Skip to main content

Parental Leave

Eligibility

 You may purchase up to 5 years of service credit if you reduced your hours or had a break in service for parental leave.

Parental leave is (1) the active participation or supervision in the day-to-day, ongoing care of your child by birth or adoption; or (2) a pregnancy, whether brought to full term or not, childbirth, and recuperation.

Conditions

  • You may purchase service for a period in which you stopped working or reduced the hours you worked for the State of Michigan for parental leave. 
  • You may purchase service for a period in which you stopped working for a participating Michigan public school for parental leave, and you returned to work for the state. 
  • If you have transferred your Michigan public school service credit to this retirement system, you may purchase service if you reduced your hours of school employment or had a break in your school employment for parental leave. For information on transferring public school credit, see Public School
  • This service cannot be used to satisfy vesting requirements.
  • You cannot purchase more than 10 years total from any combination of universal buy-in, parental leave, or other governmental service.
  • You must be a contributing member of the Defined Benefit Plan to initiate a purchase.

Cost

Your cost for each year purchased is an actuarial percentage that is based on your age and earned years of service multiplied by your highest previous fiscal year (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30) wages earned as a State of Michigan employee. You may purchase any fraction of a year increment. 

Application

Submit a Parental Leave Service Credit Application (R0126G) form to the Michigan Office of Retirement Services with a copy of your child's birth certificate or final adoption papers. For more information on how to purchase service credit, see How to Purchase.