Air-time” Bill Approved by the Legislature and is on its way to Governor Jindal- by - Robyn Ekings

Final legislative approval today means that SB 9 by Morgan City Senator Butch Gautreaux will soon be on Governor Jindal’s desk for his signature. The measure allows members of LASERS with at least 5 years service credit to purchase up to five years of service credit in one year increments for purposes of retirement eligibility (Air-time for eligibility).

Member must pay the greater of employee contributions based upon the greater of the member’s current salary or the member’s current final average compensation or the actuarial cost to the system in a lump sum. Members who previously purchased air time for computation purposes may pay the cost to upgrade that service for eligibility based on the actuarial cost of such upgrade.

Retirees who have purchased Air-time for eligibility must pay any increase in their employer’s share of Group Benefits health insurance premiums as a result of retirement earlier than they would otherwise be eligible until the time of regular retirement eligibility.

House Bill 530 Involuntarily Deferred by Senate Retirement Committee

On Sunday, June 19, the Senate Retirement Committee involuntarily deferred HB 530, which would have changed the calculation of final average compensation for all LASERS members.

This action coupled with the fact that HB 479 which would have increased employee contributions by 3% has not moved out of the House, should mean that LASERS members should not see a change to their retirement benefits.

However, the legislative session is not over until this Thursday, June 23, at 6 p.m., so it is still possible that changes could be made to other pieces of legislation that are still pending to accomplish similar changes.

Please continue to watch the LASERS website for legislative updates.

House Approves Resolution to Study Consolidation of Certain Functions of State Retirement Systems –by- Robyn Ekings

Today, HCR 135 by Lafayette Representative Joel Robideaux was sent on to the Senate in an 88-0 vote. The measure, which does not have the force of law, directs the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (LASERS), the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL), the Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System (LSERS), and the Louisiana State Police Retirement System to report specified information to the House and Senate Committees on Retirement.

The systems are directed to report to lawmakers on both panels, prior to the convening of the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature, the administrative and investment costs incurred by each system, and to jointly submit a report on the feasibility of combining the administrative and investment management services of the systems.

The idea of merging select functions of the systems has been debated by legislators in recent years. All four systems have opposed the move, saying the numbers show the change would cost more than it would save.