- Vested members can buy up to 48 months of service for any reason. PERSI accepts payment only in the 90 days before you retire, and it must be paid in full before retirement.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated); Member Handbook (2019), p. 45
- You pay the full actuarial cost. PERSI's examples: about $14,000 for 6 months and $110,000 or more for 48 months, depending on salary. Choice 401(k) money and other rollovers can be used.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated)
- Purchased service adds to your months of service and can help you reach the Rule of 90 sooner.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated)
What a year adds
Each 12 months adds 2% of your average monthly salary, a month. On $5,000 a month, that's $100 a month for life (our engine's arithmetic). Member Handbook (2019), p. 22; PERSI ACFR 2024 Summary of Plan Provisions, p. 8; PERSI FY2025 Financial Statements Note 1, p. 19 (2.0% for all members except police and fire) Bought months also count toward the Rule of 90, which can remove an early cut.
Paying for it, and the limits
- A purchase can't be undone. Under IRS rules, once PERSI accepts your payment, the money can't be refunded until you retire or leave employment.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated), When Can I Make a Purchase?
- You can pay with after-tax money (a personal or cashier's check) or pre-tax money rolled from the Choice 401(k), a 457 plan, a 403(b) or an IRA. All or part of a Choice 401(k) account can be used, whatever its source, if you are retiring and otherwise eligible.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated), How Much Does It Cost?; Using Your Choice Plan Account
- You can buy only service in your own class: general members buy general member (Class I) service. If your employer pays for a purchase, it must be one lump sum in the 90 days before you retire.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated), What Can I Purchase?; Employer Participation
- By Idaho Code, your PERSI benefit, including the part from a purchase, can't exceed your 3-year average salary at retirement. PERSI's website has a Purchase of Service calculator for estimates.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated), Purchase Limits; Estimating the Cost of a Purchase
- If you die, your beneficiary gets the rest of your purchase payment plus interest, but it isn't doubled like the regular death benefit. An employer's purchase payment isn't refunded as a death benefit.Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated), Death Benefits
The fine print
Vested members may buy up to 48 months of service for any reason. PERSI accepts payment only in the 90 days before retirement, and it must be paid in full before you retire. You pay the full actuarial cost (for example, about $14,000 for 6 months or $110,000 or more for 48 months, depending on salary). Choice 401(k) money and rollovers may be used. Purchased service may help reach the Rule of 90 sooner. Purchase payments are not doubled in the death benefit. Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer (undated); Member Handbook (2019), pp. 45-47; IDAPA 59.01.01.625-630
Use PERSI's own purchase-of-service calculator for a cost estimate. See One more year? to compare with working longer.
Questions
Can I buy service in PERSI?
Yes, if you're vested: up to 48 months, for any reason. You can pay only in the 90 days before you retire.
How much does it cost to buy PERSI service?
The full actuarial cost. PERSI's examples: about $14,000 for 6 months and $110,000 or more for 48 months, depending on salary.
Source: PERSI Member Handbook, Handbook revision July 2019, pp. 22, 45-47. Also: PERSI Purchasing Base Plan Service flyer; IDAPA 59.01.01; PERSI ACFR (FY2024); PERSI Financial Statements (FY2025); Idaho Code § 59-1362 (as PERSI quotes it). Last reviewed .