{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-138","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-49-138","heading":"Military service credit","body":"A. Any member of a regularly constituted fire department of any\n\nmunicipality who is now serving or may hereafter serve in the Armed\n\nForces of the United States whether such service is voluntary or\n\ninvoluntary, who shall have been a member of such fire department at\n\nthe time of entering such service, shall be entitled to have the\n\nwhole of the time of such service applied under the provisions of\n\nSection 49-106 of this title, so far as the same applies to a\n\nservice pension; provided further, that the municipality shall\n\ncontinue its payment into said pension fund, to the same force and\n\neffect as though the member were in the actual service of such fire\n\ndepartment; provided, that any person who is eligible for such\n\nservice but who shall have volunteered for military or naval service\n\nfor a period not to exceed five (5) years shall likewise be entitled\n\nto all of the benefits of Sections 49-138 through 49-142 of this\n\ntitle for the full period of such service or enlistment; provided\n\nfurther, that only one such period of voluntary service shall be\n\nconsidered hereunder. If such person shall reenlist, unless\n\nrequired to do so by law, such person shall not thereafter be\n\nentitled to the provisions of this subsection. The provisions of\n\nthis subsection shall not apply where any such person dies during\n\nthe period of said service or enlistment, and shall not entitle the\n\nsurviving spouse or children to any benefits, and shall not apply to\n\nany member who shall have served on active duty (including initial\n\nactive duty) for training purposes only and/or inactive duty\n\ntraining.\n\nB. Effective February 1, 1997, credited service received\n\npursuant to this section or credited service for wartime military\n\nservice received as otherwise provided by law shall be used in\n\ndetermining the member's retirement benefit but shall not be used in\n\ndetermining years of service for retirement, vesting purposes or\n\neligibility for participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred\n\nOption Plan. For a member of the System hired on or after July 1,\n\n2003, if the military service credit authorized by this section is\n\nused to compute the retirement benefit of the member and the member\n\nretires from the System, such military service credit shall not be\n\nused to compute the retirement benefit in any other retirement\n\nsystem created pursuant to the Oklahoma Statutes and the member may\n\nreceive credit for such service only in the retirement system from\n\nwhich the member first retires.\n\nC. A member who retires or elects to participate in the\n\nOklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on or after July 1, 1998,\n\nshall be entitled to prior service credit, not to exceed five (5)\n\nyears, for those periods of military service on active duty prior to\n\nmembership in the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement\n\nSystem.\n\nFor purposes of this subsection, \"military service\" means\n\nservice in the Armed Forces of the United States by honorably\n\ndischarged persons during the following time periods, as reflected\n\non such person's Defense Department Form 214, as follows:\n\n1. During the following periods, including the beginning and\n\nending dates, and only for the periods served, from:\n\na. April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918, commonly referred\n\nto as World War I,\n\nb. September 16, 1940, to December 7, 1941, for members\n\nof the 45th Division,\n\nc. December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946, commonly\n\nreferred to as World War II,\n\nd. June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955, commonly referred\n\nto as the Korean Conflict or the Korean War,\n\ne. February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, commonly referred\n\nto as the Vietnam era, except that:\n\n(1) for the period from February 28, 1961, to August\n\n4, 1964, military service shall only include\n\nservice in the Republic of Vietnam during that\n\nperiod, and\ntes - Title 11. Cities and Towns Page 595\n\nd. June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955, commonly referred\n\nto as the Korean Conflict or the Korean War,\n\ne. February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, commonly referred\n\nto as the Vietnam era, except that:\n\n(1) for the period from February 28, 1961, to August\n\n4, 1964, military service shall only include\n\nservice in the Republic of Vietnam during that\n\nperiod, and\n\n(2) for purposes of determining eligibility for\n\neducation and training benefits, such period\n\nshall end on December 31, 1976, or\n\nf. August 1, 1990, to December 31, 1991, commonly\n\nreferred to as the Gulf War, the Persian Gulf War, or\n\nOperation Desert Storm, but excluding any person who\n\nserved on active duty for training only, unless\n\ndischarged from such active duty for a service-\n\nconnected disability;\n\n2. During a period of war or combat military operation other\n\nthan a conflict, war or era listed in paragraph 1 of this\n\nsubsection, beginning on the date of Congressional authorization,\n\nCongressional resolution, or Executive Order of the President of the\n\nUnited States, for the use of the Armed Forces of the United States\n\nin a war or combat military operation, if such war or combat\n\nmilitary operation lasted for a period of ninety (90) days or more,\n\nfor a person who served, and only for the period served, in the area\n\nof responsibility of the war or combat military operation, but\n\nexcluding a person who served on active duty for training only,\n\nunless discharged from such active duty for a service-connected\n\ndisability, and provided that the burden of proof of military\n\nservice during this period shall be with the member, who must\n\npresent appropriate documentation establishing such service.