House Committee Substitute for Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 62 was Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed by the legislature on May 11th.
The governor has until July 14th to act on it. Until he acts on it, we will not know for sure if it will become law.
Included in the final version:
- Terminated Vested Buyout Provision – Allows both the MPERS and MOSERS Boards to choose to establish a buyout program for terminated-vested members of the Closed Plan and Year 2000 Plan with such program authorization expiring May 31, 2018. The Board may set rules for such program. Any terminated-vested member who participates in such program and then returns to state employment will be considered a new employee and placed in the 2011 Tier.
- Amendment to Pension Forfeiture Law – Provisions clarifying pension forfeitures related to felonies committed by employees in the course of their employment.
- Vesting Reduction Provision – Reduces the 10-year vesting period for 2011 Tier members to five years and provides that new terminated-vested members will:
- not be eligible to receive service credit for sick leave accruals,
- not be awarded a survivor benefit at the time of death but rather at the time when such member would have been eligible for normal retirement, and
- have a two-year delay for the first cost-of-living increase payment rather than a one-year delay. 2011 Tier members must be actively employed on or after January 1, 2018, to be covered by this change.
We will provide more information to you through our website and social media if and when the governor acts on this legislative proposal. As always, specific questions from our members should be referred to our benefit specialists.