I am an employee of the state of Nevada. On May 1, I will start my 4th year of employment. I will be vested in the PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) for the state when I hit 5 years of employment. I reckon I will be working for at least the next 3 decades, possibly (probably) for the state.

I have the option to purchase additional service credit -- up to 5 years worth -- at the cost of 1/3 annual salary per year of service credit. If I choose to do this, the longer I wait, the more it will cost me. (Right now, 1 year would be just under 9000 dollars. I can make lump sum payments or I can have additional money taken from my paycheck.)

According to the PERS representitive, PERS of Nevada is one of the soundest, best managed programs in the nation, with assets of $13.4 Billion. (And how do I check this out -- the part about PERS NV being so well managed and run.)

Yes, I DO, have other retirement plans going. I have an IRA account, a Roth IRA account, and I just opened my 403b plan.

Purchase extra service credit, or invest extra in my 403b?