HB338: HB338 State Law Enforcement Officer Plan' or 'SLEO Plan'; enact

Georgia's Employees' Retirement System (O.C.G.A. Title 47, Chapter 2) currently covers many state law enforcement officers under standard retirement rules. This bill would add a new optional plan, called the State Law Enforcement Officer Plan or 'SLEO Plan,' for officers working at a long list of specific state agencies, including the Department of Corrections, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Natural Resources, and about twenty others. Officers who choose to join, called electing officers, would have 90 days from becoming eligible or from July 1, 2026 (whichever is later) to make an irrevocable choice. They would contribute 5 percent of their pay and earn benefits on a rising schedule tied to years of service, up to 25 years. Officers who keep working past 25 years would have their monthly benefits deposited into a new Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) account that earns interest until they retire. No one can retire under this plan before July 1, 2031. The whole Act only takes effect if state actuaries certify it is properly funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise it is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.

• Creates a new optional retirement plan, the State Law Enforcement Officer Plan (SLEO Plan), inside the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia.
• Lets eligible state law enforcement officers at listed agencies make a one-time, irrevocable election to join the plan within 90 days of eligibility or by July 1, 2026.
• Sets officer contributions at 5 percent of pay and creates a tiered benefit schedule that grows with years of creditable service up to 25 years.
• Establishes a Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) account that holds an officer's monthly benefits, with interest, if they keep working past 25 years instead of retiring.
• Bars anyone from retiring under the plan before July 1, 2031, and denies enhanced benefits to officers who try to retire earlier.
• Updates the legal definition of 'state law enforcement officer' (O.C.G.A. § 47-2-1) to list the specific state agencies whose sworn officers qualify.

Sworn, certified state law enforcement officers at around 25 named Georgia agencies, including the Department of Corrections, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Public Safety, and the Board of Pardons and Paroles, along with the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, which would administer the new plan.

Officers at the listed agencies would gain the option to trade their current retirement plan for one with different contribution rates, a tiered benefit formula, and a DROP account that lets them keep earning benefits past 25 years without retiring. The choice is permanent once made, and no one can retire under it before July 1, 2031.

• Section 1 revises the definition of 'state law enforcement officer' (O.C.G.A. § 47-2-1) to list roughly 25 specific state agencies whose sworn, POST-certified officers qualify.
• Section 2 creates Article 11 of Chapter 2, Title 47, establishing the SLEO Plan and requiring an irrevocable written election within 90 days of eligibility or by July 1, 2026.
• New Code Section 47-2-401(d) bars any electing officer from retiring under the plan before July 1, 2031, or they lose the enhanced benefits.
• New Code Section 47-2-402 sets a 5 percent contribution rate and a tiered monthly benefit schedule rising from 10 percent of average final compensation at 10 years to added percentages through 25 years of service.
• New Code Section 47-2-403 creates individual DROP accounts that hold monthly benefit payments with interest for officers who keep working past 25 years, payable as a lump sum, partial lump sum, or annuity at retirement.
• Section 3 makes the entire Act effective July 1, 2026 only if it is certified as funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47); otherwise the Act is automatically repealed that same date.

1. 2025-02-11House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-10House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-06House Hopper (House)

• John Carson (R, HD-046)Primary sponsor
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)

• state employee retirement
• law enforcement benefits
• public pensions
• Georgia state agencies
• retirement plan election