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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. 5989 October 7, 1981 RETIREMENT SYSTEMS: Judges' retirement system--credit for retirant's service in legislative retirement system Absent legislative authorization, a retirant from the legislative retirement system may not relinquish his or her rights to a retirement allowance payable under that act in order to qualify for additional benefits pursuant to the judges' retirement system act. Honorable Harold M. Ryan Circuit Judge Third Judicial Circuit 510 Lafayette Building Detroit, Michigan 48226 You have requested my opinion whether you may purchase credit in the judges' retirement system for your years of service as a legislator if you relinquish all rights to benefits under the legislative retirement system and repay all pension benefits already received from that system since June 1, 1971. The judges' retirement system is governed by 1951 PA 198, MCLA 38.801 et seq; MSA 27.125(1) et seq. Section 10(1) of 1951 PA 198, supra, provides: 'A person who is a member by reason of being constitutional court administrator, governor . . . or as a former elected state official who had received an annual state salary for service performed in the elected state office during the period for which credit is being claimed, shall not receive credit for service performed before the date of membership in the retirement system until the member pays into the annuity savings fund an amount equal to the amount the member's accumulated contributions would have been had the member been a member and until the member relinquishes for himself or herself and the member's beneficiaries, all rights in and to a pension or annuity for the same period of service claimed payable from funds appropriated by a public supported retirement system. The accumulated contributions paid into the annuity savings fund for those years of prior service performed shall be 7% of the state salary paid to circuit court judges during those years of prior service for which credit is applies. . . .' If a member of the judges' retirement system relinquishes all rights in the other public supported retirement system and makes the appropriate contribution, 1951 PA 198, Sec. 10(1), supra, will credit the member for the same period of service for which the member was eligible for retirement credit in the other retirement system. As concluded in an August 20, 1980 letter opinion to Mr. Steven Van Note, Director of the Bureau of Retirement Systems, 1951 PA 198, supra, has not, however, established any procedure for relinquishing all rights in another public supported retirement system. As in my August 20, 1980 letter opinion to Mr. Van Note, it is then appropriate to examine the act establishing the other public supported retirement system. The Michigan Legislative Retirement System Act, 1957 PA 261; MCLA 38.1001 et seq; MSA 2.169(1) et seq, governs the legislative retirement system. 1957 PA 261, Sec. 55(1), supra, authorizes a participant of the system, who is no longer a member, to withdraw all of his or her contributions in the participants savings fund. A member of the judges' retirement system who is not a retirant from the legislative retirement system may, thus, satisfy the requirements of 1951 PA 198, Sec. 10(1), supra, by withdrawing his or her contributions in the legislative retirement system's participants savings fund and making the appropriate contributions to the judges' retirement system. (1) There is no comparable provision in the Michigan Legislative Retirement System Act, supra, authorizing a retirant from the legislative retirement system to relinquish all rights to a retirement allowance payable under that act. Faced with a similar lack of statutory authority in the Probate Judges' Retirement Act, (2) my letter opinion to Mr. Van Note concluded that a retirant from the probate judges' retirement system may not relinquish his or her right to a retirement allowance payable by that system and, thus, could not earn increased retirement credit in the judges' retirement system for that service. See also, 2 OAG, 1956, No 2674, p 497 (August 27, 1956). It is my opinion, therefore, that, absent legislative authorization, a retirant from the legislative retirement system may not relinquish his or her rights to a retirement allowance payable under that act in order to qualify for additional benefits pursuant to 1951 PA 198, Sec. 10(1), supra. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General (1)
"Participant' means any eligible member who is participating in the system.'
1957 PA 261, Sec. 13, supra, provides:
"Retirant' means a person receiving a retirement allowance from this system.'
(2)
1954 PA 165; MCLA 38.901 et seq; MSA 27.3178(60.1) et seq.
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