinnati in exempted, part-time, seasonal, student or co-op positions for which no CRS employee contributions were paid or collected, held prior to July 1, 1991 is NOT eligible for the purchase of prior service credit. Applications for ineligible service will not be accepted by the Retirement Office.
Prior City Service Credit Application
Military Service Prior to CRS Membership
CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through military service purchases.
Active members of the Cincinnati Retirement System can purchase up to three
(3) years of service credit for active duty military service performed prior to becoming a member of the Cincinnati Retirement System. To be eligible for purchase of military service credit, you must have been honorably discharged and provide the Retirement System with a copy of discharge (form DD214) and complete an application form. You may only purchase retirement service credit for active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States. This includes service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Auxiliary Corps as established by Congress, or member of the Army Nurse Corps, Navy Nurse Corps, or Red Cross Nurse who has served in the Army, Navy or hospital service of the United States. Military service credit purchases must be completed prior to your retirement.
The minimum amount of military service you can purchase is one (1) year, and the maximum amount of military service credit you can purchase is three (3) years. Military service credit purchased in the Cincinnati Retirement System counts toward retiree healthcare eligibility if your Membership date is PRIOR to January 1, 2016. Retirement healthcare benefits are subject to change and are not a vested benefit.
Military Service Credit Application
Prior Service with OPERS, STRS, SERS
CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through service purchases or transfers.
In December 2001, the Cincinnati Retirement System entered into reciprocity agreements with the five statewide Ohio public retirement systems (OPERS, STRS, SERS, OP&F, and State Highway Patrol) making it possible for active members of these systems to purchase service credit if they were former members of any Ohio public retirement system.
Due to a change in Ohio law in 2016, any transfer or purchase of service credit and contributions between CRS and any of the Ohio public retirement systems CAN ONLY OCCUR IF:
a) the purchase or transfer of such service will make the member eligible to retire from service within 90 days of the date the service is purchased or transferred; OR
b) the member is already eligible to retire AND the member will retire from service within 90 days from the date the service is purchased or transferred.
- CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through service purchases or transfers.
- If contributions were not withdrawn, there may be little or no cost to transfer the service credit. If contributions were withdrawn, those contributions plus interest must be repaid in order to obtain credit for the prior service. Service credit purchased or transferred from any of the Ohio public retirement systems is determined according to the CRS service credit standard: One year service credit = 2080 paid base hours in a calendar year.
- If the prior service occurred before July 1, 1991, the position you held must have been a full-time permanent position to be eligible for purchase or transfer of prior service. Part-time, seasonal, student or co-op positions held prior to July 1, 1991 are not eligible for purchase or transfer of prior service credit. Any service credit earned after July 1, 1991 is eligible to be re-purchased or transferred.
- Concurrent service (service credit earned in one of the statewide Ohio public retirement systems with another employer while you were employed by the City of Cincinnati and a member of the Cincinnati Retirement System) is not eligible for purchase or transfer.
- Ohio service credit purchased through or transferred to the Cincinnati Retirement System counts toward retirement eligibility, but does not count toward retiree healthcare eligibility.
- Service credit purchases or transfers must be completed prior to your retirement effective date.
- Retirement healthcare benefits are subject to change and are not a vested benefit.
For more information about service credit reciprocity with other Ohio public retirement systems, please contact the CRS office at 513-352-3227 or email retirement@cincinnati-oh.gov.
Out-of-State/Federal Service
CRS Membership dates cannot be changed through service purchases or transfers.
Active members of the Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) who have at least 18 months service credit may purchase up to five years of service credit for their employment with the Federal Government or with a public entity in another state (other than Ohio) which occurred prior to their membership in the Cincinnati Retirement System and during which time they were enrolled in a Defined Benefit Pension Plan. Eligible service must have occurred PRIOR to your membership in the Cincinnati Retirement System and cannot be used in the calculation of retirement benefits under any other retirement system. Your pension contributions to your former employer’s Defined Benefit Plan must have been refunded to you in order to purchase service credit for that period of employment.
Contributions to Social Security are not eligible for the purchase of prior Federal or Out-of-State service credit. If the prior service occurred prior to July 1, 1991, the position you held must have been a full-time permanent position to be eligible for purchase of prior service. Part-time, seasonal, student or co-op positions held prior to July 1, 1991 are not eligible for purchase of prior service credit. All service credit earned after July 1, 1991 is eligible to be purchased. Service credit purchased for prior Federal or Out-of-State service is determined according to the CRS service credit standard: One year service credit = 2080 paid base hours in a calendar year.
Federal and Out-of-State service credit purchased counts toward retirement eligibility, but does not count toward retiree healthcare eligibility. Retirement healthcare benefits are subject to change and are not a vested benefit.
The purchase of Federal or Out-of-State service credit must be completed prior to your separation of employment. A cost calculation will be prepared by the Retirement System’s actuary and will specify the total cost. Members must pay a non-refundable application fee of $250 to request a cost calculation for the purchase of Federal/Out-of-State service credit. Cost calculations are valid only for 30 days from the date they were issued to the member. If you choose to proceed with the service purchase, the $250 application fee will be applied toward the cost of purchasing the Federal or Out-of-State service credit. If you do not notify the CRS within the 30 day time limit and choose to proceed with a purchase, an additional $250 application fee will be required to generate an updated cost calculation and only one of those application fees paid will be applied toward your purchase of the Federal or Out-of-State service credit.
In addition to the completed application and fee payment, YOU must provide the Cincinnati Retirement System with a signed and dated certification from either your previous public employer or your previous public retirement plan, which must include:
- The employing agency name, address, telephone, and contact person;
- Your name and Social Security number;
- Your date of hire and date of termination;
- Your gross earnings and pension contributions by calendar year;
- Verification of part-time or full time status in your prior position;
- Certification that pension contributions have been refunded (including refund date and amount);
- Verification that the service credit will not be used in the calculation of a retirement benefit for you.
CRS Federal/Out-of-State Service Credit Application
How to Purchase Prior Service Credit
Members must submit a signed application to the Cincinnati Retirement System for the purchase or transfer of prior service credit.
Once a member has received a cost statement from CRS for the purchase of prior service credit, there are several payment options available:
1. Members who are enrolled in a Deferred Compensation (457 Plan) program may use funds from their Deferred Compensation account without penalty. Forms for this purpose are available in the CRS office.
2. Members may use payroll deduction. The use of payroll deduction for the purpose of service credit may not be extended beyond five (5) years, and will incur additional interest cost. The required forms for this purpose are available in the CRS office and must be notarized. An authorization for payroll deduction is an irrevocable agreement and the amount of the deduction cannot be altered once initiated.
3. Members may pay using a personal check.
4. The purchase of prior service credit must be completed prior to your separation from employment.