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HB-4471, As Passed Senate, July 3, 2026
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SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 4471
A bill to amend 1851 PA 156, entitled
"An act to define the powers and duties of the county boards of
commissioners of the several counties, and to confer upon them
certain local, administrative and legislative powers; and to
prescribe penalties for the violation of the provisions of this
act,"
by amending section 12a (MCL 46.12a), as amended by 2017 PA 204.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 12a. (1) Subject to subsection (34), a county board of 1
commissioners at a lawfully held meeting may do 1 or more of the 2
following: 3
(a) Provide group life, health, accident and hospitalization, 4
and disability coverage for a county employee, a retired employee, 5
or an employee of an office, board, or department of the county, 6
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including the board of county road commissioners, and a dependent 1
of an employee, either with or without cost participation by the 2
employee, and appropriate the necessary money for the insurance. 3
For a county with 100 employees or more, the county may under this 4
subsection self-insure for health, accident and hospitalization, 5
and group disability coverage for a county employee, a retired 6
employee, or an employee of an office, board, or department of the 7
county, including the board of county road commissioners, and a 8
dependent of an employee, either with or without cost participation 9
by the employee, and appropriate the necessary funds. 10
(b) Adopt and establish a plan by which the county purchases 11
or participates in the cost of an endowment policy or retirement 12
annuity for a county employee or an employee of an office, board, 13
or department of the county, including the board of county road 14
commissioners, to provide monthly pension or retirement benefits 15
for each employee 60 years of age or older in an amount not to 16
exceed $150.00 per month or 2% of the average monthly earnings of 17
the employee for 5 years immediately before retirement times the 18
years of service of the employee, whichever is the lesser amount. 19
As an option, a county board of commissioners may adopt and 20
establish a plan by which the county pays pension or retirement 21
benefits to a county employee or an employee of an office, board, 22
or department of the county, including the board of county road 23
commissioners, who has been employed for not less than 25 years, or 24
who is 60 years of age or older and has been employed for not less 25
than 5 years, in monthly payments not to exceed 2.5% of the 26
employee's highest average monthly compensation or earnings 27
received from the county or county road fund for 5 years of service 28
times the total number of years of service of the employee, 29
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including a fraction of a year, not to exceed 3/4 of the average 1
final compensation of the employee. A plan may also pay early 2
retirement benefits at 55 years of age or older to the extent of 3
actuarially equivalent benefits not increasing the costs of the 4
plan. Except as provided in subsection (27), endowment policies, 5
retirement benefits, pensions, or annuity retirement benefits in 6
excess of the amounts provided in this subdivision may be provided 7
for by a plan of employee participation to cover the cost of the 8
excess. If the employment or the pension or retirement benefits of 9
an employee who participated in the cost of pension or retirement 10
benefits are terminated before the employee receives pension or 11
retirement benefits equal to the total amount of the employee's 12
participation, the balance of the total participation must be 13
refunded to the employee at the time of termination, if living, or 14
if deceased, to the employee's heir, estate, legal representative, 15
or designated beneficiary as provided in the plan adopted and 16
established by the county board of commissioners. If a terminated 17
employee is rehired by the county, the employee may repay the 18
amount of participation refunded to the employee on the employee's 19
termination, plus compound interest from the date of refund to the 20
dates of repayment at the rates provided in the plan. As conditions 21
for repayment, the plan may require return to employment for a 22
period not to exceed 3 years and may require that repayment be 23
completed within a period of not less than 1 year following return 24
to employment. A plan adopted for the payment of retirement 25
benefits or a pension must grant benefits to an employee eligible 26
for pension or retirement benefits according to a uniform scale for 27
all persons in the same general class or classification. An 28
employee must not be denied benefits by termination of his or her 29
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employment after the employee becomes eligible for benefits under 1
the plan and this section. An endowment policy or annuity purchased 2
under this section must be purchased from an insurer authorized to 3
write endowment policies or annuities in this state. 4
(2) In a plan adopted under this section, at least 60% of the 5
total pension or retirement benefit granted to an employee from 6
county funds must consist of a percentage not to exceed 2.5% of the 7
employee's average final compensation times the employee's years of 8
service and must be granted to each employee eligible for 9
retirement under the plan uniformly and without restriction or 10
limitation other than those prescribed in this section. As used in 11
this section: 12
(a) "Average final compensation" means the annual average of 13
