Service is an important part of the IPERS benefit formula. Service affects how much your monthly pension will be and may affect when you decide to retire.
IPERS credit
You receive 0.25 years of service for each calendar quarter your employer reports covered wages for you (after July 4, 1953). Therefore, if covered wages are reported for you for a full year, which is four calendar quarters, you earn one year of service.
| Quarter | Months | Years of Service |
|---|---|---|
| Frist | January - March | 0.25 |
| Second | April - June | 0.25 |
| Third | July - September | 0.25 |
| Fourth | October - December | 0.25 |
| Total: | 1 |
An employee working in a position for a school district or other educational institution which operates on a nine-month basis shall receive credit for the third quarter when covered wages are reported in the second and fourth quarters.
If you are an elected official, you will receive four quarters of service credit each year you receive IPERS-covered wages.
You cannot earn credit for more than four quarters of service in a calendar year, no matter how many employers are reporting covered wages for you. A calendar year is the 12-month period starting January 1 and ending December 31.
Free service credit
You may qualify for free service credit in certain situations. The free service credit is not automatically added to your records. Use the Application for Service Purchase to request free service credit. (Keep in mind that you earn service credit by the quarter as explained above. If your employer reported wages for you anytime in a quarter, you receive service credit for that quarter.)
You may request free service credit for:
- Up to 12 weeks worth of leave taken from IPERS-covered employment under rules established by FMLA (the federal Family and Medical Leave Act).
- An unpaid leave of absence from IPERS-covered employment that began before July 1, 1998, was authorized in periods of up to 12 months and can be confirmed by the employer.
- Service in the U.S. Armed Forces. For more information, visit the military service page.