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ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 47
BY REPRESENTATIVE BERAULT
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 11:1404(A), 1461, and 1481(1)(b), to enact R.S. 11:1485, and
3 to repeal R.S. 11:105(A)(1), 106(A)(1), 107(A)(1), 107.1(A)(1), 242(B)(1),
4 243(A)(1), and 246(A)(1), relative to the Assessors' Retirement Fund; to provide
5 relative to cost-of-living increases; to provide relative to the authority of the board
6 of trustees to grant an increase; to provide for the calculation of the amount of any
7 increase; to provide for the funding deposit account; to provide for employer
8 contributions; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
9 Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published
10 as provided by Article X, Section 29(C) of the Constitution
11 of Louisiana.
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
13 Section 1. R.S. 11:1404(A), 1461, and 1481(1)(b) are hereby amended and reenacted
14 and R.S. 11:1485 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
15 §1404. Amendment of provisions of retirement system
16 A. The provisions of the retirement system established by R.S. 11:1401 may
17 be amended by action of the legislature in the same manner as any other statute may
18 be amended by the legislature. In addition, action of the board with respect to the
19 payment of cost-of-living adjustments, as provided in R.S. 11:241 through 248,
20 increases, the payment of employee contributions, actuarial assumptions as provided
21 in R.S. 11:1402, and any changes required for conformity with requirements of the
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1 Internal Revenue Code, shall be considered amendments to the provisions of the
2 retirement fund system.
3 * * *
4 §1461. Cost-of-living increase; determination by board of trustees
5 A. The board of trustees may use excess interest earnings on investments of
6 the system in excess of normal requirements as determined by the actuary funds in
7 the funding deposit account to provide a cost-of-living increase in benefits for retired
8 members or their retirees, beneficiaries, in an amount not to exceed three percent of
9 the original benefit, excluding any additional annuity, for each year of retirement but
10 not to exceed three hundred dollars per year for each year of retirement. Such and
11 survivors if benefits have been paid on the member's or retiree's record for at least
12 one year on the date the increase begins, subject to the limitations in this Section.
13 The benefits shall be paid in such a manner and in such amount as may be
14 determined by the board of trustees, based on funds available, and the board of
15 trustees shall be authorized to set a maximum amount of such benefits. Any cost-of-
16 living increase granted in accordance with this Section shall begin on October first
17 following board approval.
18 B.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in particular R.S.
19 11:242, the board of trustees is authorized to provide a permanent monthly
20 cost-of-living adjustment for retirees or their beneficiaries who would otherwise be
21 eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to Subsection A of this Section. The
22 cost-of-living adjustment shall be payable in a monthly amount not to exceed three
23 percent of the normal monthly benefit payable to the retiree or beneficiary on the
24 date the increase is granted but shall not be less than twenty dollars per month. The
25 board may grant a cost-of-living increase in any fiscal year in which the system has
26 a funded ratio of at least one hundred percent.
27 (2) The authority of the board of trustees to provide the cost-of-living
28 adjustment provided in this Subsection shall become effective July 1, 2008. The
29 authority of the board of trustees to provide the cost-of-living adjustment shall be
30 nonrecurring, and the board of trustees shall not grant more than one cost-of-living
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1 adjustment pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. If the system has a funded
2 ratio of less than one hundred percent, the board may grant a cost-of-living increase
3 if any of the following applies:
4 (a) The system has a funded ratio of at least ninety percent and the board has
5 not granted a cost-of-living increase in the most recent fiscal year.
6 (b) The system has a funded ratio of at least eighty percent and the board has
7 not granted a cost-of-living increase in either of the two most recent fiscal years.
8 (c) The system has a funded ratio of at least seventy percent and the board
9 has not granted a cost-of-living increase in any of the three most recent fiscal years.
10 (3)(a) As used in this Section, the funded ratio as of any fiscal year end shall
11 be defined as the ratio of the actuarial value of assets to the level percentage of pay
12 entry age normal actuarial accrued liability.
13 (b) For purposes of determining the system's funded ratio pursuant to this
14 Subsection, the actuarial value of assets shall be reduced by the actuarial present
15 value of the cost-of-living increase.
