Leave of Absence, Disability, & Military Service

Taking time away from work—whether for medical reasons or active duty military service—can impact your SCERS membership, service credit, and retirement planning. This section explains what happens during various types of leave and how you may be able to restore or purchase credit for time away. 

Unpaid Leave of Absence

If you take an approved leave of absence:

  • You do not earn service credit during the unpaid portion of your leave
  • Your member contributions are temporarily suspended
  • Your SCERS membership remains active

If your leave is due to medical reasons, you may be eligible to purchase service credit for that time when you return to work. SCERS will require:

  • Proof of the approved leave
  • Completion of a purchase request
  • Payment through lump sum, payroll deduction, or rollover

Unpaid leave must be verified and certified by your employer to be eligible for purchase.

Workers’ Compensation or Disability Leave

If you’re off work due to a work-related injury or illness, you may be receiving temporary disability payments instead of wages. In most cases:

  • You will not earn SCERS service credit during this time unless you are in paid status
  • You may be eligible to purchase the missed service credit later
  • If your condition becomes permanent, you may be eligible to apply for service-connected disability retirement

Talk with SCERS if you are unsure how your leave impacts your service credit or if you’re considering filing for disability retirement.

Military Leave

If you take a leave of absence for military service, you are protected under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

What this means:

  • Your SCERS membership is preserved while you are on active duty.
  • You may be eligible to restore full service credit for your time away if you return to work in a timely manner.
  • There is no cost for restoring this service credit.

Contact SCERS as soon as possible after returning from military leave to initiate the credit restoration process. Military Leave may not be used to meet retirement eligibility requirements. 

What You Should Do

  • Ask your employer for documentation confirming the type and dates of leave.
  • Submit a service credit purchase request promptly upon returning from an eligible leave.

SCERS can help you determine what action to take and what documentation is required.