the highest actual compensation received by a county employee, 14
other than a county employee who is a judge of a municipal court of 15
record subject to subsection (20) or a judge subject to subsection 16
(23), during a period of 5 consecutive years of service contained 17
within the employee's 10 years of service immediately before the 18
employee's retirement or a period of 5 years of service as 19
specified in the plan. In a county that adopts a plan for granting 20
longevity pay, the county board of commissioners may exclude this 21
longevity pay from average final compensation for the purpose of 22
computing the rate of employee contribution and the amount of 23
benefits payable to an employee on retirement. 24
(b) "Longevity pay" means increments of compensation payable 25
at annual or semiannual intervals and based on years of service to 26
the county, exclusive of compensation provided for a given class of 27
positions. 28
(3) A circuit court stenographer is eligible for membership 29
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in, and the benefits of, a pension or retirement benefit under a 1
plan established under this section, or a social security plan 2
established by the county or 1 of the counties that pays a portion 3
of the compensation of a circuit court stenographer. 4
(4) If the employment of a county employee eligible to receive 5
a pension or retirement benefit under a plan established under this 6
section is terminated after the employee has completed 8 or more 7
years of service in county employment, the employee must receive 8
the amount of pension or retirement benefit to which the employee's 9
service would have entitled the employee under the plan 10
established, if the employee waives the employee's right to a 11
refund of the employee's total participation on the termination of 12
employment. The payment of pension or retirement benefits must 13
begin, as provided in the plan, after the employee would have 14
become eligible for retirement under the plan had the employee's 15
employment not been terminated, but not later than 90 days after 16
the employee becomes 65 years of age. The payment of pension or 17
retirement benefits must not begin until the employee has applied 18
for pension or retirement benefits in the manner prescribed in the 19
plan established. 20
(5) A plan established under this section may provide for 21
pension or retirement benefits for a county employee who becomes 22
totally disabled for work in the county service from any cause, 23
after not less than 10 years of county employment, to the extent of 24
the limitations provided in this section. A plan may also provide 25
for pension or retirement benefits to the extent of the limitations 26
provided in this section or $400.00 per month, whichever is the 27
greater amount, for an employee who becomes totally disabled for 28
work in the county service from causes that are the direct and 29
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proximate result of county employment, to continue for the duration 1
of the disability or until the employee becomes eligible for 2
retirement under other provisions of the plan authorized by this 3
section. A plan may also provide for pension or retirement 4
benefits, to the extent of the limitations provided in this 5
section, for the actual dependents of a county employee who dies 6
while still employed by the county after not less than 10 years of 7
county employment, or who dies after leaving county employment with 8
not less than the number of years of service required to vest in 9
the plan but before becoming eligible to receive a pension or 10
retirement benefit. A plan may also provide for pension or 11
retirement benefits to the extent of the limitations provided in 12
this section or $400.00 per month, whichever is greater, for the 13
actual dependents of a deceased county employee whose death is the 14
direct and proximate result of county employment. The plan may 15
provide that the period from the end of the deceased or disabled 16
employee's period of service to the date that employee would have 17
become eligible for retirement is used as service for the sole 18
purpose of computing the amount of disability or death pension. 19
(6) As used in this section, "county employee" includes a 20
bailiff of the district court in the thirty-sixth district who 21
serves under section 8322 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 22
1961 PA 236, MCL 600.8322, and a person who receives more than 50% 23
of all compensation for personal services, rendered to governmental 24
units, from a county fund or county road fund, except a person, 25
other than a bailiff of the district court in the thirty-sixth 26
district, engaged for special services on a contract or fee basis. 27
Until December 31, 1979, a plan adopted under this section may 28
include as a county employee a person on leave of absence from 29
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county employment who is not a member of another retirement system 1
except as a retirant and who pays or arranges payment of 2
contributions equal to the contributions that would have been 3
required to be paid under the plan by both the county and the 4
employee, based on the compensation the employee would have 5
received from the county, if the employee had not taken a leave of 6
absence or a person who complies with the requirements of such a 7
provision approved for inclusion in a plan by the county board of 8
commissioners before January 1, 1976, who is considered a county 9
employee during the period of compliance. A plan adopted under this 10
section may exclude a person who is employed on a temporary basis 11
