Bill > HB45

This bill makes several changes to the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System (MPERS), a retirement plan for municipal police officers. Key provisions include clarifying that certain non-recurring payments like bonuses and incentives will not be included in the calculation of "earnable compensation" (the full amount of pay earned by an employee) for retirement benefits starting July 1, 2026, with specific rules for payments made between January 1, 2026, and July 1, 2026. It also allows members to purchase service credit for prior law enforcement service from other state, local, or federal agencies, provided they pay the actuarial cost, and establishes survivor benefits for officers killed in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2010, and before March 1, 2026, even if their employer failed to enroll them in the system. The bill also modifies rules for the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), a program allowing members to accrue retirement benefits while continuing to work, including new rules for how funds in DROP accounts are retained and invested starting July 1, 2026, and allows members to purchase increased retirement benefit accrual rates. Additionally, it adjusts contribution rates for the funding deposit account and introduces a new provision for certain employees who were previously in the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System to transfer their service credit to MPERS starting January 1, 2027.