HB 1113: Georgia Defined Contribution Plan; exclude part-time students from membership

Georgia's Defined Contribution Plan is a retirement savings plan for state employees who are not part of another public retirement system. Current law already excludes full-time students working for a school, college, or state institution from counting as an 'employee' eligible for the plan. This bill amends O.C.G.A. § 47-22-1 to add part-time students to that exclusion. Under the change, any person performing services for an institution while duly enrolled as a part-time or full-time student would not be considered an employee for purposes of this retirement plan, meaning they could not join or accrue benefits in it. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific effective date beyond the standard process for bills becoming law.

• Amends the definition of 'employee' in the Georgia Defined Contribution Plan law (O.C.G.A. § 47-22-1) to add part-time students to the existing exclusion for full-time students.
• Prevents part-time students working for a state institution from being counted as plan members or accruing retirement benefits under this specific plan.
• Leaves the existing exclusions for independent contractors and state board or commission members unchanged.
• Repeals any prior laws that conflict with this new exclusion.

Part-time students who work for state institutions, the State Board of Education, or the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia while enrolled in classes, since they would no longer be eligible for this retirement plan. State agencies and universities managing student employment and payroll would also apply the updated definition.

Part-time student workers at Georgia state institutions would be treated the same as full-time student workers: excluded from the Georgia Defined Contribution Plan. This could affect payroll deductions and retirement benefit eligibility for students who work part time while attending school.

• Section 1 rewrites the definition section of the plan (O.C.G.A. § 47-22-1) to insert 'part-time or' before 'full-time student' in the exclusion for students performing services for an institution.
• The definitions for 'accumulated contributions,' 'board,' 'defined contribution plan,' 'employer,' 'member,' and 'plan year' remain unchanged from current law.
• Section 2 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-02-12House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-03House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-02House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-01-29House Hopper (House)

• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)Primary sponsor
• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)

• state employee retirement
• Georgia Defined Contribution Plan
• student workers
• public pension eligibility