Legislation
2022 Legislation
Report on 2022 State Legislative Actions Affecting Retirement and Health Benefits
On July 11, 2022, Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 103, the 2022 Appropriations Act, adjusting the budget for the second year of the biennium budget enacted in 2021. The new law contains provisions impacting the Retirement Systems and the State Health Plan.
Increased Supplemental Payments to State, Judicial and Legislative Retirees
(Section 39.19) A one-time supplemental payment will be issued in October 2022 to monthly payees on record as of September 2022 and will be equal to 4% of the annual retirement allowance. The annual allowance is calculated based on 12 times the monthly allowance that was payable for September 2022. This is an increase of 1% from the 3% one-time supplemental payment already budgeted for 2022.
Employer Contribution Rates
(Section 39.20) Effective July 1, 2022, the Employer Contribution Rates for TSERS, CJRS and LRS are increased to cover the additional 1% one-time supplemental payment increase for retirees and benefit recipients. Please see the TSERS Employer Manual and Employer Retirement Monitor for the new rate tables.
Teacher Bonuses
There are provisions for bonuses that are not considered retirement-eligible compensation.
(Section 7A.2) Teacher bonus based on student growth.
(Section 7A.3) Small-county and low-wealth signing bonus for teachers.
(Section 7A.5) Principal bonus based on school growth.
Mitigate Bonus Leave
(Section 39.18) During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, this section allows State agencies, departments, institutions, the North Carolina Community College System, and The University of North Carolina to offer State employees the opportunity to use or to cash in special bonus leave benefits that have accrued pursuant to Section 28.3A of S.L. 2002-126, Section 30.12B(a) of S.L. 2003-284, Section 29.14A of S.L. 2005-276, and Section 35.10A of S.L. 2014-100, subject to certain conditions.
*It is important to note that the payout of bonus leave earned under these 2002 – 2014 laws would have counted as compensation for TSERS purposes, and the ability to "cash in" earlier will not change the fact that it counts as compensation. Therefore, any member who elects to "cash in" their bonus leave should have the amount count as compensation, however, doing so may affect whether the payout will be included in the AFC period.
Anti-Pension Spiking Moratorium
Signed July 8, 2022, House Bill 177 / SL 2022-70 (2021-2022 Session) extends the moratorium on lawsuits filed by school boards related to pension spiking or the Contribution-Based Benefit Cap (CBBC) through June 30, 2023.
Treatment of Inactive Employers
House Bill 1056 (Section 2.1) states that employers under TSERS and LGERS automatically become "inactive" if they have not reported any qualifying employees for at least six consecutive months. On October 1 of each calendar year, inactive employers, who have not had their inactive status extended by the Board, will cease participation in the Retirement System and be subject to the withdrawal liability. These provisions are effective December 31, 2022.
2021 Legislation
In 2021, the General Assembly made several changes that affect the Retirement Systems. Below is a brief explanation of some of the changes with a link to the passed legislation. A list of all legislation that impacts the Retirement Systems Division, including minor technical corrections and member-related changes, can be found here.
One very significant development was the enactment of Senate Bill 105, a State budget bill for the 2021-2023 biennium, the State’s first comprehensive budget law since 2018. Senate Bill 105 was approved by both chambers of the General Assembly in November, and Governor Roy Cooper signed it into law on November 18, 2021. House Bill 334, making technical corrections to Senate Bill 105, was signed into law on December 6, 2021.
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Employer Contribution Rates for Retirement, Health, and Related Benefits
S.L. 2021-180, Section 39.22.(b) for FY 2021-2022, and Section 39.22.(c) for FY 2022-2023 - There are two sets of contribution rates for Fiscal Year 2021-2022. The rates effective July through December 2021 are the same that were in effect June 30, 2021.
- The rates effective January through June 2022 are the rates certified by OSBM on November 29, 2021, so that the effective rates for the entire Fiscal Year 2021-2022 reflect the rates set in Section 39.22 of Senate Bill 105.
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Supplemental Payments to State, Judicial, and Legislative Retirees
S.L. 2021-180, Section 39.23
This provides two supplemental payments. The first was equal to 2% of the annual retirement allowance, paid in December 2021 to monthly payees on record as of September 2021. The second will be equal to 3% of the annual retirement allowance, to be paid by October 2022 to monthly payees on record as of September 2022.
Effective January 1, 2023, the terms of certain purchases of service under Teachers’ & State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS), Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS), and the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System (CJRS) are standardized more closely with the requirements for other types of service purchases.
The affected types of purchase include:
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certain pre-membership service with a charter school,
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service in the General Assembly not creditable under any of the systems,
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retroactive membership service,
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service for which an LGERS member signed a non-election form,
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CJRS credits purchased for work as a Judge, District Attorney, or Clerk of Superior Court, and
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CJRS credits purchased for State, Local, or certain Federal service.
Effective July 1, 2022, duplicative or no-longer-necessary service purchase provisions under TSERS and LGERS are repealed.
View S.L. 2021-57.
Amends LGERS to provide that any Alcohol Control Board that is not already a participating employer in LGERS as of June 30, 2021, is not eligible to participate in LGERS.
Section 36.2 - Modifies the statute for the Line of Duty death benefit program determined by the Industrial Commission and paid by RSD (G.S. 143-166.2) to expand the definition of “killed in the line of duty” to include firefighters who die from oral cavity cancer or pharynx cancer.
View Senate Bill 105.
Amends the CBBC provisions of TSERS and LGERS and institutes policies related to the CBBC.
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Adds option for employers to pay contributions over 12-year period when a contribution is required.
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Makes several technical corrections to eliminate or reduce the contribution that is due in certain limited circumstances.
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Institutes a one-year moratorium on legal actions filed by boards of education against the Department related to contribution assessments, while tolling any statute of limitations.
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Requires working group between the Department and the N.C. School Boards Association to review the related provisions.
Section 2 - Clarifies that if an employing unit undergoes certain changes that make it ineligible under Federal law for participation in the Retirement System, the statutory process for withdrawing from the Retirement Systems applies to that employing unit, including payment of withdrawal liability.
Section 4 - Clarifies that to offer this type of buyout and pay it directly to the Retirement System, the employer must have adopted a written policy that does not allow employees to choose between taking the buyout as a lump sum or transferring it to the Retirement System.
Section 6. A member of the UNC Optional Retirement Program who owes funds to the Disability Income Plan of North Carolina (DIPNC) must repay the funds or enter into a payment plan approved by the Retirement System within six months of the date they would have qualified for a full-service retirement had they been a member of TSERS. Otherwise, the individual will not be able to enroll in a new year of coverage under the State Health Plan.
Includes provisions related to LGERS, along with other provisions not affecting the Retirement Systems
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Section 1 - Effective December 1, 2021, prevents employers who participate in LGERS from imposing a waiting period on employees who are eligible to become members of LGERS.
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Section 3 - Effective November 10, 2021, permits the LGERS Board to grant a one-time pension supplement to its members in a given year if a permanent increase in benefits is not paid that year and there are sufficient funds in LGERS to pay for the supplement.