and a person employed in a position normally requiring less than 12
1,000 hours, or some lesser specified number of hours, work per 13
year. A bailiff serving in the district court in the thirty-sixth 14
district is eligible to receive benefits under this section if a 15
plan has been established by law by which the cost of benefits is 16
payable from sources including charges on all legal instruments in 17
which the service of process by a bailiff is required and earmarked 18
by law for benefits, and contributions made by the city of Detroit 19
and each bailiff under section 8322(6) of the revised judicature 20
act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.8322. The plan must provide that 21
a bailiff or former bailiff who served as bailiff as of January 1, 22
1967, may retire after 25 years of service regardless of age, with 23
maximum benefits to be computed as follows: starting as of January 24
1, 1969, the average of any 5 years of earnings of the previous 10 25
years served in succession before retirement multiplied by 1.9% 26
times the years of service; starting as of June 1, 1975, the 27
average of any 5 years of earnings multiplied by 2% times the years 28
of service. As used in this subsection, "earnings" means the salary 29
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and fees, other than mileage, received by a bailiff under section 1
8322(5) of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 2
600.8322. The plan must provide that health, accident, and 3
hospitalization insurance premiums may be paid out of the earnings 4
of this fund. These payments must be made at the discretion of the 5
pension board of trustees. A county that has a retirement fund for 6
bailiffs under this section shall annually review the retirement 7
fund and shall ensure that the fund is maintained in an actuarially 8
sound condition. Copies of the actuarial reports must be provided 9
to the employer designated under section 8274(2) or (3) of the 10
revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.8274, and to 11
the state court administrator. 12
(7) An employee while receiving a pension or retirement 13
benefit because of disability, under this section, may be 14
considered as employed in the county service for the purpose of 15
retirement under this section. 16
(8) A county employee who is included by law in another 17
pension or retirement system by reason of the compensation the 18
employee receives from the county may be excluded from a plan 19
established under this section or included only to the extent of 20
the difference between benefits granted under this section and the 21
other pension or retirement system. 22
(9) The county board of commissioners, on the request of a 23
county employee, by not less than a 3/5 vote may credit the county 24
employee with the amount of government service resulting from 25
employment with the United States government, except military 26
service, employment with a state, or employment with any of their 27
political subdivisions under the following conditions: 28
(a) Employment by the county occurred within 15 years 29
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following the county employee's separation from service of the last 1
unit of government by which the county employee was employed. 2
(b) Service rendered before the last break in service of more 3
than 15 years is not credited. 4
(c) Service that is recognized for the purpose of a deferred 5
retirement allowance under a retirement system or other employer-6
funded retirement benefit plan, except for a retirement benefit 7
plan under the social security act, chapter 531, 49 Stat. 620, of 8
the United States government, a state, or a political subdivision 9
of a state is not credited if the county employee retired under a 10
retirement system of the United States government, a state, or any 11
of their political subdivisions or until the county employee 12
irrevocably forfeits the right to the deferred retirement 13
allowance. 14
(d) The county employee deposits in the plan established under 15
this section an amount equal to the aggregate amount of 16
contributions the county employee would have made had the service 17
been acquired while employed by the county, plus interest from the 18
dates the contributions would have been made to the date of 19
deposit, at rates determined by the county board of commissioners. 20
If records are insufficient or unavailable to compute the exact 21
amount of required deposit, the county board of commissioners may 22
estimate the amount. 23
(e) The county employee has 8 or more years of credited 24
service in county employment, is vested in the county plan, and 25
deposits in the county employees' retirement system an amount equal 26
to the aggregate amount of contributions the employer would have 27
made had the government service being credited under this section 28
been acquired while employed by the county. 29
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(10) A plan adopted under this section may provide for annual 1
or less frequent postretirement redetermination of a pension. The 2
redetermined amount of pension must be not greater than the amount 3
of pension otherwise payable multiplied by the sum of 100% and the 4
percentage the county board of commissioners determines appropriate 5
for each full year, excluding a fraction of a year, in the period 6
from the effective date of payments of the pension and the date 7
that the redetermination is being made. The redetermined amount 8
must not be less than the amount of pension otherwise payable. A 9
provision of this section that limits the amount of a pension does 10
not apply to the operation of this subsection redetermining the 11
amount of a pension. As used in this subsection, "the amount of 12
