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| The 2025 Regular Legislative Session kicked off on April 14, and must end no later than 6 p.m., Thursday, June 12. To date, legislators have considered several bills directly affecting TRSL and all are in various stages of the legislative process. Here’s more on this legislation.
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OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PLAN
On the heels of last legislative session where lawmakers made significant changes to the ORP, they have passed legislation this session that continues to tweak the plan. House Bill 24 by Rep. Bacala now awaits the governor’s signature. The bill opens up eligibility for ORP participation to more postsecondary employees; allows certain ORP participants more time to switch to the TRSL defined benefit plan; creates an ORP advisory committee; and adds the Commissioner of Higher Education to the TRSL Board of Trustees. A provision to increase the employer contribution rate to ORP participant accounts from 6.2% of pay to 8% was amended out of the original bill. Specifically, the bill would:
- expand ORP eligibility to technical college staff beginning July 1, 2025, giving existing technical staff 180 days from July 1, 2025, to opt into the ORP.
- extend the window for certain ORP participants to switch back to the TRSL defined benefit plan from five years after first ORP eligibility to seven years.
- create a window for certain ORP participants (whose first employment in Louisiana higher education occurred before August 1, 2020, but were ineligible to make an irrevocable election to transfer to TRSL last June 30) to become a member of the TRSL regular retirement plan should they return to employment in a TRSL-eligible position. These ORP participants would need to make the switch to TRSL by the later of September 2, 2025, or 60 days after the date of reemployment with a TRSL-contributing employer for the first time after July 1, 2024.
- create a nine-member ORP advisory committee comprised of both a faculty and non-faculty ORP participant from each of the state’s four higher education systems (LSU, SU, UL, and LCTCS), as well as one ORP participant not employed in higher education.
- add the Commissioner of Higher Education or designee as an ex officio member on the TRSL Board of Trustees.
The bill would also allow certain employees to opt out of participating in the TRSL defined benefit plan. Individuals who are at least age 60 at first TRSL-eligible employment or at least age 55 with 40 quarters in Social Security would be able to decline membership in TRSL.
Please note: If the bill becomes law, TRSL will roll out resources to guide you through the changes.
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| ADDITIONAL UAL PAYMENT/TEACHER SALARIES
A second attempt to make a one-time payment to the UAL as a means to fund teacher pay raises is working its way through the legislative process. A proposed constitutional amendment, House Bill 473 (Rep. Emerson) would apply the balance in three constitutionally protected education trust funds to make a one-time payment to erase a portion of the retirement debt owed to TRSL. In effect, the one-time payment would pay off TRSL’s two oldest debt schedules, thereby reducing the employer contribution rate for TRSL-participating employers. Voters would decide on this constitutional amendment in an upcoming statewide election.
Its companion bill, House Bill 466 (Rep. Carlson), would direct the savings realized from the reduced employer contribution rate, if enacted through the constitutional amendment, to make permanent salary increases for teachers ($2,000) and school personnel ($1,000) beginning in the 2027-2028 school year (as currently written). HB 466 includes provisions for state funding if the realized savings for any school district from HB 473 are insufficient to cover the raises. It also establishes specific purposes for which school systems must use any realized savings that exceed what is needed to fund the pay increases. Voters would decide on this constitutional amendment in an upcoming statewide election.
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| RETURN TO WORK (RTW)
A Senate Study Request 1 by Sen. Price asks that the Senate retirement committee study TRSL retiree reemployment, current RTW laws, and potential changes that balance retiree options, employer needs, and the actuarial soundness of the retirement system. The RTW laws have been amended more than a dozen times since 2000, and the study request is meant to determine what approach may work best for all stakeholders.
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| PHASED RETIREMENT PROGRAM TASK FORCE
House Resolution 143 by Rep. Bacala would create a task force to study the feasibility of a phased retirement program for public postsecondary employers.
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| PAYMENTS TOWARD DEBT
House Bill 678, a proposed constitutional amendment and the enabling legislation House Bill 683, both by Rep. Emerson would remove several constitutional dedications of mineral revenues, including dedications to pay down TRSL’s initial UAL, which is debt that was accrued before June 30, 1988. Voters would decide on this constitutional amendment in an upcoming statewide election.
