94th Arkansas General Assembly - Regular Session 2023

The Regular Session of the 94th General Assembly convened on Monday, January 9, 2023.  Bill filing began on November 14, 2022. The deadline for filing retirement system bills was January 27, 2023.​

The next Joint Retirement Committee (JRC) meeting will be Monday, March 13th at 9:00 a.m.

The Joint Retirement Committee meeting will be video streamed over the Internet each week. Just visit the Arkansas Legislative Meetings and Events web page on Monday at 9:00 a.m. Look for the item “PUBLIC RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS-JOINT” and click on the “VIDEO” icon.


 

2023 ATRS Legislative Package

 Bill#  Sponsor  Description Status
HB1183

 

Act 64

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. John Maddox

Outsourcing Surcharge  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill is related to the collection of a surcharge on the salary of outsourced positions in school districts. The current surcharge is at the maximum rate of 4%, therefore, the phase-in schedule of rates has been removed. No covered employers have elected to contribute the full 15% of outsourced salaries as currently allowed for in statute, therefore this option is being removed from the statute.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 64
HB1184

 

Act 52

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. John Maddox

Prorate Contract Days for Contributory Status  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

The bill provides that if a member enters into a contract with a covered employer after the start of the fiscal year, the system may prorate the number of contracted days in order to determine whether the member should be classified as a contributory member or a non-contributory member. Currently a full-time employee who is hired, for example, in the middle of the year would have the option of becoming a non-contributory member, whereas a full-time person who is hired at the start of the year would not have that option. This bill is to ensure equal treatment of full-time employees regardless of their date of hire within the year.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 52

HB1186

Act 170

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Andrew Collins

Multiple Option Beneficiaries  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill allows for multiple beneficiaries for the survivor annuities. For example, a member could elect a survivor annuity and name both their spouse and a dependent child, each to receive half of the survivor benefit. This bill also ensures that the spouse of a disabled annuitant who dies within the first year of retirement has the same options as all other retirees.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have a very small cost impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 170

HB1187

Act 171

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Andrew Collins

T-DROP and the Lump Sum Death Benefit  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill clarifies the language that defines the lump sum death benefit and adds consistency by using “lump sum death benefit” throughout. This bill also clarifies that the lump sum death benefit is extended to T-DROP participants.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 171

HB1188

 

Act 104

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Andrew Collins

Final Average Salary with Partial Years  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill clarifies some of the language related to the calculation of the final average salary.  It allows rule making for the handling of partial years and better defines anti-spiking.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 104
HB1199

 

Act 55

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Mark Perry

Refund Unused Purchase Credit  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill is codifying the existing practice for refunding payments for purchased service. In all cases of purchased service credit, at the member’s request, payment for the service credit shall be refunded if the member ceases to be an active member before the service credit is established in the system or the service credit is not otherwise used to establish eligibility under the system, effectively cancelling the entire transaction.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 55
HB1200

 

Act 69

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Mark Perry

Free Military and Purchased Service  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill provides for members who served in the United States Armed Forces during a period that a military draft was in effect to receive up to five years of free service credit, before retirement, regardless of their current ATRS active status. This bill also allows for members to purchase federal service credit and to convert noncontributory service to contributory service, before retirement, regardless of their current ATRS active status.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 69

HB1201

Act 107

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Les Warren

Omnibus and Miscellaneous Clean-up  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill clarifies and cleans up the language in several sections of the Arkansas Code related to the Teacher Retirement System for consistency of language, and other changes related to administration.

The summary of changes include:
1) cleans up the definition of "alternate retirement plan", replaces "retirant" with "retiree", and aligns wording with BLR style guide;
2) adds fairness to the definition of "normal retirement age" to use a Rule of 98;
3) creates the definition of "benefit enhancement";
4) allows the Board to set the de minimus amount for distributing and collecting moneys;
5) extends deadlines for completing applications slightly by using full calendar months;
6) modifies statute regarding required minimum distributions to align with federal law, extends age from 72 to the range of 73 to 75;
7) clarifies that service credit purchase under a settlement agreement can not result in more than one year of service in a fiscal year;

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 107
HB1202

 

Act 63

Effective July 1, 2023

Rep. Les Warren

Multiplier for First 10 Years of Service  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill codifies the existing practice of applying a lower multiplier for members with less than 10 years of ATRS service credit. The bill clarifies that the board can set the multiplier rate for contributory service during the first 10 years to be no less than 1.75% nor more than 2.15%. The bill also clarifies that the board can set the multiplier rate for noncontributory service during the first 10 years to be no less than 0.5% nor more than 1.25%.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 63
SB115

 

Act 77

Effective July 1, 2023

Sen. Kim Hammer

Survivor Benefits for Dependent Children  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill clarifies that the maximum age for eligibility for a dependent child annuity is upon attainment of age 23, adds vocational technical schools to the list of acceptable schools, allows for a deferral enrollment period in accordance with promulgated rules, and provides that the annuity of a dependent child may be suspended if the dependent child is called to active duty military service.

The bill adds that a dependent child annuity shall be payable to each surviving child of a retiree who returns to work under the same conditions and in the same amount as if the return to work retiree were an ordinary active member.

The bill clarifies that monthly survivor benefits are payable to the surviving spouse unless the active member directs an alternative beneficiary to receive residue amount and to permit the alternative beneficiary to waive the right to the residue, if any, allowing the surviving spouse’s eligibility to be restored. If no residue exists, no waiver is required.

The time for completing the survivor benefit application is increased from three-months to six full calendar months.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have a very small cost impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 77

 SB116

Act 125

Effective July 1, 2023

Sen. Kim Hammer

Gap Service Purchase  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill creates a new type of service that can be purchased at actuarial value.  If a classroom teacher leaves active employment for a period of time and then returns back to employment, the gap years are available for purchase at actuarial value.  This type of purchase is limited to five years. The hope is to encourage experienced teachers, that took a break from teaching, back into the classroom.

The system’s actuary found that this bill would have no material financial impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 125

 SB117

Act 183

Effective July 1, 2023

Sen. Kim Hammer

Separation Period from 6 to 4 Months  (ATRS Supports)

This bill does NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary.

This bill lowers the number of months that a retiree must be terminated from employment before returning to the service of an ATRS employer.  The separation period is reduced from 6 months to 4 months.

The system’s actuary found that this bill could have some added cost impact on ATRS.

Bill as PDF            ATRS Actuarial Cost Study
Bill History Page            Legislative Actuarial Cost Study

 

Act 183

 

ATRS Appropriation/Spending Authority Bill

 Bill#  Sponsor  Description Status

SB65

Act 125

 

JBC ATRS appropriation for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. (ATRS Supports) Act 132