pension otherwise payable" means the amount of pension that would 13
be payable without regard to this subsection. The application of a 14
provision redetermining pension amounts may be restricted to 15
pensions that have an effective date of payment either before or 16
after a specified date. 17
(11) The cost of pension or retirement benefits for a county 18
employee under this section may be paid from the same fund from 19
which the employee receives compensation, and the county board of 20
commissioners may appropriate the necessary funds to carry out the 21
purposes of this section. If a county establishes a plan by which 22
the county pays pension or retirement benefits to an employee under 23
this section, the county, under provisions for pension or 24
retirement benefits that are incorporated in the plan, shall 25
establish and maintain reserves on an actuarial basis in the manner 26
provided in this subsection sufficient to finance the pension and 27
retirement and death benefit liabilities under the plan and 28
sufficient to pay the pension and retirement and death benefits as 29
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they become due. A county that adopts a retirement plan under this 1
section and establishes reserves on an actuarial basis shall 2
maintain the reserves as provided in this subsection. The reserves 3
must be determined by an actuarial valuation and established and 4
maintained by yearly appropriations by the county and contributions 5
by employees. The reserves must be established, maintained, and 6
funded to cover the pension and other benefits provided for in the 7
plan in the same manner and within the same limits as to time as is 8
provided for Benefit Program B in the municipal employees 9
retirement system described in former section 14 of the municipal 10
employees retirement act of 1984, 1984 PA 427. These reserves are 11
trust funds and must not be used for any other purpose than the 12
payment of pension, retirement, and other benefits and refunds of 13
employee contributions pursuant to the plan established in a 14
county. An employee's contributions must be kept and accumulated in 15
a separate fund and used only for the payment of annuities and 16
refunds to employees. This subsection does not apply to a county 17
that adopted a retirement plan under this section and did not 18
establish reserves on an actuarial basis before October 11, 1947. 19
(12) If a county establishes a plan for the payment of pension 20
and retirement benefits to its employees under this section, the 21
county board of commissioners may provide for a board of trustees 22
to administer the plan and for the manner of election or 23
appointment of the members of the board of trustees. The county 24
board of commissioners may grant authority to the board of trustees 25
to fully administer and operate the plan and to deposit, invest, 26
and reinvest the funds and reserves of the plan within the 27
limitations prescribed by the county board of commissioners in the 28
plan. The county board of commissioners may authorize the 29
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investment of funds of a county retirement plan established under 1
this section in anything in which the funds of the state employees' 2
retirement system or the funds of the municipal employees 3
retirement system may be invested, under the state employees' 4
retirement act, 1943 PA 240, MCL 38.1 to 38.69, and the municipal 5
employees retirement act of 1984, 1984 PA 427, MCL 38.1501 to 6
38.1555. A county retirement plan established under this section 7
may provide for financing, funding, and the payment of benefits in 8
the same manner and to the same extent as is provided for in the 9
state employees' retirement act, 1943 PA 240, MCL 38.1 to 38.69, 10
and the municipal employees retirement act of 1984, 1984 PA 427, 11
MCL 38.1501 to 38.1555, may provide for and require contributions 12
by county employees, and may permit additional employee 13
contributions on a voluntary basis. 14
(13) On the approval of the county board of commissioners, a 15
member who entered the Armed Service of the United States before 16
June 1, 1980 or who entered the Armed Service of the United States 17
after May 31, 1980 during a time of war or emergency condition as 18
described in section 1 of 1965 PA 190, MCL 35.61, as that section 19
read on September 19, 2016, may elect to receive credited service 20
for not more than 5 years of active military service. Credit for 21
military service must be given on request and payment to the 22
retirement system of an amount equal to 5% of the member's full-23
time or equated full-time annual compensation for the year in which 24
payment is made multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of 25
a year, of credited service that the member elects to purchase up 26
to the maximum. Service must not be credited if the service is or 27
would be credited under any other federal, state, or local publicly 28
supported retirement system, except for service that is or would be 29
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credited under the federal government for services in the reserve. 1
Service must not be credited under this subsection until the member 2
has the number of years of credited service needed to vest under 3
the plan. Only completed years and months of armed service may be 4
credited under this subsection. 5
(14) A member who enters or entered any Armed Service of the 6
United States may purchase credited service for periods of 7
continuous active duty lasting 30 days or more, subject to the 8
following conditions: 9
(a) The county board of commissioners authorizes the purchase 10
of credited service under this subsection by an affirmative vote of 11
