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HB1134 • 2026

RETIREMENT/STATE EMPS: Creates the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (EN SEE ACTUARIAL NOTE APV)

RETIREMENT/STATE EMPS: Creates the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (EN SEE ACTUARIAL NOTE APV)

Elections Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Jacob Braud
Last action
2026-06-02
Official status
Signed by the Governor - Act 705
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide detailed information on the financial impact or specific savings expected from the Back-DROP.

Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program for Louisiana State Employees

This act creates the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program (Back-DROP) within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, allowing certain judges to retire early and receive benefits based on their service credit.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new retirement option called the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program for eligible judges in Louisiana.
  • Allows judges who are retiring from positions designated to be abolished by law to choose this program instead of regular retirement benefits.
  • Requires judges participating in Back-DROP to make an irrevocable election at the time of their voluntary early retirement.
  • Specifies that the Back-DROP period cannot exceed 36 months or the remaining term of office, whichever is shorter.
  • Ensures employer and employee contributions during the Back-DROP period remain with the retirement system.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Judges who are eligible for regular retirement under Louisiana law and whose positions will be abolished upon their retirement.

Terms To Know

Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program (Back-DROP)
A special retirement program allowing certain judges to retire early and receive benefits based on their service credit, with contributions remaining in the retirement system.
Creditable Service
The years of employment that count towards a judge's eligibility for retirement benefits under this program.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This act only applies to judges whose positions are designated to be abolished by law upon their retirement.
  • Judges must make an irrevocable election to participate in Back-DROP before June 30, 2027.
  • The program is designed to save the state money through early termination of certain judicial positions.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Filed

Plain English: The amendment to HB1134 sets a deadline for judges to join the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program and clarifies eligibility criteria for certain retiring judges.

  • Sets June 30, 2027, as the final date by which judges must choose to participate in the Back-DROP program.
  • Specifies that a judge whose division is set to be abolished due to not seeking re-election can join the program if they declare this before July 1, 2026, and retire by December 31, 2026.
  • The amendment includes technical changes that are not detailed in the provided text.
  • Some parts of the original bill's provisions remain unchanged and are not explained further here.
Filed

Plain English: An amendment to HB1134 creates an optional Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program (Back-DROP) within Louisiana's State Employees' Retirement System for certain judges, allowing them to receive a lump sum payment based on earlier service dates.

  • Creates the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Plan (Back-DROP) within LASERS for eligible judges who meet specific criteria.
  • Allows members to retire before meeting standard age and service requirements if they are retiring from a designated position that will be abolished upon their retirement.
  • Requires additional employer contributions based on the number of months in the Back-DROP period, final monthly salary, and contribution rate.
  • The full impact on the Actuarial Accrued Liability is not fully determinable due to demographic uncertainties among affected judges.
  • The amendment text does not provide specific details about how the lump sum payment will be calculated or distributed.
Filed

Plain English: An amendment to HB1134 provides an actuarial analysis of creating a Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program for Louisiana state employees, detailing potential impacts on retirement benefits and employer contributions.

  • Creates a temporary optional payment form within the LASERS known as Back-DROP where members can receive a lump sum payment based on earlier service dates.
  • Removes age and service requirements for eligibility to retire under certain conditions before July 1, 2027.
  • Requires additional employer contributions for any member who opts into this benefit.
  • The exact impact on the Actuarial Accrued Liability is not fully determinable due to demographic uncertainties of affected judges.
  • The actuarial note assumes no other legislative changes affecting funding or benefits will be adopted, limiting its scope.
Filed

Plain English: The amendment to HB1134 involves the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System and includes changes made by the Senate that need to be concurred with.

  • The amendment reflects changes made by the Senate regarding the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System.
  • The official text does not provide specific details about what changes were made by the Senate, so it is unclear exactly how the program will be modified.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the deadline for a new retirement program from July 1, 2027, to December 31, 2026.

  • Changes the start date for the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System from July 1, 2027, to December 31, 2026.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment adds a deadline for state employees to make certain retirement elections by June 30, 2027, and includes specific provisions for judges retiring under certain conditions.

  • Adds a new requirement that any election made under the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program must be completed by June 30, 2027.
  • Specifies that judges who declare they will not seek re-election before July 1, 2026, and whose court division is set to be abolished, are eligible for retirement benefits under this program if their retirement date is on or before December 31, 2026.
  • The amendment text does not provide details about the specific conditions of the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program beyond the deadlines and judge provisions.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment adds a deadline for state employees to choose the Back-Deferred Retirement Option and includes judges who meet certain conditions.

  • Adds a requirement that all elections under this program must be made by June 30, 2027.
  • Includes specific judges in the retirement program if they declare they will not seek re-election before July 1, 2026, and plan to retire by December 31, 2026.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on how the deadline affects employees who cannot meet it.
  • It is unclear what happens if a judge's division of court is abolished after July 1, 2026.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-02 H

    Effective date: 08/01/2026.

  2. 2026-06-02 H

    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 705.

  3. 2026-05-28 H

    Sent to the Governor for executive approval.

  4. 2026-05-27 S

    Signed by the President of the Senate.

  5. 2026-05-27 H

    Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.

  6. 2026-05-26 H

    Read by title, roll called, yeas 101, nays 0. The Senate amendments, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, were concurred in.

  7. 2026-05-25 H

    Scheduled for concurrence on 05/26/2026.

  8. 2026-05-19 H

    Received from the Senate with amendments.

  9. 2026-05-18 S

    Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

  10. 2026-05-07 S

    Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.

