HB 1341-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2480
10/03
HOUSE BILL 1341-FN-A
AN ACT relative to vested status of group II members in the state retirement system.
SPONSORS: Rep. S. Pearson, Rock. 6; Rep. Pratt, Rock. 3; Rep. Love, Rock. 6; Rep. Schuett, Merr. 20; Rep. Roy, Rock. 32
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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ANALYSIS
This bill changes the application of 2011 amendments to certain group II retirement system provisions to apply to group II members who are in vested status prior to July 1, 2021.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2480
10/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to vested status of group II members in the state retirement system.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Retirement System; Definition; Earnable Compensation; Group II. Amend RSA 100-A:1, XVII(a) and (b)(1) to read as follows:
(a) For group I members who have attained vested status prior to January 1, 2012 and group II members who commenced service prior to July 1, 2011, the full base rate of compensation paid, as determined by the employer, plus any overtime pay, holiday and vacation pay, sick pay, longevity or severance pay, cost of living bonus, annual attendance stipend or bonus, additional pay for extracurricular and instructional activities for full-time teachers and full-time employees who are employed in paraprofessional or support position, additional pay for instructional activities of full-time faculty of the community college system, and any military differential pay, plus the fair market value of non-cash compensation paid to, or on behalf of, the member for meals or living quarters if subject to federal income tax, but excluding other compensation except cash incentives paid by an employer to encourage members to retire, supplemental pay paid by the employer while the member is receiving workers' compensation, and teacher development pay that is not part of the contracted annual salary. Compensation for extra and special duty, as reported by the employer, shall be included but limited during the highest 3 years of creditable service as provided in paragraph XVIII. However, earnable compensation in the final 12 months of creditable service prior to termination of employment shall be limited to 1-1/2 times the higher of the earnable compensation in the 12-month period preceding the final 12 months or the highest compensation year as determined for the purpose of calculating average final compensation, but excluding the final 12 months. Any compensation received in the final 12 months of employment in excess of such limit shall not be subject to member or employer contributions to the retirement system and shall not be considered in the computation of average final compensation. Provided that, the annual compensation limit for members of governmental defined benefit pension plans under section 401(a)(17) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall apply to earnable compensation for all employees, teachers, permanent firemen, and permanent policemen who first become eligible for membership in the system on or after July 1, 1996. Earnable compensation shall not include compensation in any form paid later than 120 days after the member's termination of employment from a retirement eligible position, with the limited exceptions of disability related severance pay paid to a member or retiree no later than 120 days after a decision by the board of trustees granting the member or retiree disability retirement benefits pursuant to RSA 100-A:6 and of severance pay which a member was entitled to be paid within 120 days after termination but which, without the consent of the member and not through any fault of the member, was paid more than 120 days after the member's termination. The member shall have the burden of proving to the board of trustees that any severance payment paid later than 120 days after the member's termination of employment is earnable compensation and meets the requirements of an asserted exception to the 120-day post-termination payment requirement.
(b)(1) For group I members who have not attained vested status prior to January 1, 2012 and group II members who commenced service on or after July 1, 2011, the full base rate of compensation paid, as determined by the employer, plus compensation over base pay. Compensation over base pay shall include as applicable, subject to subparagraphs (2), (3), and (4), any overtime pay, cost of living bonus, annual attendance stipend or bonus, annual longevity pay, additional pay for extracurricular and instructional activities for full-time teachers and full-time employees who are employed in paraprofessional or support position, additional pay for instructional activities of full-time faculty of the community college system, compensation for extra and special duty, and any military differential pay, plus the fair market value of non-cash compensation paid to, or on behalf of, the member for meals or living quarters if subject to federal income tax, but excluding other compensation except supplemental pay paid by the employer while the member is receiving workers' compensation and teacher development pay that is not part of the contracted annual salary.
2 Definition; Average Final Compensation; Group II. Amend RSA 100-A:1, XVIII to read as follows:
XVIII. "Average final compensation" shall mean:
(a) For members who have attained vested status prior to [January 1, 2012] July 1, 2021, the average annual earnable compensation of a member during his or her highest 3 years of creditable service, or during all of the years in his or her creditable service if less than 3 years. For purposes of this calculation, the inclusion of the average annual compensation for extra and special duty in the 3 years shall not exceed the average annual amount of compensation for extra and special duty paid to the member over the member's last 7 years of creditable service on or after July 1, [2009] 2011, as reported by the employer in accordance with RSA 100-A:16, VI, or over all of the years in his or her creditable service on or after July 1, [2009] 2011 if less than 7 years.
(b) For members who commenced service on or after July 1, 2011 or who have not attained vested status prior to [January 1, 2012] July 1, 2021, the average annual earnable compensation of a member during his or her highest 5 years of creditable service, or during all of the years in h