a majority of the members of the county board of commissioners. The 12
county board of commissioners shall establish a written policy to 13
implement this subsection to provide uniform application of this 14
subsection to all members of the plan. 15
(b) The member has at least the number of years of credited 16
service needed to vest under the plan, not including any credited 17
service purchased under this subsection and subsection (13). 18
(c) The member pays the plan 5% of the member's annual 19
compensation multiplied by the period of credited service being 20
purchased. As used in this subdivision, "annual compensation" means 21
the aggregate amount of compensation paid the member during the 4 22
most recent calendar quarters for each of which the member was 23
credited 3/12 of a year of credited service. 24
(d) Fractional months of armed service is not recognized for 25
the purposes of this subsection. 26
(e) Armed service credited a member under subsection (13) is 27
not the basis of credited service under this section. 28
(f) Armed service credited a member under this subsection does 29
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not exceed either 5 years or the difference between 5 years and the 1
armed service credited the member under subsection (13). 2
(g) Credited service is not granted for periods of armed 3
service that are or could be used for obtaining or increasing a 4
benefit from another retirement system, except for service that is 5
or would be credited under the federal government for services in 6
the reserve. 7
(15) As used in this subsection, "transitional public 8
employment program" means a public service employment program in 9
the area of environmental quality, health care, education, public 10
safety, crime prevention and control, prison rehabilitation, 11
transportation, recreation, maintenance of parks, streets, and 12
other public facilities, solid waste removal, pollution control, 13
housing and neighborhood improvements, rural development, 14
conservation, beautification, veterans' outreach, or any other area 15
of human betterment and community improvement as part of a program 16
of comprehensive manpower services authorized, undertaken, and 17
financed under the former comprehensive employment and training act 18
of 1973, Public Law 93-203. A person participating in a 19
transitional public employment program is not eligible for 20
membership in a retirement system or pension plan established under 21
this section. If the person later becomes a member of a retirement 22
system or pension plan established under this section within 12 23
months after the date of termination as a participant in a 24
transitional public employment program, service credit must be 25
given for employment in the transitional public employment program 26
for purposes of determining a retirement allowance on the payment 27
by the person and the person's employer under the transitional 28
public employment program from money provided under the former 29
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comprehensive employment and training act of 1973, Public Law 93-1
203, as money permits, to the retirement system of the 2
contributions, plus regular interest, the person and the employer 3
would have paid had the employment been rendered in a position 4
covered by this section. During the person's employment in the 5
transitional public employment program, the person's employer shall 6
provide an opportunity by payroll deduction for the person to make 7
his or her employee contribution to the applicable pension system. 8
To provide for the eventual payment of the employer's contribution, 9
the person's employer shall during this same period place in 10
reserve a reasonable but not necessarily an actuarially determined 11
amount equal to the contributions that the employer would have paid 12
to the retirement system for those employees in the transitional 13
public employment program as if they were members under this 14
section, but only for the number of employees that the employer 15
determined would transfer from the transitional public employment 16
program into positions covered by this section. If the money 17
provided under the former comprehensive employment and training act 18
of 1973, Public Law 93-203, is insufficient, the person's current 19
employer shall pay the remainder of the employer contributions. 20
(16) Subsection (15) does not exclude the participant in a 21
transitional public employment program from the accident, 22
disability, or other benefits available to members of a retirement 23
system covered by this section. 24
(17) If a probate judge who is a member of a plan established 25
under this section contributes for 20 years or more, the county 26
board of commissioners may allow the probate judge to cease further 27
contributions. 28
(18) An employee of the circuit court in the third judicial 29
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circuit, the common pleas court of the city of Detroit, or the 1
recorder's court of the city of Detroit who became an employee of 2
the state judicial council on September 1, 1981, and who was 44 3
years of age or older as of that date, and who will have 4
accumulated 25 or more years of service credit by September 1, 5
1987, continues to be eligible for membership in, and the benefits 6
of, a pension or retirement benefit plan established under this 7
section in the same manner as the employee was eligible before 8
September 1, 1981. A person who was an employee of the circuit 9
court in the third judicial circuit, the common pleas court of the 10
city of Detroit, or the recorder's court of the city of Detroit on 11
August 31, 1981, who last entered county employment before November 12
