HB 924: Legislative Retirement System; match benefit amounts payable to former and current retired legislators to benefits payable to legislators who were in office on or after January 1, 2022

Georgia's Legislative Retirement System currently pays different monthly pension amounts depending on when a legislator served. Members who were contributing on or after January 1, 2022 get $50 per year of creditable service plus $200 per year of service in a presiding role (such as Speaker or President Pro Tem). Legislators who retired or served before that date have been receiving a lower base rate of $28 per year of service, with no extra presiding pay in that older formula. House Bill 924 removes the separate lower formula and applies the $50 per year rate, plus the $200 per year presiding bonus, to all retirees under this Code section, effectively matching older retirees' benefits to the newer, higher formula. The change would only take effect on July 1, 2026, and only if it is certified as funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47); otherwise the bill automatically repeals itself on that date.

• Rewrites the monthly retirement allowance formula in O.C.G.A. § 47-6-80 so all covered retirees get $50 per year of creditable service instead of the older $28 per year rate.
• Adds a $200 per year payment for presiding creditable service (time served in a presiding legislative role) to the general benefit formula, extending it to older retirees.
• Removes the separate lower-benefit subsection that had applied only to certain members based on their contributing status around January 1, 2022, folding everyone into one formula.
• Makes the change contingent on certification of funding under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, with automatic repeal if funding is not confirmed by July 1, 2026.

Current and former members of the Georgia General Assembly who are retired or will retire under the Legislative Retirement System, especially those who served before January 1, 2022 and have been receiving the lower $28 per year benefit rate rather than the newer, higher formula.

Retired legislators who served before 2022 would see their monthly pension checks calculated using the same, higher formula now used for more recent legislators, potentially increasing their retirement income, while the change depends on the pension system being certified as properly funded.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-6-80(d) to change the base multiplier from $28.00 to $50.00 per year of creditable service and adds a $200 per year presiding creditable service payment.
• Section 1 deletes former subsection (c.1), which had limited the $50/$200 formula to members contributing on or after January 1, 2022.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, conditioned on funding certification under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47), with automatic repeal if that certification fails.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-04-04House Hopper (House)

• Lehman Franklin (R, HD-160)Primary sponsor
• Butch Parrish (R, HD-158)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Jon Burns (R, HD-159)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)

• public pensions
• legislative retirement
• state government benefits
• retirement funding