Georgia CommonsSB 198: Georgia Legislative Retirement System; board of trustees of the system to increase benefit multipliers for members; provide
Engrossed version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action March 9, 2026 · Engrossed
The text as LegiScan holds it, read from the PDF the legislature publishes with its margin line numbers, running heads, and page footers removed. Line breaks are joined into paragraphs here; no word is changed.
Underlined words are what the bill adds to current law and struck-through words are what it removes, as the printed bill shows them.
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.