Redepositing allows you to restore any service credit lost if you took a refund of your contributions. If you return to teaching or other CalSTRS-covered employment, or if you are a member of another California public retirement system, you may restore past Defined Benefit refunded service credit by redepositing your refunded contributions plus interest.
You may choose to restore a portion, rather than all, of the service credit you lost when you took a refund. The more time between your refund and redeposit, the higher the cost to redeposit.
You may not redeposit refunded Defined Benefit Supplement contributions and interest.
Before you are eligible for CalSTRS benefits, you must have earned at least one year of service credit after you received the most recent refund of accumulated retirement contributions and have at least five years of service credit, unless you are retiring concurrently with another California public retirement system.
Your redeposit purchase must be paid in full before your retirement date.
Redepositing does not re-establish your earlier membership date or benefits that may have been available to you before you received a refund. An exception: You will not be subject to the Pension Reform Act of 2013 if you were first hired to perform CalSTRS creditable activities before January 1, 2013. You will remain a member under the CalSTRS 2% at 60 benefit structure.
In some community property settlements, your service credit, contributions and interest are divided to create a separate account for your former spouse or registered domestic partner. If your former spouse or partner takes a refund of his or her account, you can choose to restore all or a portion of the service credit awarded to your former spouse or partner. However, you may not redeposit the Defined Benefit Supplement contributions and interest refunded by your former spouse or partner.
Cost to redeposit
The cost to redeposit and the benefits you will receive from restoring service credit will vary depending on your individual situation.
For example, a teacher who withdrew $10,000 (representing three years of service credit) in May 1993 and wanted to purchase those years of credit in May 2012 would be required to redeposit $31,799.
Former Local Service members
If you have Local Service credit listed on your Retirement Progress Report, it will not be fully funded. You will receive up to $2.40 per year of Local Service credit toward your retirement benefit. To fully fund this service, contact CalSTRS.