2, 1956, who became an employee of the state judicial council on 13
September 1, 1981, and who accumulated not less than 24 years of 14
service credit by August 31, 1981, continues to be eligible for 15
membership in, and the benefits of, a pension or retirement benefit 16
plan established under this section in the same manner as the 17
employee was eligible before September 1, 1981. An election to 18
continue to be a member of a pension or retirement benefit plan 19
established under this section as authorized by section 594(2) of 20
the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.594, as 21
that section read on February 8, 1985, or section 36(2) of former 22
1919 PA 369, is not effective unless the employee has made the 23
election in the manner prescribed by those sections and has made 24
the payments required by those sections. 25
(19) A plan adopted under this section may provide that an 26
employee of the circuit court in the third judicial circuit, the 27
common pleas court of the city of Detroit, or the recorder's court 28
of the city of Detroit who is a member of the Wayne County 29
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employees' retirement system on August 31, 1981, who becomes an 1
employee of the state judicial council and a member of the state 2
employees' retirement system on September 1, 1981, receive a 3
benefit based on the annual average of the highest actual 4
compensation received by the employee during a period of 5 years of 5
county or state service. 6
(20) Beginning September 1, 1981, for determining the 7
retirement benefit for a county employee who is a judge of a 8
municipal court of record under subsection (2), "average final 9
compensation" means the annual average of the highest actual 10
compensation received by the judge as additional salary under 11
section 13(2) of former 1919 PA 369, or section 9932(3) of the 12
revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.9932, during a 13
period of 5 years of service as specified in the plan. This 14
subsection must not be construed to diminish or impair an accrued 15
financial benefit. 16
(21) Beginning September 1, 1981, for each county employee who 17
is a judge of a municipal court of record, or of the circuit or 18
district court, the sum of the average final compensation 19
determined for that county employee under this section and the 20
final salary determined for that county employee as a member of the 21
state of Michigan judges' retirement system created by former 1951 22
PA 198, or as a member of the Michigan judges retirement system 23
created by the judges retirement act of 1992, 1992 PA 234, MCL 24
38.2101 to 38.2670, must not exceed the employee's total annual 25
judicial salary payable from all sources at the time of his or her 26
retirement. This subsection must not be construed to diminish or 27
impair an accrued financial benefit. 28
(22) Beginning September 1, 1981, for a county employee who is 29
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a judge of the probate court, the sum of the average final 1
compensation calculated for the employee under this section and the 2
final salary calculated for the employee as a member of the state 3
of Michigan probate judges retirement system created by former 1954 4
PA 165 or as a member of the Michigan judges retirement system 5
created by the judges retirement act of 1992, 1992 PA 234, MCL 6
38.2101 to 38.2670, must not exceed the employee's total annual 7
judicial salary payable from all sources at the time of his or her 8
retirement. This subsection must not be construed to diminish or 9
impair an accrued financial benefit. 10
(23) Beginning September 1, 1981, for determining a retirement 11
benefit under subsection (2) for a county employee who is a judge 12
who receives an annuity under section 14(5) of former 1951 PA 198 13
or under section 503(2)(c) of the judges retirement act of 1992, 14
1992 PA 234, MCL 38.2503, "average final compensation" means the 15
difference between the judge's total annual salary payable from all 16
sources on August 31, 1981, and the judge's state base salary 17
payable on August 31, 1981. This subsection must not be construed 18
to diminish or impair an accrued financial benefit. 19
(24) Beginning January 1, 1983, the sum of the final salary 20
determined for a county employee who is a judge of the probate 21
court used as the basis for determining the judge's retirement 22
allowance as a member of a retirement system established under this 23
section and the salary or compensation figure used as the basis for 24
determining the judge's retirement allowance as a member of the 25
state of Michigan judges' retirement system created by former 1951 26
PA 198 or as a member of the Michigan judges retirement system 27
created by the judges retirement act of 1992, 1992 PA 234, MCL 28
38.2101 to 38.2670, must not exceed the judge's total annual salary 29
19
DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
payable from all sources at the time of his or her retirement. This 1
subsection must not be construed to diminish or impair an accrued 2
financial benefit. 3
(25) The county board of commissioners, on the request of a 4
county employee, by not less than a 3/5 vote may credit the county 5
employee with the amount of membership service that the county 6
employee was previously credited with by the retirement system 7
established under this section under the following conditions: 8
(a) The membership service previously credited to the county 9
employee was service rendered for the same county. 10
(b) Service that is recognized for the purpose of a deferred 11
retirement allowance under a retirement system or other employer-12
