Bill > SF5097

This bill establishes a new retirement subplan within the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) for probation officers and public safety telecommunicators, recognizing the potentially hazardous or high-stress nature of their work and allowing for earlier full retirement than the general state employees retirement plan. This new subplan, referred to as the "probation and telecommunicator retirement subplan," will be administered by the MSRS and will require additional contributions from both employees (2.71% of salary) and employers (2% of salary) to cover the costs of these enhanced benefits. The bill also allows eligible members to purchase credit for past service, with provisions for estimating costs and using an "offset amount" to reduce the purchase price, and establishes review committees within the Department of Corrections, Department of Public Safety, and Metropolitan Council to determine eligibility for coverage under this new subplan. Furthermore, the bill makes conforming changes to existing retirement statutes to include references to this new subplan and modifies rules regarding the calculation of retirement annuities for individuals with mixed service across different retirement plans, particularly for those who may transfer from the general employees retirement plan to this new local government probation and telecommunicator retirement plan. Finally, it includes appropriations to fund these changes, including a one-time transfer to a past service account and appropriations to offset employer contribution increases.