Bill > HF4878

This bill establishes a new retirement subplan, the probation and telecommunicator retirement subplan, administered by the Minnesota State Retirement System (MNSRS) for probation officers and public safety telecommunicators, who are defined as state employees in specific roles with hazardous or high-stress duties. This subplan allows eligible individuals to retire earlier than those in the general state employees retirement plan, with a normal retirement age of 60, and requires additional contributions from both employees (2.71% of salary) and employers (2% of salary) to cover the increased benefit cost. The bill also allows members to purchase credit for past service, with provisions for estimating costs and using an offset amount to reduce the purchase price, and establishes a dedicated account for these past service purchases. Furthermore, it revises existing retirement statutes to include references to this new subplan and makes conforming changes to how retirement annuities are calculated for individuals with mixed service across different retirement plans, particularly for those who may have transferred from the general plan to this new local government probation and telecommunicator retirement plan. The bill also includes appropriations to offset employer pension contribution increases and for a one-time transfer to the past service account. The provisions related to the probation and telecommunicator retirement subplan become effective on January 1, 2027.