During this year's Regular Session, TRSL monitored 11 pieces of legislation directly impacting the system. Only a handful passed, including the following bills:     

Act 15, formerly HB 4 (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, formerly HB 31 (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.

Act 285, formerly SB 8 (Sen. Barrow Peacock), allows for the correction of enrollment errors for persons enrolled in incorrect public retirement systems.

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.

We get asked all the time, “Is there a way to know when an employee will end DROP?” Knowing when an employee comes out of DROP is important because it requires that agencies resume contributions for those who continue working.

Here to help you prepare is the “Ending DROP Participation” report, available through EMIS. It lists TRSL members from your agency whose DROP participation will end for the month/year selected.

You can pull reports for both future and past dates to ensure that all TRSL-covered employees who are ending DROP are accounted for. In fact, TRSL recommends pulling your report up to three months in advance so that your payroll department can calculate when to start the appropriate deductions/contributions if the employee continues working. The report can also be a useful succession planning tool for those employees who decide to retire in lieu of working after DROP.

This report is available to all personnel authorized to access EMIS, even those with “Inquiry only” access rights. Here’s how to view it:

• Log into EMIS, select Reports menu.
• Select Ending DROP Participation Report from the Reports drop-down menu.
• Enter the month/year (past or future dates) for your query.
  EXAMPLE: If you select, “05/2017,” the report will list any TRSL-covered employees whose DROP participation will end between May 1 and May 31, 2017.
  

TECH TIP: You must disable pop-up blockers to view your report. Contact the TRSL HelpDesk if you need assistance.