The bill amends section 12a of the 1851 PA 156, enhancing the powers and duties of county boards of commissioners in Michigan regarding employee insurance and retirement benefits. It allows these boards to provide various forms of insurance, including group life, health, accident, hospitalization, and disability coverage, with provisions for counties with 100 or more employees to self-insure for health and disability. The bill establishes guidelines for retirement annuities and pensions, including eligibility criteria, benefit calculations, and provisions for early retirement and disability benefits. Key requirements include that at least 60% of retirement benefits must be based on a uniform percentage of the employee's average final compensation, and it allows for the establishment of a board of trustees to manage retirement plans while ensuring fiscal responsibility through actuarial reserves.

Additionally, the bill clarifies provisions for military service credit, allowing members who served before June 1, 1980, or during wartime to receive credited service for up to five years of active military service, contingent upon payment. It also outlines eligibility for transitional public employment programs, conditions for reemployment of retirants without affecting their pension benefits, and introduces guidelines for recalculating pension benefits and handling retirement allowances in divorce cases. The bill mandates that county boards create a written policy for uniform application of these provisions and specifies that pension benefits are subject to the Protecting Local Government Retirement and Benefits Act.

Statutes affected:
Substitute (S-1): 46.12
Senate Introduced Bill: 46.12
As Passed by the Senate: 46.12