Section 36-27-54 Purchase of Credit by Certain Employees of Alabama State Docks Terminal Railway; Waiver of Federal Railroad Retirement Benefits; Termination Date.

(a) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, any member of the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama who has 10 or more years of creditable service in the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama immediately prior to October 1, 1990 and who is employed by the State of Alabama at the time this bill becomes law, may hereby claim and purchase credit within the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama for all the time which such member has served as an employee of the Alabama State Docks and was paid through the Alabama State Docks Terminal Railway payroll and for which he is not otherwise eligible for credit in the Employees’ Retirement System or any other retirement plan funded in whole or in part by the state except under the United States Social Security Act. (b) Any member eligible to claim and purchase such credit for service under subsection (a) of this section shall be awarded creditable service in the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama provided he or she shall pay into the system prior to said member’s date of retirement or prior to April 1, 1991, whichever occurs first, a sum of money which is equal to a percentage of his current annual compensation or average final salary, whichever is higher; the applicable percentage of said annual compensation or average final salary, whichever is higher, shall be the sum of the prevailing percentage rates of employer and member contributions as required by the most recent actuarial valuation for each year of service credit under the provisions of this section. (c) In order to receive credit in the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama as described in subsection (a) of this section, the member shall waive any and all benefits for which he is presently eligible, or may become eligible in the future, under federal railroad retirement law. A member’s failure to waive these benefits will prohibit any credit of prior service by the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama. Under no circumstances shall a person receive benefits from more than one pension plan for the same employment service. (d) The provisions of this section that allow credit by the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama for prior Alabama State Docks Terminal Railway service shall terminate on April 1, 1991, and no one shall be eligible to utilize any of the options granted herein if not fully exercised and paid prior to April 1, 1991.