  11. 2026-05-06 S

    Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  12. 2026-05-05 S

    Reported with amendments.

  13. 2026-04-20 S

    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Retirement.

  14. 2026-04-15 S

    Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

  15. 2026-04-15 H

    Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 94, nays 0. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

  16. 2026-04-14 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/15/2026.

  17. 2026-04-13 H

    Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.

  18. 2026-04-09 H

    Reported favorably (10-0).

  19. 2026-04-01 H

    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Retirement.

  20. 2026-03-31 H

    Read by title. Lies over under the rules.

Official Summary Text

RETIREMENT/STATE EMPS: Creates the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (EN SEE ACTUARIAL NOTE APV)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED
ACT No. 7052026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 1134
BY REPRESENTATIVE BRAUD
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 11:557.1, relative to the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System; to
3 provide for the creation of a Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program for certain
4 judges; to provide for qualification; to provide for duration of participation; to
5 provide relative to employer and employee contributions; to provide for calculation
6 of benefit; to provide relative to service credit; and to provide for related matters.
7 Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published
8 as provided by Article X, Section 29(C) of the Constitution
9 of Louisiana.
10 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
11 Section 1. R.S. 11:557.1 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
12 §557.1. Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program
13 A. There is hereby created an optional retirement benefit program for
14 members of the system called the "Back Deferred Retirement Option Program to
15 Reduce Expenditure by the Early Retirement of Abolished Judgeships" which shall
16 be referred to in this Section as "Back-DROP". This option shall apply only to each
17 judge who is otherwise eligible for retirement under this Subpart, who holds a
18 judgeship designated to be abolished by law upon the retirement of the judge, who
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HB NO. 1134 ENROLLED
1 voluntarily retires earlier than the expiration of his existing term in order to create
2 significant savings for the state through early termination of the judgeship, and does
3 not seek election to another judicial office.
4 B. In lieu of receiving a retirement benefit pursuant to this Subpart, an active
5 contributing member eligible pursuant to Subsection A of this Section with more
6 years of service than are required for service retirement and which are sufficient to
7 qualify for the Back-DROP period selected may make an irrevocable election at the
8 time of retirement to receive a Back-DROP benefit. A member may qualify for
9 Back-DROP only once. A member who has participated in the Deferred Retirement
10 Option Plan shall not be eligible to enroll in the Back-DROP.
11 C. At the time of retirement, the member shall select a Back-DROP period
12 to be specified in whole months. The Back-DROP period shall not exceed the lesser
13 of:
14 (1) Thirty-six months.
15 (2) The number of months of creditable service accrued after the member
16 first became eligible for regular retirement.
17 (3) The number of months remaining on the member's current unexpired
18 elected term of office.
19 D. Employer and employee contributions received by the retirement system
20 during the Back-DROP period and any interest that has accrued on employer and
21 employee contributions received during the period shall remain with the retirement
22 system and shall not be refunded to the member or employer.
23 E. The member's Back-DROP monthly benefit accrual shall be calculated
24 based on the provisions otherwise applicable for retirement under this Subpart
25 subject to the following conditions:
26 (1) For purposes of this Subsection, creditable service shall not include
27 service credit reciprocally recognized under R.S. 11:142.
28 (2) Accrued service at retirement, utilized for the purpose of calculating the
29 Back-DROP monthly benefit, shall be reduced by the Back-DROP period. The
30 regular retirement benefit shall be calculated in the same manner and shall be subject
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HB NO. 1134 ENROLLED
1 to the same survivor or beneficiary elections, as for any benefit due under this
2 Subpart except that the service credit equal to the months of the Back-DROP election
3 shall be excluded for the member's accrued service credit. The benefit due as elected
4 under this Section shall be payable monthly in the same manner as a benefit
5 otherwise due under this Subpart.
6 (3) Additional employer contributions shall be due from the member's
7 employing court equal to the number of months selected for the Back-DROP benefit
8 at the final salary applied to the contribution rate at the time of retirement and paid
9 at the time of retirement.
10 (4) In addition to the regular monthly retirement due under this Section, the
11 member shall be paid a lump-sum benefit equal to the Back-DROP maximum
12 monthly retirement benefit multiplied by the number of months selected as the Back-
13 DROP period.
14 F. In addition to the other limitations of this Section, any election pursuant
15 to this Section shall be made on or before June 30, 2027.
16 Section 2. To promote significant savings to the state general fund through early
17 termination of judgeships, any judge holding office on the effective date of this Act whose
18 judicial division or judgeship is designated to be abolished by law in the event of retirement
19 or resignation of the judge and who exercises an irrevocable option to retire under the
20 provisions of this Act prior to December 31, 2026, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.
21 11:557.1 as enacted by this Act to the contrary, shall be allowed to immediately retire
22 regardless of his age and years of service, provided that such judge does not seek election
23 to any judicial office following retirement. The judge shall receive a maximum annual
24 benefit based on the member's service credit and final average compensation calculated as
25 if the member were eligible for regular service retirement. For any judge whose division of
26 court is specified to be abolished by operation of law only if they made an irrevocable
27 declaration that they will not seek re-election, the judge shall be deemed to also be subject
28 to the provisions of this Section if that declaration is made prior to July 1, 2026, and their
29 retirement is designated to occur pursuant to the provisions of this Act on or before
30 December 31, 2026.
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1 Section 3. The cost of this Act, if any, shall be funded with additional employer
2 contributions in compliance with Article X, Section 29(F) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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