If you leave your job and terminate all covered employment before you are eligible to retire, you have two options for what to do with your contributions:

Requesting a refund

You can request a refund of your employee contributions plus the interest earned on your account. When you receive a refund, you give up your right to any future service or disability retirement benefit. You can generally roll over the account balance into an eligible retirement savings account, which defers taxes until you begin receiving the money. To request a refund, submit a Refund Request (Form 4101). You can submit your refund request immediately upon termination; however, by law, PEBA cannot pay your refund sooner than 90 days after your termination, and cannot pay it later than six months after the date of your request.

Leaving your funds in your account

When you leave your money in your account, your account will continue to earn 4% interest until it becomes inactive. An account is considered inactive when no contributions have been made to the account in the preceding fiscal year and no other active, correlated system or State ORP account exists. You retain your years of service credit, which can be added to any future service you may accrue should you later become employed in a position covered by one of the correlated retirement systems administered by PEBA. You can also apply for a refund at a later date or apply for a service retirement benefit upon reaching eligibility.

As an inactive member, it is your responsibility to keep PEBA informed of your current address, as well as any name or beneficiary changes, using the appropriate form.