funded retirement benefit plan, except for a retirement benefit 13
plan under the social security act, chapter 531, 49 Stat. 620, of 14
the United States government, a state, or a political subdivision 15
of a state is not credited if the county employee retired under a 16
retirement system of the United States government, a state, or any 17
of their political subdivisions or until the county employee 18
irrevocably forfeits the right to the deferred retirement 19
allowance. 20
(c) The county employee deposits in the plan established under 21
this section an amount equal to the aggregate amount of 22
contributions the county employee made at the time of the previous 23
membership service plus interest from the date of withdrawal of the 24
accumulated contributions to the date of deposit, at rates 25
determined by the county board of commissioners. If records are 26
insufficient or unavailable to compute the exact amount of required 27
deposit, the county board of commissioners may estimate the amount. 28
(d) The county employee deposits in the county employees' 29
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DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
retirement system an amount equal to the aggregate amount of 1
contributions the employer made at the time of the previous 2
membership service plus interest from the date of separation to the 3
date of deposit, at rates determined by the county board of 4
commissioners. 5
(26) A person participating in a program described in this 6
subsection is not eligible for membership in a retirement system or 7
pension plan established under this section. In addition, the 8
person must not receive service credit for the employment described 9
in this subsection even though the person subsequently becomes or 10
has been a member of the retirement system. This subsection applies 11
to all of the following: 12
(a) A person, not regularly employed by the county, who is 13
employed by the county through participation in a program 14
established pursuant to the job training partnership act, Public 15
Law 97-300, 96 Stat. 1322. 16
(b) A person, not regularly employed by the county, who is 17
employed by the county through participation in a program 18
established under the Michigan opportunity and skills training 19
program, first established under sections 12 to 23 of former 1983 20
PA 259. 21
(c) A person, not regularly employed by the county, who is 22
employed by the county through participation in a program 23
established under the Michigan community service corps program, 24
first established under sections 25 to 35 of former 1983 PA 259 and 25
sections 148 to 160 of former 1984 PA 246. 26
(d) A person, not regularly employed by the county, who is 27
hired by the county to administer a program described in 28
subdivision (a), (b), or (c). 29
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DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
(27) If a county enters into a collective bargaining agreement 1
under 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to 423.217, that provides for 2
retirement benefits that are in excess of the retirement benefits 3
otherwise authorized under this section for employees of the county 4
who are covered by a plan under this section, the county board of 5
commissioners may amend or adopt a plan under this section to 6
provide those benefits to employees who are members of the 7
bargaining unit covered by the agreement, and may, after December 8
31, 1987, amend or adopt a plan under this section to provide those 9
benefits to other employees of the county. 10
(28) One of the following conditions applies to a retirant who 11
is receiving a pension or retirement benefit from a plan under this 12
section if the retirant becomes employed by a county that has 13
established a plan under this section: 14
(a) Payment of the pension or retirement benefit to the 15
retirant must be suspended if the retirant is employed by the 16
county from which the retirant retired and the retirant does not 17
meet the requirements of subdivision (b) or (d). Suspension of the 18
payment of the pension or retirement benefit is effective the first 19
day of the calendar month that follows the sixtieth day after the 20
retirant is employed by the county. Payment of the pension or 21
retirement benefit must resume on the first day of the calendar 22
month that follows termination of the employment. Payment of the 23
pension or retirement benefit must resume without change in amount 24
or conditions by reason of the employment. The retirant must not be 25
a member of the plan during the period of employment. 26
(b) Payment of the pension or retirement benefit to the 27
retirant continues without change in amount or conditions by reason 28
of employment by the county from which the retirant retired if all 29
22
DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
of the following requirements are met: 1
(i) The retirant meets 1 of the following requirements: 2
(A) For any a retirant, is employed by the county for not more 3
than 1,000 hours in any 12-month period. 4
(B) For a retirant who was not an elected or appointed county 5
official at retirement, is elected or appointed as a county 6
official for a term of office that begins after the retirant's 7
retirement allowance effective date. 8
(C) For a retirant who was an elected or appointed county 9
official at retirement, is elected or appointed as a county 10
official to a different office from which the retirant retired for 11
a term of office that begins after the retirant's retirement 12
allowance effective date. 13
(D) For a retirant who was an elected or appointed county 14
official at retirement, is elected or appointed as a county 15
official to the same office from which the retirant retired for a 16