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| CITIZENSHIP/IMMIGRATION VERIFICATION AND PUBLIC BENEFITS
House Bill 307 (Rep.Henry) would require state agencies or political subdivisions to verify citizenship or immigration status when an applicant applies for federal, state, or local public benefits, including retirement benefits. Public entities would be required to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and terminate any recurring benefits if unable to verify citizenship or legal immigration status. For the purposes of public retirement benefits, an applicant’s citizenship or immigration status at the time of enrollment in the retirement system will satisfy verification requirements.
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The best way to stay informed about bills affecting TRSL is to sign up for our legislative updates via email. Subscribe to TRSL eNews here and select “Legislation” under topics of interest. Bookmark our Legislation page in your browser. We post updates whenever an action is taken on a bill affecting TRSL.
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Reminder: Deadline is approaching for some Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) participants to join TRSL's defined benefit plan.
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For some ORP participants, the window of opportunity to join the TRSL defined benefit plan will close on June 30, 2025.
This deadline only applies to current ORP participants whose first-ORP eligible employment occurred before August 1, 2020, and who are active and contributing as of June 2024. For further details on eligibility windows and deadlines, please visit www.trsl.org/orp.
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The end of the school year is approaching, which means the fiscal year is drawing to a close. To help you stay on task and meet every deadline, here are a few calendar reminders.
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Need a refresher on any or all tasks? We’ve included tip sheets for every TRSL reporting requirement.
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Here’s a handy tip that will save you time (and potentially dollars).
Every month after you submit your Monthly Salary Contributions Report, be sure to check your exceptions report for reporting and enrollment errors that need to be corrected. Not only will this make the end of the fiscal year a breeze, it could also help with your agency’s upcoming RTW compliance audit by identifying reemployed retiree records in need of correcting. Taking quick action on retiree exceptions is the easiest way to reduce or even eliminate overpaid benefit charges related to RTW oversights.
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HOW TO RETRIEVE THE CONTRIBUTIONS EXCEPTIONS REPORT
- Log into EMIS and select Employer Contribution Charges under Employers.
- Enter the system code in the Query Record box.
- Click Error next to the last month reported to retrieve the report or, using the drop-down menu, select Report Type and Sort Selection and click Generate Report.
- Make sure you have the latest exception report by checking the date and time stamp in the upper left-hand corner.
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Still sending paper checks to TRSL? It may be time to consider an alternate route. Try making the move to electronic payments.
QUICK AND EASY
Submitting payments by wire or ACH transfer is a quick and easy way to remit contributions. Electronic payments can be applied to all TRSL systems (4, 3, 2, and the ORP). Be sure to set up your wire or ACH transfers with your financial institution before the payment date to allow ample time for processing and funds transfer.
SAFE AND SECURE
Electronic payments are more secure than payment by paper checks! You don’t have to worry about delayed mail or mail fraud, plus you’ll have a digital record of your payments.
READY TO GET STARTED?
Submit a Payment Distribution Voucher (Form 4D) for all employer payments, including wire or ACH transfers. Check out Index 4.0 of our Employer Procedures Manual for additional information on submitting employer payments and completing the Form 4D.
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Thank you to everyone who attended the 2025 Annual Employer Training. We covered a lot of important ground. If you weren’t able to join us, you can still tune in through TRSL’s YouTube Channel. The recordings are available on demand:
SELECT YOUR CATEGORY BELOW:
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In this edition’s series spotlighting our talented Employer Services Department (ESD) staff, we're introducing you to a seasoned veteran. In fact, Jeff George has been with the Employer Services Department since it was created in 2014.
Jeff is an expert on the defined benefit plan and makes sure annual Employer Training runs smoothly. He started as a retirement benefits analyst at TRSL and has climbed the ladder to retirement benefits manager.
MORE ABOUT JEFF
- Tenure at TRSL: 19 years
- Tenure with the Employer Services Department: 11 years
- Job duties: I manage the defined benefits operations side of the Employer Services Department.
- What drew me to TRSL: I was working at another state agency at the time, and I had a friend who worked at TRSL. She thought I would be a good fit here and encouraged me to apply for an analyst position. I did, and the rest is history.
- Favorite part of the job: Helping both internal and external customers find solutions to their problems
- A fun fact about me: I was in multiple local TV commercials before beginning my career in state service. The two I remember were Station Bar & Grill and Standard Mortgage.
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