This bill amends the Nebraska State Patrol Retirement Act by raising the mandatory retirement age from sixty to sixty-five years for officers. Specifically, it allows officers who have been employed for ten years or more and have reached the age of sixty-five to retire, while also maintaining the option for those with twenty-five or thirty years of service to retire at fifty, with mandatory retirement at sixty-five. The bill also clarifies that any officer who separates from state service at sixty-five, regardless of their years of service, is entitled to an annuity.

Additionally, the bill modifies the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) provisions. It removes the restriction that only officers who became members prior to July 1, 2016, can participate in DROP, and it introduces new requirements for participation, including that members must choose an annuity payment option and cannot continue making required contributions while enrolled in DROP. Furthermore, it specifies that cost-of-living adjustments will not apply to retirement benefits during the DROP period. The original sections of the law being amended are repealed as part of this legislative update.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 81-2025, 81-2041