Agenda - Council Work Session - 08/25/2026

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Bill Summary 2026 Pension and Retirement Omnibus Bill (Chapter 106; HF 4074, 3rd Engr.) Article 5: Local Government Probation and Telecommunicator Retirement Plan Sources: LCPR Amendment S4276-10A LCPR Amendment S4276-11A Sections 26-35 establish the Local Government Probation and Telecommunicator Retirement Plan to be administered by PERA by adding new Chapter 353H. A current member of the PERA General Plan who is transferred to the new PERA Plan on January 1, 2027, will receive a retirement annuity calculated under the PERA General Plan provisions, accrued through December 31, 2026, and unreduced at age 66, and a retirement annuity under the new PERA Plan provisions, beginning with service on January 1, 2027, and unreduced at age 60. Both retirement annuities will be paid from the fund established for the new PERA Plan. Key features of the PERA Probation and Telecommunicator Plan are the following: • Eligibility: Employees who meet the definition of either a "probation officer" or "public safety telecommunicator" are required to participate in the PERA Probation and Telecommunicator Plan, except employees who first became a public employee or a member of a pension fund before July 1, 1989. Any eligible employee who is currently a member of the PERA General Plan will be transferred to the new Plan on January 1, 2027. See Section 30. • "Probation officer" is defined in Section 28, subdivision 10 (new Section 353H.01, subdivision 10), as an individual whom the employer certifies is a public employee and employed as a probation officer by a county, community corrections agency, or state probation agency and provides community supervision services with direct offender contact or a direct supervisor of such an individual. • "Public safety telecommunicator" is defined in Section 28, subdivision 11 (new Section 353H.01, subdivision 11), as an individual whom the employer certifies is a public employee employed by a primary or secondary public safety answering point and serves as a first responder for at least 50% of the time or a direct supervisor of such an individual. • Vesting: 3 years. See Section 28, subdivision 12 (new Section 353H.01, subdivision 12). • Normal Retirement Age: 60. See Section 28, subdivision 6 (new Section 353H.01, subdivision 6). • Early Retirement Age: 55. See Section 32, subdivision 3 (new Section 353H.05). • Benefit Formula Multiplier: 1.9%. See Section 32, subdivision 1 (new Section 353H.05). • COLA: 100% of Social Security COLA, with a 1% minimum and 1.75% maximum. See Section 45 (new subdivision 1h, Section 356.415). • Employee Contribution Rate: 8.82%. See Section 31, subdivision 1 (new Section 353H.04). • Employee Contribution Rate: 7.5%. See Section 31, subdivision 2 (new Section 353H.04). • Past Service Credit Purchases: Section 35 (new Section 353H.08) permits members to make a onetime purchase of credit for past service that will be used to calculate the member's retirement annuity under the new Plan. The purchase may be made at any time up to the date payment of the retirement annuity begins. Subdivisions 1 and 2 provide procedures for requesting estimates, determining the purchase price, and making the purchase Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement Page 8