2017 Legislative Session wrap-up
During this year's Regular Session, TRSL monitored 11 pieces of legislation directly impacting the system. The following legislation gained final passage:
Return to work:
Act 15 (Rep. Blake Miguez) adds school nurses, as defined in R.S. 17:28, to the list of “re-employment eligible positions” that allow retirees to return to work and continue to receive a benefit check (after the required waiting period), subject to a 25% of annual benefit earnings limitation.
Act 120 (Rep. Frank Hoffmann) adds school psychologists to the list of critical shortage positions in which a retiree can return to work without a reduction of benefits (after the required waiting period). Additionally, the following retirees are subject to a 36-month waiting period before returning to work: - retirees who retire on or after July 1, 2017, and whose retirement benefit was actuarially reduced or was calculated at an accrual rate lower than 2.5%
The new, longer waiting period does not apply to the following individuals:
- those who retired before July 1, 2017
- retirees with advanced degrees in speech therapy, speech pathology, or audiology, OR
- those who retired on or after July 1, 2017 and whose benefit was not actuarially reduced or was not calculated at a benefit factor lower than 2.5%
Re-employment within the applicable waiting period will result in the suspension of TRSL benefits until completion of the waiting period or the end of re-employment, whichever occurs first.
Correction of enrollment errors:
- Act 285 (Sen. Barrow Peacock) allows for the correction of enrollment errors for persons enrolled in incorrect public retirement systems.
TRSL board membership:
- Act 366 (Rep. Kevin J. Pearson) clarifies the legislative staff’s rights and duties in attending executive sessions of the state and statewide retirement system boards, particularly with respect to lawyer-client privilege. This legislation also prohibits any person found in violation of the Code of Governmental Ethics for actions involving the misuse of public funds from serving as a trustee on a state or statewide retirement system board for elections or appointments made on or after July 1, 2017.
Investment reporting:
- Senate Resolution 123 (Sen. John Milkovich) requests that state systems post certain investment reports to their official websites.
Social Security offsets:
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 22 (Sen. Beth Mizell) asks Congress to consider eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) Social Security benefit reductions.
Other legislative action
The legislature also held two special sessions focusing on the state’s budgetary and fiscal matters, during which there were no retirement-related bills filed.
For more information on other bills monitored or passed during this year's Regular Session, visit TRSL’s Legislation webpage.