§ 34-148. County employees, county school district teachers and employees, and employees of county's largest city; credit upon transferral; certification by pension board secretaries; contributions and matching funds; crediting of those withdrawing funds.

(a)

County employees, county school district teachers and employees, and employees of the largest city located in whole or in part in counties of 600,000 or more by the last or any future United States decennial census and who are members of the pension plans of the respective subdivisions of government as of the date of approval of this section and who may thereafter, by transfer of governmental function between such county or such city or through annexation and merger, be transferred to such city from such county or to such county from such city, shall be entitled to be credited on their pension time requirement by their respective pension boards, with all years of service not previously authorized and allowed, with which they were credited by any of said subdivisions of government at the time of separation from its service; provided, however, that school teachers in the employ of the largest city located in whole or in part in such counties shall be credited for years of teaching in other counties or cities of the state only if they become members of the city pension plan by reason of the annexation of territory to said largest city.

(b)

It shall be the duty of the secretaries of the several pension boards of the subdivisions of government referred to in subsection (a) of this section to certify to the secretary of any other of said pension plan or board on written request of such secretary, the years, and fractions thereof, of employment with which any member was credited at the time of his separation from employment with the corresponding subdivision of government, showing thereon any matching fund or contribution which stood to his credit in the pension fund of said subdivision of government; provided, however, that no credit for years of teaching in other counties or cities shall be certified to in case of school teachers employed by the largest city located in whole or in part in such counties unless they became employed by said city as a result of the annexation of territory to said largest city.

(c)

It is the legislative determination that any contributions or matching funds found to the credit of an employee on the books of the pension plan at the time of his separation from employment with the corresponding subdivision of government belongs to and is the property of the pension fund of the subdivision of government to which such employee is transferred and by which such employee is subsequently employed.

(d)

Any member of any pension plan referred to in subsection (a) of this section who has withdrawn any portion of his contribution from any pension fund with any of said subdivisions of government from which he seeks credit for prior years of service or fraction thereof, shall not be allowed such credit unless he gives written notice, within 90 days from the date of the employees transfer to the secretary of the pension board of the government by which he is employed, that he desires to receive credit for such prior years of service and pays into the pension fund of the subdivision of government by which he is employed, the sum withdrawn and unpaid, plus interest at the rate of four percent per annum. Said payment may be in 50 equal monthly installments bearing interest at the rate of three percent per annum.

(e)

Any member of the pension plan of any subdivision of government referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall be given credit for years of employment with any of said subdivisions of government or with the State of Georgia not previously granted or allowed by giving written notice within 90 days from the date of the transfer of the employee to the secretary of the pension board of the subdivision of government by which he is employed and by paying into the pension fund thereof a sum representing the contribution which he should have made had he been a member of its pension plan during the years in question or the sum which he should have paid to the pension fund of the subdivision of government by which he was employed during those years, whichever of said sums is the larger, plus interest at the rate of four percent per annum. Said payment may be made in 50 equal monthly installments, bearing interest at the rate of four percent per annum; provided, however, that no credit for years of employment with the State of Georgia shall be allowed in the pension plan of the largest city located in whole or in part in such counties.

(f)

Any employee of any of said subdivisions of government who is not a member of the pension fund or some part thereof, by reason of having chosen not to participate within the time provided by law, may become a member of said pension plan or part thereof, as the case may be, and obtain the benefits under this section by notifying the secretary of the pension plan of said subdivision of government in writing within 90 days from the date of the transfer of such employee, that he wishes to become a member of said plan or part thereof, as the case may be, and subject to the obligations and benefits and by paying into said pension plan a sum equal to the contribution he would have paid had he chosen to participate within the time originally provided, plus interest at four percent per annum. Said payment may be made in 50 equal monthly installments, bearing interest at the rate of four percent per annum.

(g)

It is hereby declared to be the legislative determination that in counties and subdivisions of government described in subsection (b) of this section, consolidations in governmental functions between such subdivisions of government and the incident transfer or change of employment, make it in the interest of the employees, subdivisions of government, the pension funds thereof and of the general public that those employees be not deprived of, but be given credit on their pensions for all years of service with the several subdivisions of government. It is the legislative purpose of this section to give authority for and to require that the credits for prior and present employment be given and allowed to the extent and in the manner provided in this section, by the respective pension boards or plans named in subsection (a) of this section.

(1953 (Nov.-Dec. Sess.) Ga. Laws (Act No. 824), page 3000, §§ 1—7; 1968 Ga. Laws (Act No. 1239), page 3702, §§ 1—5; 1971 Ga. Laws (Act No. 585), page 3393, § 1)