The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us)



STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL


Opinion No. 5582

October 15, 1979

RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS:

Police

POLICE:

Retirement and Pensions

A police officer who was a member of the police department at the time of enactment of 1937 PA 345 is entitled to service credit for services performed as a special police officer prior to enactment of 1937 PA 345 where the officer worked part-time for compensation and exercised powers of a peace officer.

A member of the police retirement system shall be given service credit for the time absent from active service on account of sickness or injury; if the absence from active service is due to non-service connected sickness or injury, however, not more than 60 days of the absence shall be credited as service in any one calendar year. A member may not be penalized for any delay in applying for either the duty or non-duty disability pension.

Honorable Sal Rocca

State Representative

District 71

The Capitol

Lansing, Michigan 48909

You have requested my opinion with respect to the following questions:

1. Is a police officer who was a member of a police department at the time of the enactment of 1937 PA 345 entitled to service credit for services performed for the department as a 'special police officer' prior to the enactment of 1937 PA 345; said special officer having worked part-time without obligation to go on duty, and having been compensated at an hourly rate less than that of a full-time police officer, and having exercised the powers of a peace officer while on duty?

2. If the answer to question number one is affirmative, how should service performed as a special officer be computed to the credit of the member for retirement purposes?

3. If a member of the police department's retirement system is absent from work due to illness for a period of time prior to filing an application for retirement, is he entitled to service credit for any time during that period with respect to which he was not on the department's payroll?

Responding to the first question, in Fire Fighters v Pension Board, 70 Mich App 599, 246 NW2d 151 (1976); the Court of Appeals, in interpreting 1937 PA 345, Sec. 4, as last amended by 1958 PA 159; MCLA 38.554; MSA 5.3375, held that individuals who were full-time firefighters at the time of the enactment of 1937 PA 345, were entitled to credit for services performed for the city or its predecessor township as paid, part-time, volunteer fire fighters prior to the adoption of the pension system. MCLA 38.551 et seq; MSA 5.3375 et seq is equally applicable to both firemen and policemen. The 'special police officer' referred to in your question was paid for his service and exercised the powers of a peace officer in the performance of those services. Therefore, if he was a member of the police department subsequent to the enactment of 1937 PA 345, he is entitled to service credit for services performed as a 'special police officer' prior to the enactment of 1937 PA 345.

Answering question two, in computing a member's regular retirement pension, service performed as a special officer prior to the adoption of a retirement system is to be treated the same way as any other service rendered to the department; it is simply added to service credit otherwise acquired. It is to be noted, however, that only complete years of service credit are to be used in computing a member's pension with respect to the first 25 years of service credit; fractions of a year are to be used in such computations only with respect to service rendered by a member in excess of 25 years. MCLA 38.556(e); MSA 5.3375(6)(e).

As to your final question, MCLA 38.556(d) and (e); MSA 5.3375(6)(d) and (e) provide that an application for either a duty or non-duty disability retirement may be submitted to the retirement board by either the affected member or his department head. MCLA 38.556(g); MSA 5.3375(6)(g) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

'. . . a member shall be given service credit for the time he is absent from active service without full pay on account of sickness or injury. If the absence from active service is due to non-service connected sickness or injury, not more than 60 days of the absence shall be credited as service in any one calendar year, as determined by the board.'

It is therefore my opinion that a member may not be penalized for any delay in applying for either a duty or non-duty disability pension.

Frank J. Kelley

Attorney General