\n\nD. An eligible member pursuant to subsection C of this section\n\nshall include only those persons who shall have served during the\n\ntimes or in the areas prescribed in subsection C of this section,\n\nand only if such person provides appropriate documentation in such\n\ntime and manner as required by the System to establish such military\n\nservice prescribed in this section, or for service pursuant to\n\ndivision (1) of subparagraph e of paragraph 1 of subsection C of\n\nthis section, those persons who were awarded service medals, as\n\nauthorized by the United States Department of Defense as reflected\n\nin the veteran's Defense Department Form 214, related to the Vietnam\n\nConflict for service prior to August 5, 1964. The provisions of\n\nsubsection C of this section shall include military retirees, whose\n\nretirement was based only on active service, that have been rated as\n\nhaving twenty percent (20%) or greater service-connected disability\n\nby the Veterans Administration or the Armed Forces of the United\n\nStates. The provisions of subsection C of this section shall not\n\napply to any person who shall have served on active duty for\n\ntraining purposes only unless discharged from active duty for a\n\nservice-connected disability.\n\nE. A member of the System who served in the Armed Forces of the\n\nUnited States, or any component thereof, who was honorably\n\ndischarged from full-time active military service prior to becoming\n\na member of the System and whose full-time active duty military\n\nservice does not otherwise meet the qualifications for prior service\n\ncredit pursuant to subsections B through D of this section may\n\npurchase up to five (5) years of full-time active duty military\n\nprior service credit at the actuarial cost of service credit as\n\ndetermined by the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement\n\nSystem Board, pursuant to Section 7 of this act.\n\nThe service credit provided by this subsection shall be\n\nadministered pursuant to subsections B through D of this section,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, only full-time active duty military\n\nservice not for training-only purposes, unless discharged from\n\nactive duty for a service-connected disability, as reflected on the\nrs Pension and Retirement\n\nSystem Board, pursuant to Section 7 of this act.\n\nThe service credit provided by this subsection shall be\n\nadministered pursuant to subsections B through D of this section,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, only full-time active duty military\n\nservice not for training-only purposes, unless discharged from\n\nactive duty for a service-connected disability, as reflected on the\n\nmember's Defense Department Form 214, shall be considered for prior\n\nservice credit, and such prior service credit shall only be used in\n\ndetermining the member's retirement benefit but shall not be used in\n\ndetermining years of service for retirement, vesting purposes, or\n\neligibility for participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred\n\nOption Plan.\n\nF. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary:\n\n1. Contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to\n\nqualified military service shall be provided in accordance with\n\nSection 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,\n\nwhich is in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and\n\nReemployment Rights Act of 1994, as amended (USERRA); and\n\n2. Effective January 1, 2007, if any member dies while\n\nperforming qualified military service (as defined in Section 414(u)\n\nof the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), the survivors of\n\nthe member are entitled to any additional benefits (other than\n\nbenefits accruals relating to the period of qualified military\n\nservice) provided under the System had the member resumed and then\n\nterminated employment on account of death.\n\nG. Members or beneficiaries shall make application to the\n\nSystem for credited service related to wartime military service.\n\nInterest on additional benefits related to wartime military service\n\nowed by the System to a retired member or beneficiary as provided by\n\nlaw shall cease accruing one (1) year after the effective date the\n\nadditional benefits are payable by the System or July 1, 2000,\n\nwhichever is later, if the member has not applied to the System for\n\ncredited service related to such wartime military service.\n\nH. The purchase of prior military service credit pursuant to\n\nsubsections B, C, D, and G shall not, in the aggregate, exceed five\n\n(5) years of service credit.","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"c5bf9dbf3646481aac889cda4151c99d725ac590463ffcff19378920e596d8d7","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-135","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-138.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}