HB773: HB773 Retirement and pensions; permit certain persons to make an irrevocable election to become members of the Teachers Retirement System

Right now, many non-teaching public school employees, such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers, maintenance staff, and custodians, are required to be members of the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) rather than the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS). HB773 would give two groups of these employees a one-time, irrevocable choice to join TRS instead. New employees hired on or after September 2, 2026 would have ten days after starting work to elect TRS membership. Current PSERS members as of September 1, 2026 would also get to make this election; those with ten or more years of PSERS service could withdraw their contributions or leave them in the fund and keep vested rights, while those with less than ten years would have to withdraw their contributions and leave PSERS. In all cases, no PSERS creditable service could be transferred into TRS. The law would only take effect July 1, 2026 if state actuaries certify it is funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise it is automatically repealed that same day.

• Creates a new Code Section 47-3-69 letting eligible public school employees become Teachers Retirement System (TRS) members through an irrevocable election.
• Gives new employees hired on or after September 2, 2026 a ten-day window after starting work to elect TRS membership instead of the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS).
• Gives current PSERS members as of September 1, 2026 a one-time option to switch permanently to TRS, with different withdrawal rules depending on years of service.
• Bars anyone who elects to move to TRS from transferring their existing PSERS creditable service into the TRS system.
• Requires local school districts and technical colleges to notify eligible employees of the election option and provide the required paperwork.
• Makes the entire Act contingent on state funding certification, automatically repealing it on July 1, 2026 if that certification does not happen.

Public school support employees such as bus drivers, lunchroom workers, maintenance staff, and custodians who currently must join PSERS; new hires in those roles starting after September 2, 2026; local school districts and technical colleges, which must administer the elections; and the trustees of both the TRS and PSERS retirement funds.

Employees currently locked into PSERS would gain a path to the Teachers Retirement System, which could offer different benefits, but the choice is permanent and does not carry over past years of service credit. Some longtime employees could lose retirement credit if they switch, changing their future pension calculations.

• Section 1 revises the definition of 'teacher' in O.C.G.A. § 47-3-1 to include people who make the new irrevocable election into TRS under proposed Code Section 47-3-69.
• Section 2 creates Code Section 47-3-69, requiring anyone who elects TRS membership to start paying TRS employee contributions once they join.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-4-2's definition of 'public school employee' to reflect the new election options under Code Section 47-4-40.
• Section 4 adds subsection (f) letting new employees hired on or after September 2, 2026 elect TRS membership within ten days of employment.
• Section 4 adds subsection (g) letting existing PSERS members as of September 1, 2026 elect TRS membership, with withdrawal rules split by whether they have ten or more years of PSERS service.
• Neither new election option allows any transfer of PSERS creditable service into TRS.
• Section 5 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026 only if funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (Chapter 20 of Title 47); otherwise it is automatically repealed that date.

1. 2025-03-20House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-13House Hopper (House)

• Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-061)Primary sponsor
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Rhonda Burnough (D, HD-077)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)

• public employee pensions
• teacher retirement system
• school support staff
• state retirement law