May 07, 2024
Gov. Kemp Signs SB 328 - POAB Changes Effective 7/1/24
The POAB Fund and its Board of Commissioners is pleased to announce that Senate Bill 328 was signed into Legislation by Governor Brian Kemp on Monday, May 6, 2024. Changes in this bill are effective July 1, 2024.
POAB Website updates are underway. Please contact the Fund Office with any questions you may have. We are happy to help!
Executive Director Homer Bryson expounds below:
To all POAB Members Regarding Senate Bill 328,
Before discussing SB 328 specifically, we thought it would be beneficial to recap the positive changes to the POAB Fund spearheaded by your Board of Trustees since January 1, 2020.
In 2020, the Board approved a 1.5% COLA increase and a law change allowed certified jailers to join the Fund.
In 2021, a law change increased the base pension rate by 19%.
In 2022, a law change allowed certified communication officers to join the Fund.
In 2023, a law change allowed greater flexibility of investment options for the Fund.
Most of these changes were possible due to increased fee structures and other entirely new funding sources. Your Board actively investigates ways to improve membership benefits while adhering to the financial duty of protecting the integrity of the retirement fund.
In discussing the changes in SB 328 effective July 1, 2024, we will highlight by code section the changes that are most relevant to members and agencies. In the interest of brevity, we will not discuss all the changes. We encourage anyone with a particular interest or question to read the code or simply email or call our office for clarification.
§47-17-1
Adopted the definitions for Peace Officer and Full-Time Employment used by POST.
§47-17-40
Shall be the duty of the employing agency to furnish a POAB Membership Application and Certification of Employment Form to Peace Officer employees within 30 days of employment.
§47-17-44
Monthly dues will increase to $35 to help with the cost of the previous pension increases and to cover the costs of increased death benefits, additional retirement options, potential lower buyback costs, and larger membership refunds. Additionally, the application fee to join will be eliminated.
There is no increase in pensions contained in this bill. There will need to be additional funding sources found to realistically provide future cost-of-living adjustments as we currently pay out almost $5 million a month to retirees. We will be working with Legislators on this ahead of next year's session.
Any member dropped for nonpayment of dues (takes 3 months of nonpayment to be dropped) shall have six months from the last fully paid month to reinstate their membership. The member shall pay all back dues together with a $100 reinstatement fee to avoid a break in service. After the 6-month period, purchasing the missing time will be calculated at full actuarial cost.
§47-17-70
Any active member of the fund may claim (buyback) a maximum of five years of prior service at full actuarial cost immediately upon joining or at any time during active membership. This time will count toward vesting.
§47-17-80
Once a member reaches age 55 and is vested in POAB, they can retire with us and continue to work full-time as a Peace Officer. If they choose not to retire with POAB, then they remain an active member and continue to accrue service credit for up to the maximum allowed 30 years.
Once a member has 30 years of creditable service with POAB, they can retire with us regardless of age and continue working full-time as a Peace Officer.
Once the Board approves a member's POAB retirement, the member cannot return to active status with the Fund.
If a member who chose the 100% or 50% Joint Life Option at retirement remarries, they may choose to provide a spousal benefit for the current spouse under the originally chosen option. Spousal factors will be refigured for the new pension amount.
The law change allows retired members who originally chose the 100% or 50% Joint Life Option at retirement to update their benefit for a new spouse. The Fund applies benefit adjustments upon receipt of all required documentation from the date of the event (death, divorce, remarriage).
§47-17-82
Death of a member in good standing will provide a $5,000 death benefit to the beneficiary.
Line-of-duty death of a member will provide a $10,000 death benefit to the beneficiary.
If member dies prior to vesting and the dues paid in is more than the death benefit, the beneficiary will receive a refund of the dues paid.
47-17-83
Members requesting a refund will receive 100% of the dues paid into the Fund. They cannot reapply to be a member for 6 months from the date of the refund check.
In closing, it is important to know that this Bill required some compromise but ultimately received unanimous approval in both the Senate and the House.
The Bill was sponsored by Senator John Albers and carried in the House by Representative Clint Crowe.
Senate Retirement Committee Chairman Rick Williams and House Retirement Committee Chairman John Carson helped guide the Bill through their respective committees.
The Bill was supported by Lt. Governor Burt Jones and Speaker Jon Burns.
SB 328 has been signed by Governor Brian Kemp.
Support for public safety is strong in our state. Stay safe and thanks for your service!