§ 11-49-138. Military service credit.

A.  Any member of a regularly constituted fire department of any municipality who is now serving or may hereafter serve in the Armed Forces of the United States whether such service is voluntary or involuntary, who shall have been a member of such fire department at the time of entering such service, shall be entitled to have the whole of the time of such service applied under the provisions of Section 49-106 of this title, so far as the same applies to a service pension; provided further, that the municipality shall continue its payment into said pension fund, to the same force and effect as though the member were in the actual service of such fire department; provided, that any person who is eligible for such service but who shall have volunteered for military or naval service for a period not to exceed five (5) years shall likewise be entitled to all of the benefits of Sections 49-138 through 49-142 of this title for the full period of such service or enlistment; provided further, that only one such period of voluntary service shall be considered hereunder.  If such person shall reenlist, unless required to do so by law, such person shall not thereafter be entitled to the provisions of this subsection.  The provisions of this subsection shall not apply where any such person dies during the period of said service or enlistment, and shall not entitle the surviving spouse or children to any benefits, and shall not apply to any member who shall have served on active duty (including initial active duty) for training purposes only and/or inactive duty training.

B.  Effective February 1, 1997, credited service received pursuant to this section or credited service for wartime military service received as otherwise provided by law shall be used in determining the member’s retirement benefit but shall not be used in determining years of service for retirement, vesting purposes or eligibility for participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan.  For a member of the System hired on or after July 1, 2003, if the military service credit authorized by this section is used to compute the retirement benefit of the member and the member retires from the System, such military service credit shall not be used to compute the retirement benefit in any other retirement system created pursuant to the Oklahoma Statutes and the member may receive credit for such service only in the retirement system from which the member first retires.

C.  A member who retires or elects to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on or after July 1, 1998, shall be entitled to prior service credit, not to exceed five (5) years, for those periods of military service on active duty prior to membership in the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System.

For purposes of this subsection, “military service” means service in the Armed Forces of the United States by honorably discharged persons during the following time periods, as reflected on such person’s Defense Department Form 214, as follows:

1.  During the following periods, including the beginning and ending dates, and only for the periods served, from:

a.April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918, commonly referred to as World War I,

b.September 16, 1940, to December 7, 1941, for members of the 45th Division,

c.December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946, commonly referred to as World War II,

d.June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955, commonly referred to as the Korean Conflict or the Korean War,

e.February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, commonly referred to as the Vietnam era, except that:

(1)for the period from February 28, 1961, to August 4, 1964, military service shall only include service in the Republic of Vietnam during that period, and

(2)for purposes of determining eligibility for education and training benefits, such period shall end on December 31, 1976, or

f.August 1, 1990, to December 31, 1991, commonly referred to as the Gulf War, the Persian Gulf War, or Operation Desert Storm, but excluding any person who served on active duty for training only, unless discharged from such active duty for a service-connected disability;

2.  During a period of war or combat military operation other than a conflict, war or era listed in paragraph 1 of this subsection, beginning on the date of Congressional authorization, Congressional resolution, or Executive Order of the President of the United States, for the use of the Armed Forces of the United States in a war or combat military operation, if such war or combat military operation lasted for a period of ninety (90) days or more, for a person who served, and only for the period served, in the area of responsibility of the war or combat military operation, but excluding a person who served on active duty for training only, unless discharged from such active duty for a service-connected disability, and provided that the burden of proof of military service during this period shall be with the member, who must present appropriate documentation establishing such service.

D.  An eligible member pursuant to subsection C of this section shall include only those persons who shall have served during the times or in the areas prescribed in subsection C of this section, and only if such person provides appropriate documentation in such time and manner as required by the System to establish such military service prescribed in this section, or for service pursuant to division (1) of subparagraph e of paragraph 1 of subsection C of this section, those persons who were awarded service medals, as authorized by the United States Department of Defense as reflected in the veteran’s Defense Department Form 214, related to the Vietnam Conflict for service prior to August 5, 1964.  The provisions of subsection C of this section shall include military retirees, whose retirement was based only on active service, that have been rated as having twenty percent (20%) or greater service-connected disability by the Veterans Administration or the Armed Forces of the United States.  The provisions of subsection C of this section shall not apply to any person who shall have served on active duty for training purposes only unless discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability.

E.  Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary:

1.  Contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which is in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, as amended (USERRA); and

2.  Effective January 1, 2007, if any member dies while performing qualified military service (as defined in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), the survivors of the member are entitled to any additional benefits (other than benefits accruals relating to the period of qualified military service) provided under the System had the member resumed and then terminated employment on account of death.

F.  Members or beneficiaries shall make application to the System for credited service related to wartime military service.  Interest on additional benefits related to wartime military service owed by the System to a retired member or beneficiary as provided by law shall cease accruing one (1) year after the effective date the additional benefits are payable by the System or July 1, 2000, whichever is later, if the member has not applied to the System for credited service related to such wartime military service.

Added by Laws 1977, c. 256, § 49-138, eff. July 1, 1978.  Amended by Laws 1991, c. 125, § 3, emerg. eff. April 29, 1991; Laws 1997, c. 237, § 1, emerg. eff. May 23, 1997; Laws 1998, c. 192, § 1, eff. July 1, 1998; Laws 1999, c. 193, § 7, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 327, § 14, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2003, c. 406, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2004, c. 302, § 1, emerg. eff. May 13, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 203, § 4, emerg. eff. May 20, 2005; Laws 2010, c. 438, § 9, emerg. eff. June 9, 2010.