HB 1576-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
10/09
HOUSE BILL 1576-FN
AN ACT relative to certain retirement system beneficiaries receiving a retirement allowance while in active service.
SPONSORS: Rep. DeJoie, Merr 11; Rep. P. McMahon, Merr 3
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill requires the option for certain employees in the retirement system to join the retirement system be made at the time of initial hiring, election, or appointment. This bill also repeals a provision allowing certain retirement system members to receive an allowance while in active service.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2504
10/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to certain retirement system beneficiaries receiving a retirement allowance while in active service.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Retirement System; Membership; Optional. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 100-A:3, I(a) to read as follows:
I.(a) Any person who becomes an employee, teacher, permanent policeman, or permanent fireman after the date of establishment, working in a position for an employer under this chapter as determined by common law standards, shall become a member of the retirement system as a condition of employment; except that membership shall be optional at the time of initial hiring, election, or appointment in the case of elected officials, officials appointed for fixed terms, unclassified state employees, or those employees of the general court who are eligible for membership in the retirement system. Elected officials and officials appointed for fixed terms shall, however, be eligible for membership in the retirement system only under the following conditions:
2 Certain Persons in Active Service Receiving Retirement Allowance. Any retirement system beneficiary who retired under the provisions of former RSA 100-A:3, I(c) prior to its repeal by 2002, 137:6 and who is both (a) currently receiving a retirement allowance, and (b) serving in the same membership- optional position from which the beneficiary retired, shall choose, within 60 days after the effective date of this act, either to be restored to service as required by RSA 100-A:7 or to terminate from active service in order to continue receiving his or her retirement allowance.
3 Repeal. 2002, 137:7, relative to the application of the repeal of former RSA 100-A:3, I(c), is repealed.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
10-2504
12/07/09
HB 1576-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to certain retirement system beneficiaries receiving a retirement allowance while in active service.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Retirement System states this bill will have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire Retirement System states this bill requires employees whose retirement system membership is optional to make the decision on joining the system upon initial hire, election, or appointment only. The System states this bill also contains a provision specific to the beneficiaries who retired under the provisions of former RSA 100-A:3, I(c) and are still receiving both retirement benefits and a salary for performing the duties of the same membership-optional position from which he or she retired, while no longer making service contributions to the system. Of the 90 employees who originally retired under the repealed provision, the System states 26 beneficiaries are currently still receiving retirement benefits and drawing salaries in membership-optional positions, by definition as a beneficiary no longer contributing to the System. The System states the proposed legislation will require these 26 beneficiaries to choose between either a restoration to service with resumption in service contributions or termination from the state position with a continuation of retirement benefits. In estimating the fiscal impact of the bill, the System assumed all 26 employees would remain in their positions, so service contributions would resume. The System’s actuary states this increase in covered payroll would lead to a very small decline in employer contribution rates (0.01 – 0.02 percentage points). However, these lower employer contribution rates would be applied against the higher covered payroll, so the total cost to employers would remain constant.