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:
<ins>"(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."
</ins> 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) <del>Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section</del> <ins>Except as provided in
Code Section 47-6-86,</ins> 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:
<ins>"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:
</ins>
<ins>(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."
</ins> 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.