@jzotto - that august, 1989 date was the date of the North Carolina Supreme Court ruling. By 'creditable service' is just means you have had to be vested for the pension as of that date. And since most all pensions vest after 5 years of service, you would have had to begin your job by August 12, 1984 to be eligible under Bailey, meaning NC would not tax your pension.
Now, one other thing to note, beginning in 2021, North Carolina also began exempting US military pensions from NC tax, as long as you had 20 years of service. A pension from the Federal Government by itself doesn't qualify; it has to be a military pension from the federal government to qualify.
