Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: The MainePERS State Member Handbook lists categories of service a member may be eligible to buy, each with a stated maximum: for example 4 years of active military service, 10 years of out-of-state service, 5 years of non-military federal service, and no limit on refunded or non-contributory MainePERS service. The handbook adds that specific eligibility and verification requirements apply and sends members to the Retirement Services Division.
What this covers
The handbook has a section headed “Additional Service Credit Available for Purchase”. It is a table of the kinds of service a member may buy and the most of each kind. A separate section lists credit a member receives without buying it. This page follows both and quotes them.
For the wider set of MainePERS choices, see MainePERS retirement decisions and public pension retirement decisions.
Who it applies to
The text is written for a state employee member and begins “You may be eligible to purchase additional service credit in the following categories.” It then adds a condition: “There are specific eligibility and verification requirements to make these purchases.”
The categories, one by one
Each right-hand cell is the handbook table row as the handbook prints it: the description, then the maximum purchase.
| Category | What the handbook says |
|---|---|
| Active military | “Active duty military service before you became a MainePERS member 4 Years” |
| Out-of-state service | “Service earned working for a state other than Maine 10 Years” |
| Non-contributory MainePERS | “Time that you worked in MainePERS-covered employment before you became a MainePERS member No Limit” |
| Refunded service | “service time that you have previously refunded No Limit” |
| Private or parochial teaching | “Time that you were a teacher in a parochial school, or public or private academy 10 Years” |
| Teacher prior service | “Time that you taught in Maine’s public schools before July 1, 1947, the date that MainePERS began to cover Maine’s public school teachers No Limit” |
| Non-military federal service | “Time you worked as a non-military, public employee for the United States government 5 Years” |
| Head Start | “Time that you worked in one of Maine’s Head Start programs 2 Years” |
| Fulbright Exchange | “Time that you were a member of the Fulbright Exchange Program 2 Years” |
| CETA | “Employment under the U.S. Comprehensive Employment and Training Act No Limit” |
| VISTA | “Time that you were a member of Volunteers in Service to America 2 Years” |
| Peace Corps | “Time that you were a member of the Peace Corps 2 Years” |
| Foreign teaching | “Time during which you taught children of United States Foreign Service Corps personnel or United States armed forces personnel 2 Years” |
| Teacher’s aide | “Time that you were employed as a teacher’s aide or Educational Technician in Maine’s public schools prior to becoming a ‘teacher.’ No Limit” |
| Furlough or shutdown lost earnings | “State employees only: earnings and/or service that was lost due to State mandated furlough or shutdown days. No Limit” |
| Maine Educational Leave Act | “State employees only: time that you were on an unpaid or partially paid educational leave under the Maine Educational Leave Act. No Limit” |
Credit you receive without buying
A different section, “RECEIVING ADDITIONAL SERVICE CREDIT”, names situations that carry credit on their own. For military service it says that if a member stops work to enter military service, the “discharge from this service is not dishonorable”, and the member returns to covered employment within 90 days after leaving the service, the member “may receive credit for up to 5 years of such military service.” That credit is granted “provided you meet all other eligibility requirements and you do not withdraw your MainePERS contributions.” For unpaid leave it says “You will continue to earn up to 30 days of creditable service per year for unpaid leaves of absence from your MainePERS-covered employer.” On final termination before retirement a member “will receive service credit for up to 90 days of unused and unpaid sick and/or vacation leave for which you are credited by your employer”.
What the handbook does not say
The handbook table prints no price for any purchase. What a purchase costs is a question for MainePERS, and whether the credit pays for itself is a separate one; see whether buying service credit is worth it and the pension buyback calculator.
Edition
This page reads the MainePERS State Member Handbook as the Maine Public Employees Retirement System served it on 2026-10-21. It speaks to state employee members; teachers, legislators, judges and local-district employees can have different provisions, and the plan documents control over this summary. The state tax treatment of the pension itself is on whether Maine taxes pensions.
Common mistakes
- Assuming every category can be bought in full. Each row has its own cap, such as “Service earned working for a state other than Maine 10 Years” for out-of-state service.
- Mixing up credit that is bought with credit that is granted. Military credit appears in both lists with different limits, 4 years to buy and up to 5 years when the member returns within 90 days and the discharge is not dishonorable.
- Skipping the paperwork. The handbook says “There are specific eligibility and verification requirements to make these purchases.”
Related: MainePERS retirement decisions, whether buying service credit is worth it, and pension buyback calculator.
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Answer againSources
- MainePERS State Member Handbook (Maine Public Employees Retirement System): www.mainepers.org
- Related official page (not quoted): MainePERS, Disability Retirement: www.mainepers.org
- Related official page (not quoted): Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 421 (MainePERS general provisions): legislature.maine.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Retirement topics: Disability: www.irs.gov
Read from the pension system handbooks linked above on October 21, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a pension system or a qualified professional is the right place to confirm anything consequential.