---
title: SB 198. Georgia Legislative Retirement System; board of trustees of the system to increase benefit multipliers for members; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb198
cite_as: SB 198, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb198
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb198.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb198/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70478
date: 2026-03-09
status: engrossed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 515
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb198.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 198
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-04
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- John Albers
- Kay Kirkpatrick
- Ricky Williams
- Carden Summers
- Bill Cowsert
- Ed Setzler
- Billy Hickman
- Max Burns
- Marty Harbin
- Mike Hodges
- Frank Ginn
- Larry Walker
- Shawn Still
- David Lucas
- Freddie Sims
- Gail Davenport
- Nan Orrock
text_version: Engrossed
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB198/2025
upstream_id: 1976306
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- legislative retirement
- pension benefits
- state employee benefits
- public retirement funding
- Georgia General Assembly
---
# SB 198. Georgia Legislative Retirement System; board of trustees of the system to increase benefit multipliers for members; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 198
By: Senators Albers of the 56th, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Williams of the 25th, Summers of
the 13th, Cowsert of the 46th and others
AS PASSED SENATE
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 provide for the board of trustees of the
system to increase benefit multipliers for members; to provide for the system to maintain a
minimum 120 percent funded ratio; to provide for conditions for such benefit multiplier
increases; to provide for automatic increases in employee contributions proportional to
benefit multiplier increases; to allow for members who joined after 2009 to receive benefit
multiplier increases; to provide for definitions; to provide for conforming changes; to provide
conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; 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 in Code Section 47-6-1, relating to definitions,
by adding new paragraphs to read as follows:
"(2.1) 'Benefit multiplier' means the amount of money that is multiplied by a member's
creditable service or presiding creditable service in order to calculate such member's
monthly service retirement allowance."
"(5.1) 'Funded ratio' means actuarial value of plan assets divided by the actuarial accrued
liability of such plan as of the most recent actuarial valuation approved by the board."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended in 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, by repealing subsection (f) in its entirety and by revising subsection
(g) as follows:
"(g)(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section Except as provided in
Code Section 47-6-86, 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 3.
Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"47-6-86.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, the provisions of this Code
section shall not apply while the funded ratio of the system is below 120 percent.
(b) The board shall be required to provide benefit increases in order to maintain the system
as close to a 120 percent funded ratio as is practicable.
(c) The board is authorized to increase the benefit multipliers provided for in Code
Section 47-6-80 for persons retiring under this chapter. Such an increase shall:
(1) Not lower the funded ratio of the system below 120 percent, based on the
recommendation of the actuary of the board;
(2) Be provided exclusively to all members receiving a benefit calculated under
subsection (d) of Code Section 47-6-80, so long as the benefit multipliers for creditable
service and presiding creditable service, respectively, are less than the benefit multipliers
for creditable service and presiding creditable service, respectively, provided for in
subsection (c.1) of Code Section 47-6-80;
(3) Be provided to all members receiving a benefit calculated under subsection (c.1)
or (d) of Code Section 47-6-80, so long as the benefit multipliers for creditable service
and presiding creditable service, respectively, are equal between the two groups of
members; or
(4) Provide for an increase in a benefit multiplier for creditable service of not less
than $1.00.
(d) For each increase in the benefit multiplier for creditable service pursuant to this Code
section, the benefit multiplier for presiding creditable service and the member contribution
provided for in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 47-6-60 shall be increased by an amount
proportional to any increase in the multiplier."
SECTION 4.
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 5.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would let the board that runs the Georgia Legislative Retirement System raise pension benefit multipliers for retired lawmakers, but only while the system stays at least 120 percent funded.
### Plain-language summary
Members of the General Assembly who retire get a monthly pension based on a 'benefit multiplier' applied to their years of service. Under current law, anyone who joined the retirement system after July 1, 2009 cannot get postretirement benefit increases. This bill creates an exception: if the system's funded ratio, meaning the value of its assets compared to what it owes retirees, is at or above 120 percent, the board of trustees can raise the multipliers, and that includes members who joined after 2009.
Any increase the board approves cannot push the funded ratio below 120 percent, must follow specific rules about how different groups of retirees are treated equally, and must raise the multiplier by at least $1.00. Whenever the creditable-service multiplier goes up, the presiding-service multiplier and employee contributions automatically rise by a proportional amount. The bill only takes effect July 1, 2026 if state actuaries certify it is properly funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise it repeals itself automatically on that date.
### What it does
- Allows the board of trustees of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System to increase benefit multipliers for retiring members, but only while the system's funded ratio stays at or above 120 percent.
- Extends eligibility for these benefit multiplier increases to members who joined the system on or after July 1, 2009, who currently cannot receive postretirement benefit adjustments.
- Requires that any multiplier increase for creditable service be matched by a proportional increase in the presiding creditable service multiplier and in member contributions.
- Adds legal definitions for 'benefit multiplier' and 'funded ratio' to the retirement system's code section.
- Sets rules requiring equal treatment between different groups of retirees when multipliers are increased, and requires increases of at least $1.00.
- Makes the entire Act contingent on certification of proper funding under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2026 if that certification does not happen.
### Who it affects
Current and retired members of the Georgia General Assembly who participate in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, especially those who joined on or after July 1, 2009 and are currently barred from postretirement benefit increases, as well as the system's board of trustees and its actuary.
### Why it matters
Retired state legislators could see higher monthly pension payments if the retirement system remains well funded, and lawmakers who joined after 2009 would gain access to benefit increases they are currently denied. The system's financial health, tracked through the 120 percent funded ratio requirement, would directly control whether and when these increases happen.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds definitions of 'benefit multiplier' (the dollar figure multiplied by years of service to calculate pensions) and 'funded ratio' (plan assets divided by liabilities) to O.C.G.A. § 47-6-1.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-6-80(g) so the ban on postretirement benefit adjustments for post-2009 members applies except as newly allowed under the new Code Section 47-6-86.
- Section 3 creates new Code Section 47-6-86, letting the board raise benefit multipliers only while the funded ratio is at or above 120 percent, and requires the board to work toward keeping the ratio near that level.
- Section 3 also sets conditions on multiplier increases: they cannot drop the funded ratio below 120 percent, must treat different retiree groups equally in specified ways, and must raise the creditable service multiplier by at least $1.00.
- Section 3 requires that any creditable service multiplier increase come with a proportional increase in the presiding creditable service multiplier and in member contributions under O.C.G.A. § 47-6-60(a.1).
- Section 4 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026 only if it is certified as properly funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47), otherwise it automatically repeals on that date.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-04)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-09)
- Sponsors: John Albers, Kay Kirkpatrick, Ricky Williams, Carden Summers, Bill Cowsert, Ed Setzler, Billy Hickman, Max Burns, Marty Harbin, Mike Hodges, Frank Ginn, Larry Walker, Shawn Still, David Lucas, Freddie Sims, Gail Davenport, Nan Orrock
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70478
> The history, votes, and amendments (515 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb198.md?full=1