House Bill 924
By: Representatives Franklin of the 160th, Parrish of the 158th, Stephens of the 164th, Burns
of the 159th, and Smith of the 18th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 6 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Georgia Legislative Retirement System, so as to match the retirement benefit amounts
payable to former legislators upon retirement and to currently retired legislators in retirement
to those benefits which are payable upon retirement to legislators who were in office on or
after January 1, 2022; to provide for related matters; to provide conditions for an effective
date and automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 6 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia
Legislative Retirement System, is amended by revising Code Section 47-6-80, relating to
eligibility and application for a retirement allowance, early retirement, monthly retirement
allowance, amount of retirement allowance, compliance with federal tax laws, and increases
in retirement allowance, as follows:
"47-6-80.
(a) Upon the written application to the board, any member of the system who (1) has
attained age 65 and has completed eight or more years of creditable service or (2) has
attained age 62 and has completed eight or more years of membership service shall be
retired by the board on a retirement allowance and shall thereupon become a beneficiary
of the system, provided that he <ins>or she</ins> is no longer in the service of the state, whether as a
member of the General Assembly or otherwise. In lieu of eight years of service, a member
may substitute four terms of office in the General Assembly.
(b) The effective date of retirement shall be the first day of the month in which the
application is received by the board, but such effective date shall not, in any case, be earlier
than the first day of the month following the final month of the applicant's employment.
Applications for retirement shall not be accepted more than 90 days in advance of the
effective date of retirement.
(c) Normal retirement age for a member with at least eight years of membership service
shall be the date the member has reached 62 years of age. Normal retirement age for a
member with less than eight years of membership service but with at least eight years of
creditable service shall be the date the member has reached 65 years of age. Any member
of the system who has completed eight or more years of membership service and who has
attained age 60 may elect to retire prior to age 62, provided that, in such event, the
member's retirement allowance shall be reduced by 5 percent for each year below age 62.
<del>(c.1) In lieu of the monthly service retirement allowance provided in subsection (d) of this
Code section, for any person who was a contributing member on January 1, 2022, or who
first becomes a contributing member after January 1, 2022, upon retirement under
subsection (a) of this Code section such member shall receive a monthly service retirement
allowance equal to the sum of $50.00 for each year of such member's creditable service and
an additional $200.00 for each year of such member's presiding creditable service. Any
inactive or retired member who was not a contributing member on January 1, 2022, and
who becomes a contributing member again after January 1, 2022, shall be eligible for the
monthly service retirement allowance provided in this subsection for his or her membership
service earned after January 1, 2022.
</del>
(d) Upon such retirement under subsection (a) of this Code section, the retired member
shall receive a monthly service retirement allowance which shall be equal to <del>$28.00</del> <ins>$50.00
</ins> multiplied by the number of years of the member's creditable service <ins>and an additional
$200.00 for each year of such member's presiding creditable service.
</ins> (d.1) The board of trustees is authorized to provide for the payment of benefits to members
or beneficiaries of the retirement system at a time and under circumstances not provided
for in this chapter to the extent that such payment is required to maintain the retirement
system as a qualified retirement plan for purposes of federal income tax laws and
regulations.
(e) Any increase in benefits payable under the retirement system which becomes effective
as a result of a change in the benefit formula provided for by subsection (d) of this Code
section shall be applicable to beneficiaries of the system who are receiving benefits at the
time the increase becomes effective.
(f) Subject to the terms and limitations of this Code section, the board of trustees is
authorized to adopt from time to time a method or methods of providing for increases in
the retirement allowance provided in subsection (d) of this Code section for persons
theretofore or thereafter retiring under this article. Such method shall be based upon:
(1) The recommendation of the actuary of the board of trustees;
(2) The maintenance of the actuarial soundness of the fund in accordance with the
standards provided in Code Section 47-20-10 or such higher standards as may be adopted
by the board; and
(3) Such other factors as the board deems relevant;
provided, however, that any such increase shall be uniform and shall apply equally to all
members of this retirement system.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, no member who becomes
a member of this retirement system on or after July 1, 2009, shall be entitled to receive any
postretirement benefit adjustment."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, only if it is determined to have been
concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; otherwise, this Act shall not
become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2026, as
required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.