Planning on taking time off to study, travel or stay home with your newborn? Whatever the reason, if you take a leave of absence, you may be eligible to buy back credit for the time you are away.

 

Buying back credit maximizes the value of your pension. And, if you buy back a school year in which you had no previous credit, you may be able to retire earlier.

 

Your credit is the actual time (years, months and days) you have contributed to your pension. Missing a year's credit now means one less year of credit when calculating your pension. The more credit you accumulate, the greater your pension.