term of office that begins 2 years or more after the retirant's 17
retirement allowance effective date. 18
(E) The retirant is employed by a county sheriff's office, 19
including sheriff's office correction employees. 20
(F) The retirant is employed by a county prosecutor's office. 21
(ii) The retirant is not eligible for any benefits from the 22
county other than those required by law or otherwise provided to 23
the retirant because of his or her being a retirant. 24
(iii) The retirant is not a member of the plan during the period 25
of reemployment, does not receive additional retirement credits 26
during the period of reemployment, and does not receive an increase 27
in pension or retirement benefits because of the employment under 28
this subdivision. 29
23
DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
(c) Payment of the pension or retirement benefit to the 1
retirant continues without change in amount or conditions by reason 2
of the employment if the retirant becomes employed by a county 3
other than the county from which the retirant retired. For the 4
purposes of membership and potential benefit entitlement under the 5
plan of the other county, the retirant is considered in the same 6
manner as an individual with no previous record of employment by 7
that county. 8
(d) Payment of the pension or retirement benefit to the 9
retirant continues without change in amount or conditions by reason 10
of employment by the county from which the retirant retired if the 11
retirant was an employee of the state judicial council on September 12
30, 1996, and becomes a county-paid employee of the recorder's 13
court of the city of Detroit or the third judicial circuit of the 14
circuit court on October 1, 1996. 15
(29) A county may increase the percentage of the highest 16
average monthly compensation or earnings that was used to calculate 17
the pension or retirement benefit under subsection (1)(b) of an 18
individual receiving a pension or retirement benefit under this 19
section on the date the county increases the percentage of 20
compensation or earnings. The county shall recalculate the pension 21
or retirement benefit using the increased percentage of 22
compensation or earnings. The person receiving the pension or 23
retirement benefit is eligible to receive an adjusted pension or 24
retirement benefit based on the recalculation effective the first 25
day of the month following the date the county increases the 26
percentage of compensation or earnings under this subsection. 27
(30) The payment of pension or retirement benefits under a 28
plan established under this section is subject to an eligible 29
24
DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
domestic relations order under the eligible domestic relations 1
order act, 1991 PA 46, MCL 38.1701 to 38.1711. 2
(31) If a county retirement plan established under this 3
section provides an optional form of payment of a retirement 4
allowance and if a retirant receiving a reduced retirement 5
allowance under that plan is divorced from the spouse who had been 6
named the retirant's survivor beneficiary, the election of a 7
reduced retirement allowance form of payment must be considered 8
void by the retirement system if the judgment of divorce or award 9
or order of the court, or an amended judgment of divorce or award 10
or order of the court dated after July 18, 1991 provides that the 11
election of a reduced retirement allowance form of payment is to be 12
considered void by the retirement system and the retirant provides 13
a certified copy of the judgment of divorce or award or order of 14
the court, or an amended judgment of divorce or award or order of 15
the court, to the retirement system. If the election of a reduced 16
retirement allowance form of payment is considered void by the 17
retirement system under this subsection, the retirant's retirement 18
allowance must revert to a straight life retirement allowance, 19
including postretirement adjustments, if any, subject to an award 20
or order of the court. The retirement allowance must revert to a 21
straight life retirement allowance under this subsection effective 22
the first of the month after the date the retirement system 23
receives a certified copy of the judgment of divorce or award or 24
order of the court. This subsection does not supersede a judgment 25
of divorce or award or order of the court in effect on July 18, 26
1991. This subsection does not require the retirement system to 27
distribute or pay retirement assets on behalf of a retirant in an 28
amount that exceeds the actuarially determined amount that would 29
25
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DAW H01895'25 (H-2)_HB4471_APS_1 h134vb
otherwise become payable if a judgment of divorce had not been 1
rendered. 2
(32) If a county board of commissioners of a county that has a 3
population of more than 400,000 but less than 800,000 has an 4
employee credit union organized under the credit union act, 2003 PA 5
215, MCL 490.101 to 490.601, or former 1925 PA 285, the county 6
board of commissioners may include as a member of a plan under this 7
section a past or present employee of the credit union, if that 8
past or present employee has 5 or more years of service credit with 9
that credit union on or before June 30, 1990. 10
(33) The county board of commissioners shall establish a 11
written policy to implement the provisions of this section to 12
provide uniform application of this section to all members of the 13
plan. 14
(34) Notwithstanding anything in this act to the contrary, a 15
pension or retirement benefit under this section is subject to the 16
protecting local government retirement and benefits act, 2017 PA 17
202, MCL 38.2801 to 38.2812. 18