Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB209: SB209 Teachers Retirement System of Georgia; members of the Public School Employees Retirement System to make an irrevocable election to become members; permit certain persons

Last action March 6, 2026 · Senate Tabled

A Senate bill would let certain public school support employees, such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and custodians, permanently switch from the Public School Employees Retirement System into the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, but only if their employer agrees to offer the choice.

In plain language

Right now, many public school support workers such as bus drivers, lunchroom staff, maintenance workers, and custodians are placed in the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) rather than the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS). This bill would let eligible employees make a one-time, irrevocable election to join TRS instead, but only if their local school system or technical college first agrees to become a 'participating employer' offering that choice. New employees hired on or after January 2, 2027 would have 30 days after starting work to elect TRS membership. Current PSERS members would get a similar 30-day window around January 1, 2027, or after their employer opts in. Employees who switch cannot transfer their PSERS service credit into TRS, and those with ten or more years of PSERS service could withdraw their contributions or leave them in the fund to keep vested rights. The whole Act only takes effect July 1, 2026 if state actuaries certify it is 'concurrently funded' under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise it is automatically repealed that same date.

What the bill does

Creates a new option (O.C.G.A. § 47-3-69) allowing certain employees who would otherwise be PSERS members to make an irrevocable, one-time election to join the Teachers Retirement System instead.
Requires local school systems and technical colleges to first elect to become 'participating employers' before their employees can be offered this choice, and that employer election also cannot be revoked.
Bars any employee who switches to TRS from transferring their existing PSERS creditable service into the new system.
Sets three different 30-day election windows depending on whether the employee is newly hired, already a PSERS member, or works for an employer that later opts in.
Requires local units of administration and technical colleges to notify eligible employees of the election option and provide the forms to exercise it.
Makes the entire Act contingent on a 'concurrent funding' certification; if that certification does not happen, the law never takes effect and is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.

Who it affects

Public school support employees currently covered by PSERS, including school bus drivers, lunchroom staff, maintenance workers, custodians, and warehouse personnel; local boards of education and technical colleges that must decide whether to become participating employers; and the boards of trustees of both TRS and PSERS, which must process elections and notices.

Why it matters

For affected school employees, this could mean permanently trading one state pension system for another, with different contribution rules and no ability to carry over prior service credit. Because participation depends on employer buy-in and a funding certification, the actual availability and financial impact would vary by school district and depend on whether the state confirms the change is properly funded.

Key provisions

Section 1 revises the definition of 'teacher' in O.C.G.A. § 47-3-1 to include employees who made the irrevocable election into TRS under the new provisions.
Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 47-3-69, requiring electing employees to begin TRS contributions and barring them from claiming creditable service beyond actual TRS membership and military service.
Section 3 revises the definition of 'public school employee' in O.C.G.A. § 47-4-2 to reference the new election options.
Section 4 adds subsections (f), (g), and (h) to O.C.G.A. § 47-4-40, creating separate election windows for new hires, current PSERS members as of January 1, 2027, and employees of employers that later opt in, and specifies rules for withdrawing or preserving PSERS contributions based on years of service.
Section 4 also adds subsection (i), defining 'participating employer' and requiring employers to notify TRS and PSERS once they elect to participate.
Section 5 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026 only if it is certified as concurrently funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (Chapter 20 of Title 47); otherwise it is automatically repealed that date.

Status timeline

2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
2025-02-20Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-19Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

public employee pensions
teacher retirement
school support staff
state retirement systems