• You may purchase service credit for time spent in other municipalities within Rhode Island that do not participate in MERS, so long as you are not using that time to receive a retirement benefit from that municipality.
• Service purchases must be made within three years of your initial date of hire.
• You will be charged the full actuarial cost of the service credit you are purchasing, based on your current age and your eligible retirement age.
• Purchased Service in a Non-Participating Municipality is considered non-contributory service and does not count toward vesting.

• If you are a public school teacher in Rhode Island, you may be eligible to purchase up to five years of out-of-state teaching or private school teaching time.
• Service purchases must be made within three years of your initial date of hire.
• You will be charged the full actuarial cost of the service credit you are purchasing, based on your current age and your eligible retirement age.
• Purchased Out-of-State and Private School Teaching time is considered noncontributory service and does not count toward vesting.

If you are called to active duty in the United States Armed Services during your active employment as a public employee after 6/30/2005, you may purchase the missed time by paying the contributions that would have been paid had you not been on leave. You must return to active employment within one month of your active duty ending to be eligible to make this purchase.

Purchased Active Duty military service is considered contributory service and does count toward vesting.

• If you served in the Armed Services prior to being hired as a public employee, you may purchase up to four years of credit for time spent on active duty for service in the United States Armed Services, Reserves, or the Merchant Marine.
• The purchase of Military Service credit is based on 10% of your first full year of earnings as a member of ERSRI, plus interest as applicable.
• Purchased Prior military service is considered non-contributory service and does not count toward vesting.

• You may purchase up to four years of credit for time spent on an official leave of absence from your employment. You must return to active employment for at least one year before you are eligible to make this purchase.
• You must make this purchase within three years of your leave concluding.
• You will be charged the full actuarial cost of the service credits you are purchasing, based on your current age and your eligible retirement age.
• Purchased Workers’ Compensation leave is considered contributory service and does count toward vesting. However, all other types of purchased leave are considered noncontributory service and do not count toward vesting.

• You can pay to restore your credits after completing one year of service (from the date of your return).
• You must pay into the system the amount you had refunded to you, plus interest.
• Service purchases must be made within three years of your rehire date.
• Unlike other types of service purchases, purchase of withdrawn service credit is not included in the maximum five-year purchase limit. It is considered contributory service and does count toward vesting.
• Restoration of contributory service credit will effectively restore your retirement credit in the years it was originally earned.