16 C. If authorized pursuant to Subsection B of this Section, the board may do
17 one of the following:
18 (1) Grant a cost-of-living increase of up to three percent of the current
19 benefit to all eligible retirees, beneficiaries, and survivors.
20 (2) Grant a cost-of-living increase that is a monthly increase of the benefit
21 of each recipient in a dollar amount that is a multiple or a fraction of the number of
22 years of credited service accrued at retirement of the retiree or at death of the
23 member plus a multiple or a fraction of the number of years since retirement of the
24 retiree or since death of the member to the system's fiscal year end preceding the
25 payment of the benefit increase. The multiples used in this calculation shall not
26 cause the total actuarial present value of the increase to exceed the actuarial present
27 value of an increase granted pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
28 D. The board may grant a cost-of-living increase of up to two percent of the
29 current benefit to all eligible retirees, beneficiaries, and survivors who are sixty-five
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1 years of age or older. The increase granted pursuant to this Subsection may be in
2 addition to any other increase granted by the board.
3 * * *
4 §1481. Financing of fund; deductions; deficiencies and surpluses; remedies
5 The fund shall be financed as set forth hereunder:
6 (1)
7 * * *
8 (b) Each assessor shall contribute three and one-half percent of the salaries
9 of the assessor and the assessor's employees who are eligible for membership in the
10 fund. The board of trustees of the fund shall contribute three and one-half percent
11 of the salaries of the secretary and regular employees of the Assessors' Retirement
12 Fund to the fund. For purposes of this Section, the term "salaries" shall include
13 expense allowances provided by law in addition to regular salary to be paid from the
14 assessors' general fund. For purposes of this Section, in no event shall the expense
15 allowance exceed ten percent of the salary of the assessor. On and after October 1,
16 1989, each assessor and the board of trustees of the fund shall contribute the
17 employer contributions required by R.S. 11:103 plus any amount required by R.S.
18 11:1485.
19 * * *
20 §1485. Employer contributions; funding deposit account
21 A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the board of
22 trustees may:
23 (1) In any fiscal year during which the net direct employer contribution rate
24 would otherwise be decreased, require an employer contribution rate equal to the
25 previous year's employer contribution rate or a rate lower than the previous year's
26 employer contribution rate if the lower rate is not less than the employer contribution
27 rate calculated in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 11:103.
28 (2) Require an employer contribution rate of up to three percent more than
29 the rate calculated in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 11:103.
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1 B. The funding deposit account established by Act No. 296 of the 2009
2 Regular Session of the Legislature is continued. All surplus funds collected by the
3 system in any year in which the board exercises the authority provided in Subsection
4 A of this Section shall be credited to the system’s funding deposit account.
5 C. The funds in the account shall earn interest annually at the
6 board-approved actuarial valuation interest rate, and such interest shall be credited
7 to the account once a year.
8 D.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the board of
9 trustees may in any fiscal year direct that funds from the account be charged for only
10 the following purposes:
11 (a) To reduce the present value of future normal costs.
12 (b) To pay all or a portion of any future net direct employer contributions.
13 (c) To provide for cost-of-living increases, in accordance with applicable
14 law.
15 (2) In no event shall the funds charged from the account exceed the
16 outstanding account balance.
17 (3) If the board of trustees elects to charge funds from the funding deposit
18 account pursuant to Subparagraph (1)(b) of this Subsection, the percent reduction in
19 the minimum recommended employer contribution rate otherwise applicable shall
20 be determined by dividing the interest-adjusted value of the charges from the funding
21 deposit account by the projected payroll for the fiscal year for which the contribution
22 rate is to be reduced.
23 (4) The balance in the funding deposit account shall be excluded from the
24 assets used in the calculation of the employer contribution rate in accordance with
25 the provisions of R.S. 11:103.
26 (5) For all purposes other than funding, the balance in the account shall be
27 considered assets of the system.
28 Section 2. R.S. 11:105(A)(1), 106(A)(1), 107(A)(1), 107.1(A)(1), 242(B)(1),
29 243(A)(1), and 246(A)(1) are hereby repealed in their entirety.
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1 Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
2 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
3 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
4 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
5 effective on the day following such approval.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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