House Bill No. 6844, as amended, introduces important protections for retirees within municipal pension and retirement systems. The bill prohibits municipalities or special taxing districts from diminishing or eliminating any rights or benefits granted to retirees under their pension systems, effective July 1, 2025. Specifically, it prevents reductions in benefits due to permanent partial disability received after this date. Additionally, the bill mandates that temporary total and partial disability benefits be included as wages when calculating pension benefits, with the caveat that the total of these benefits and other wages cannot exceed 100% of the employee's pre-injury wages. Notably, these changes do not affect existing collective bargaining agreements, and the provisions do not apply to the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System (CMERS), which already incorporates workers' compensation benefits in its calculations.

Moreover, the bill requires the Comptroller to conduct a study on the transition of municipalities that currently lack defined pension plans for police officers and firefighters to a system that offers comparable or superior benefits. The findings of this study are to be reported to the General Assembly by January 1, 2027. The fiscal implications of the bill suggest that municipalities will face increased costs due to the revised pension benefit calculations, particularly from the inclusion of disability benefits, which will elevate the overall liabilities of their retirement systems.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 7-450c
LAB Joint Favorable: 7-450c
File No. 157: 7-450c
APP Joint Favorable: 7-450c
File No. 955: 7-450c