HB 808: State Law Enforcement Officer Plan or 'SLEO Plan'; establish

Georgia currently runs the Employees' Retirement System for most state workers, including many state law enforcement officers, under one set of retirement rules. This bill would add a new optional plan called the State Law Enforcement Officer Plan, or SLEO Plan, for officers at a long list of state agencies such as the Department of Corrections, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Public Safety, among many others. Starting July 1, 2026, eligible officers could make an irrevocable election to join the SLEO Plan instead of their normal retirement plan. Officers who elect in would pay 5 percent of their pay into the system and earn benefits on a schedule that grows with years of service, capping out after 25 years. After that point, further monthly benefits would be deposited into a personal Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) account that earns interest until the officer actually retires. No electing officer could retire under the enhanced plan before July 1, 2031. The whole Act only takes effect if it is certified as funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise it is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.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.
• Expands the legal definition of 'state law enforcement officer' to include sworn officers at 24 listed state agencies and boards.
• Lets eligible officers make a one-time, irrevocable election within 90 days of eligibility (or by July 1, 2026) to join the SLEO Plan instead of their existing retirement plan.
• Sets electing officers' contribution rate at 5 percent of pay and creates a tiered benefit schedule that increases with years of creditable service up to 25 years.
• Bars any electing officer from retiring under the enhanced benefits before July 1, 2031, even if they otherwise qualify.
• Creates individual Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) accounts that hold monthly benefit payments, earning interest, for officers who keep working past 25 years of service.

State law enforcement officers employed by agencies including the Department of Corrections, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Community Supervision, and about 20 other listed state boards and departments, plus the Employees' Retirement System's board of trustees, which must administer the new plan.

Eligible officers who opt in would pay more into their pension but could eventually receive enhanced retirement benefits and a DROP account that keeps earning interest if they work past 25 years. The choice is permanent once made, and no one could draw the enhanced benefits before 2031.

• Code Section 47-2-1 is amended to define 'state law enforcement officer' to cover peace officers at the Department of Community Supervision and sworn officers at 24 other named state agencies.
• New Code Section 47-2-401 lets a qualifying officer make an irrevocable election within 90 days of eligibility, or by July 1, 2026, to join the SLEO Plan; retiring before July 1, 2031 forfeits the enhanced benefits entirely.
• New Code Section 47-2-402 sets a 5 percent employee contribution rate and a tiered monthly benefit formula rising from 10 percent of average final compensation at 10 years of service up through additional percentages for years 11-25.
• New Code Section 47-2-402 stops contributions once an officer reaches 25 years of service and locks in the benefit calculation based on average final compensation at that point.
• New Code Section 47-2-403 creates individual DROP accounts that hold and earn interest on monthly benefit payments for officers who keep working after 25 years, payable as a lump sum, partial lump sum, or annuity, or rolled into tax-advantaged accounts.
• Section 3 makes the entire Act contingent on certification of funding under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47); if not certified, the Act is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.

1. 2025-03-25House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-21House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-20House Hopper (House)

• John Carson (R, HD-46)Primary sponsor
• Alan Powell (R, HD-33)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)

• public employee pensions
• state law enforcement
• retirement benefits
• Employees' Retirement System of Georgia
• DROP accounts