SB 362: Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; all sworn law enforcement officers serving in and the commissioner and deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Safety to be eligible for regular retirement benefits at the age of 55 years; allow

Under current Georgia law, most state employees in the Employees' Retirement System reach normal retirement age at 60 or after 30 years of service, though certain law enforcement jobs (state troopers, GBI agents, game wardens, and alcohol and tobacco officers) already qualify for retirement at 55. This bill expands that lower retirement age to cover all sworn law enforcement officers within the Department of Public Safety, not just those in its Uniform Division, and adds the department's commissioner and deputy commissioner to the list of positions eligible for early retirement, disability benefits, and the ability to purchase extra years of creditable service. The bill also updates related sections on disability allowances and service-purchase rules to include these newly covered positions. It would take effect July 1, 2026, but only if state actuaries certify the change is funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; if not funded, the bill automatically repeals itself on that date.

• Expands eligibility for retirement at age 55 from only the Uniform Division of the Department of Public Safety to all sworn law enforcement officers serving anywhere in the department.
• Adds the commissioner and deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Safety to the list of officials eligible for retirement at 55 with at least ten years of service.
• Extends line-of-duty disability retirement benefits, including the monthly supplemental benefit capped at $150 per month, to these newly covered officers and officials.
• Allows the commissioner, deputy commissioner, and other newly covered sworn officers to purchase up to five years of extra creditable service under the same rules as other law enforcement officers.
• Makes the changes contingent on certification that the retirement system is funded, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2026 if that certification does not happen.

Sworn law enforcement officers throughout the Department of Public Safety (not just the Uniform Division), the department's commissioner and deputy commissioner, and the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, which administers these benefits and would need to confirm the plan is adequately funded.

Officers and department leaders covered by the change could retire five years earlier than the standard age of 60 while still receiving full benefits, and would gain access to enhanced disability and service-purchase provisions previously limited to a narrower group of law enforcement personnel.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-2-110 to redefine normal retirement age as 55 for all sworn Department of Public Safety officers, plus the commissioner and deputy commissioner, with ten years of service.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-2-111 to let these same positions retire at 55 with a benefit no less than what they would have received retiring at 65.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-2-221 to extend line-of-duty disability benefits, including an $5 per year of service supplement capped at $150 monthly, to the newly covered positions.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-2-223 to let the commissioner, deputy commissioner, and other covered sworn officers hired on or after July 1, 2026 retire at 55 with a minimum benefit of 2 percent of highest average compensation per year of service.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-2-226 to add the commissioner and deputy commissioner to the definition of 'law enforcement officer' eligible to purchase creditable service for prior local government law enforcement work.
• Section 6 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026 only if certified as funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, with automatic repeal on that date if not funded.

1. 2025-03-28Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2025-03-27Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)Patrocinador principal
• Colton Moore (R, SD-053)
• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

• public safety retirement
• law enforcement benefits
• state pensions
• Georgia retirement age
• disability benefits