Georgia CommonsSB 452: Retirement and Pension; maximum employer contribution to a 401(k) for certain state law enforcement officers; increase
Last action May 6, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
Senate Bill 452 would boost how much state agencies contribute to certain law enforcement officers' 401(k) retirement accounts, raising the maximum employer match for these officers above what other state employees receive.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia already lets state employees enroll in a 401(k) style retirement savings plan under O.C.G.A. § 47-2-357, with the state matching a portion of what employees contribute. Currently, after five years of service, the state can add an extra 0.5 percent match for each year of service beyond five, capped at a 9 percent total employer contribution. This bill creates a new category called 'state law enforcement officer,' covering peace officers employed by the Department of Community Supervision and certain sworn officers certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. For these officers, starting July 1, 2026, the extra match for years of service beyond five rises to 2 percent per year, and the total employer contribution cap rises to 15 percent of the officer's pay, as long as the officer contributes at least 5 percent of their own salary. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Creates a new legal definition of 'state law enforcement officer' covering certain peace officers at the Department of Community Supervision and other certified sworn officers.
- Raises the extra employer 401(k) match for these officers from 0.5 percent to 2 percent of pay for each year of creditable service beyond five years.
- Increases the overall cap on employer 401(k) contributions for these officers from 9 percent to 15 percent of compensation.
- Keeps the existing 9 percent employer contribution cap and 0.5 percent per-year match in place for all other state employees covered by the plan.
- Sets the effective date for these changes as July 1, 2026.
Who it affects
The bill affects state law enforcement officers, specifically peace officers employed by the Department of Community Supervision and sworn officers certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, along with the state agencies that employ them and administer their 401(k) retirement contributions.
Why it matters
Qualifying officers with more than five years of service who contribute at least 5 percent of their pay would see significantly larger state contributions to their retirement savings, up to 15 percent of their salary instead of 9 percent, changing the long-term value of their retirement benefits compared with other state employees.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds a new definition of 'state law enforcement officer' to O.C.G.A. § 47-2-357, covering Department of Community Supervision peace officers and certain certified sworn officers.
- Section 1 keeps the base employer match of up to 5 percent for any employee who contributes an equal share of salary into the 401(k) account.
- Section 1 changes the additional service-based match for non-law-enforcement members starting July 1, 2026, but keeps the rate at 0.5 percent per year over five years and the 9 percent overall cap.
- Section 1 adds a new paragraph (3) giving state law enforcement officers a 2 percent additional match per year of service beyond five years, capped at a 15 percent total employer contribution.
- Section 2 sets the effective date of the Act as July 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“'State law enforcement officer' means: (A) A peace officer, as such term is defined in Code Section 35-8-2, employed by the Department of Community Supervision; or (B) A sworn law enforcement officer certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council”
“such member's employer shall contribute an additional amount equal to 2 percent of the member's compensation for each year of such member's creditable service that exceeds five years; provided, however, that the total rate of any employer's contribution pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed 15 percent of the member's compensation.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 414
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (15 actions)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
- Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
- Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)
- John Albers (R, SD-056)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
- Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
- Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
- Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
- Max Burns (R, SD-023)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
- Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
- Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
- Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
- Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
- Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
- Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
- Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
- Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- John Carson (R, HD-046)
Votes
- Senate voteFebruary 17, 2026
49 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)
- House voteMarch 19, 2026
163 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 9 absent)
Topics
- state employee retirement
- 401(k) contributions
- law enforcement benefits
- public pensions
- Department of Community Supervision