HB905: HB905 Employees' Retirement System; any member shall be eligible to transfer funds to Judicial Retirement System; provide

Current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 47-23-64) lets superior court judges, state court judges, solicitors-general, and district attorneys who used to belong to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia move their old contributions into the Georgia Judicial Retirement System when they take a covered job. This bill broadens that rule so that any member of the Judicial Retirement System who was previously in the Employees' Retirement System can make that transfer, not just the specific job titles listed before. The bill also updates the deadline for members to notify both retirement systems' boards of trustees, moving it from December 31, 2002 to December 31, 2026, or 90 days after joining the new system or entering a covered position, whichever is later. The change would only take effect July 1, 2026 if state officials certify it is 'concurrently funded' under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; if not certified, the bill automatically repeals itself on that same date.

• Expands eligibility to transfer retirement contributions from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia to the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, from a limited list of judicial and prosecutorial titles to any member of the Judicial Retirement System.
• Updates the notification deadline for members wanting to transfer funds from December 31, 2002 to December 31, 2026, or 90 days after joining the new system, whichever is later.
• Makes the change effective July 1, 2026 only if it is certified as concurrently funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47).
• Automatically repeals the entire Act on July 1, 2026 if that funding certification is not made, so the change would never take effect.

Members of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System who previously worked in state jobs covered by the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, including superior court judges, state court judges, solicitors-general, and district attorneys, plus any other Judicial Retirement System members who would newly qualify to transfer funds.

People moving from state government jobs into judicial or prosecutorial positions could carry over retirement contributions they already built up, potentially boosting their pension credit in the Judicial Retirement System, but only if state officials confirm the change would not create an unfunded liability.

• Section 1 revises paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 47-23-64 to allow 'any' member of the Judicial Retirement System who was previously in the Employees' Retirement System to transfer contributions, removing the limitation to specific judicial and prosecutorial titles.
• Section 1 also resets the notification deadline for members to elect a transfer to December 31, 2026, or within 90 days of joining the Judicial Retirement System or entering a covered position, whichever is later.
• Section 2 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026 only if certified as concurrently funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20, Title 47), and requires automatic repeal on that date if not certified.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
3. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)
4. 2025-04-02House Hopper (House)

• Gary Richardson (R, HD-125)Primary sponsor
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)

• public employee retirement
• judicial retirement system
• state pensions
• retirement fund transfers