WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HB 753

Law Enforcement Officers Return to Work.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Mary Belk and 33 co-sponsors

HB 753 lets active or returning law enforcement and justice officers start or continue retirement allowances while employed, with employers paying all retirement contributions.

Passed 1st Reading
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 753

Summary — HB 753: Law Enforcement Officers Return to Work

Status: Passed 1st Reading (Introduced Nov 12, 2024)
Primary sponsor: Rep. Carson Smith (NC); additional sponsors vary by edition.

Purpose

HB 753 authorizes certain current and retired law enforcement and justice officers to begin or resume receiving retirement allowances while remaining (or returning) in paid law enforcement service. The bill aims to increase workforce flexibility and encourage experienced officers to continue serving without forfeiting pension benefits.

Key provisions

  • Adds new in‑service distribution rules to state retirement law (new G.S. 135-5.8 for State law enforcement officers) and a parallel provision for local law enforcement and justice officers (new G.S. 128-27.1).
  • Two main options for eligible members:
    • In‑service election (age threshold): A law enforcement or justice officer who is still employed and has reached age 59.5 may elect to begin receiving any retirement allowance for which they are otherwise eligible, without first separating from service.
    • Return-to-service election (retiree): A retired officer who completed a bona fide separation from service of at least six months may return to law enforcement service and continue to receive their retirement allowance.
  • Contribution and payroll handling:
    • Once a member elects to receive a retirement allowance (or returns to service while receiving one), the member will stop making employee retirement contributions (or will not begin them); the employer must make payments to the Retirement System equal to (i) the employer contributions otherwise required and (ii) the employee contributions the member would have made to the Annuity Savings Fund.
    • Gross pay for the member will be reduced as if the member were making the required employee contribution.
  • Retirement accruals and benefits:
    • Members receiving a retirement allowance while employed will not accrue additional membership service for that employment.
    • Members receiving an allowance under these provisions are not eligible for the Disability Income Plan and are ineligible for State contributions to the Supplemental Retirement Income Plan; State contributions to the SRIP cease upon election.
    • Death and separation treatment: If such a member dies while still employed, they are treated as retired for death‑benefit purposes; if they later separate from service, they are treated as retired for all Retirement System purposes.
  • Administrative and election details:
    • Members who begin receiving an allowance while in service must make any elections and purchase any creditable service as if retiring.
    • An in‑service election may be revoked only while the member remains employed and prior to separation; revocation restores prior contribution responsibilities for the employer (but employer no longer required to make the extra payments under the in‑service rule).
  • Statutory definitions: The bill revises/clarifies definitions of “Law Enforcement Officer” and adds “Justice Officer” cross‑references.

Who is affected

  • Directly: State and local full‑time law enforcement officers and justice officers (including sheriffs and certified deputies) who meet the age or separation requirements; retired officers returning to work.
  • Indirectly: Employers (state agencies, counties, municipalities) that re‑hire or retain such officers; the State and local retirement systems; beneficiaries and disability/retirement program administrators.

Potential fiscal and operational impacts

  • Employers will incur additional payroll costs because they must pay both the employer contribution and the equivalent of the employee contribution to the Retirement System for participating members. The bill also requires payroll adjustments and administrative processing changes.
  • Pension system actuarial impacts are uncertain: continuing retirement payments while the member is employed (but with employer making combined contributions) may have neutral-to‑modest effects depending on participation rates; specifics require actuarial analysis.
  • Other impacts: cessation of disability eligibility and SRIP employer contributions for affected members; potential positive effects on recruitment/retention of experienced officers.

Procedural/timing notes

  • The bill was introduced and moved through standard legislative referral (Pensions & Retirement; Appropriations; Rules). It passed first reading; subsequent committee and floor actions determine final enactment. The text does not specify an explicit effective date — standard effective date rules or a provision in a final version would control.

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact statutory text changes for G.S. 135 and G.S. 128, or
- Draft a short fiscal note estimating employer cost per returning officer given sample salary and contribution rates.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.