PERS; require any terminated plan to pay net pension liability to board in a lump sum before termination.

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To: Finance
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Sparks, Blount

SENATE BILL NO. 2910

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REQUIRE ANY TERMINATED PLAN PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF 2
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO PAY TO THE 3
BOARD ITS PORTION OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY AS OF JUNE 30, 4
2026, OR THE DATE OF TERMINATION, WHICHEVER AMOUNT IS GREATER, IN 5
A LUMP SUM BEFORE TERMINATION, AS PROVIDED BY BOARD REGULATIONS; 6
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 25-11-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
25-11-105. I. THOSE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP 11
The membership of this retirement system shall be composed as 12
follows: 13
(a) (i) All persons who become employees in the state 14
service after January 31, 1953, and whose wages are subject to 15
payroll taxes and are lawfully reported on IRS Form W-2, except 16
those specifically excluded, or as to whom election is provided in 17
Articles 1 and 3, shall become members of the retirement system as 18
a condition of their employment. 19
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(ii) From and after July 1, 2002, any individual 20
who is employed by a governmental entity to perform professional 21
services shall become a member of the system if the individual is 22
paid regular periodic compensation for those services that is 23
subject to payroll taxes, is provided all other employee benefits 24
and meets the membership criteria established by the regulations 25
adopted by the board of trustees that apply to all other members 26
of the system; however, any active member employed in such a 27
position on July 1, 2002, will continue to be an active member for 28
as long as they are employed in any such position. 29
(b) All persons who become employees in the state 30
service after January 31, 1953, except those specifically excluded 31
or as to whom election is provided in Articles 1 and 3, unless 32
they file with the board before the lapse of sixty (60) days of 33
employment or sixty (60) days after the effective date of the 34
cited articles, whichever is later, on a form prescribed by the 35
board, a notice of election not to be covered by the membership of 36
the retirement system and a duly executed waiver of all present 37
and prospective benefits that would otherwise inure to them on 38
account of their participation in the system, shall become members 39
of the retirement system; however, no credit for prior service 40
will be granted to members who became members of the system before 41
July 1, 2007, until they have contributed to Article 3 of the 42
retirement system for a minimum period of at least four (4) years, 43
or to members who became members of the system on or after July 1, 44
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2007, until they have contributed to Article 3 of the retirement 45
system for a minimum period of at least eight (8) years. Those 46
members shall receive credit for services performed before January 47
1, 1953, in employment now covered by Article 3, but no credit 48
shall be granted for retroactive services between January 1, 1953, 49
and the date of their entry into the retirement system, unless the 50
employee pays into the retirement system both the employer's and 51
the employee's contributions on wages paid him during the period 52
from January 31, 1953, to the date of his becoming a contributing 53
member, together with interest at the rate determined by the board 54
of trustees. Members reentering after withdrawal from service 55
shall qualify for prior service under the provisions of Section 56
25-11-117. From and after July 1, 1998, upon eligibility as noted 57
above, the member may receive credit for such retroactive service 58
provided: 59
(i) The member shall furnish proof satisfactory to 60
the board of trustees of certification of that service from the 61
covered employer where the services were performed; and 62
(ii) The member shall pay to the retirement system 63
on the date he or she is eligible for that credit or at any time 64
thereafter before the date of retirement the actuarial cost for 65
each year of that creditable service. The provisions of this 66
subparagraph (ii) shall be subject to the limitations of Section 67
415 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations promulgated under 68
Section 415. 69
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Nothing contained in this paragraph (b) shall be construed to 70
limit the authority of the board to allow the correction of 71
reporting errors or omissions based on the payment of the employee 72
and employer contributions plus applicable interest. 73
(c) All persons who become employees in the state 74
service after January 31, 1953, and who are eligible for 75
membership in any other retirement system shall become members of 76
this retirement system as a condition of their employment, unless 77
they elect at the time of their employment to become a member of 78
that other system. 79
(d) All persons who are employees in the state service 80
on January 31, 1953, and who are members of any nonfunded 81
retirement system operated by the State of Mississippi, or any of 82
its departments or agencies, shall become members of this system 83
with prior service credit unless, before February 1, 1953, they 84
file a written notice with the board of trustees that they do not 85
elect to become members. 86
(e) All persons who are employees in the state service 87
on January 31, 1953, and who under existing laws are members of 88
any fund operated for the retirement of employees by the State of 89
Mississippi, or any of its departments or agencies, shall not be 90
entitled to membership in this retirement system unless, before 91
February 1, 1953, any such person indicates by a notice filed with 92
the board, on a form prescribed by the board, his individual 93
election and choice to participate in this system, but no such 94
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person shall receive prior service credit unless he becomes a 95
member on or before February 1, 1953. 96
(f) Each political subdivision of the state and each 97
instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision, or both, 98
is authorized to submit, for approval by the board of trustees, a 99
plan for extending the benefits of this article to employees of 100
any such political subdivision or instrumentality. Each such plan 101
or any amendment to the plan for extending benefits thereof shall 102
be approved by the board of trustees if it finds that the plan, or 103
the plan as amended, is in conformity with such requirements as 104
are provided in Articles 1 and 3; however, upon approval of the 105
plan or any such plan previously approved by the board of 106
trustees, the approved plan shall not be subject to cancellation 107
or termination by the political subdivision or instrumentality. 108
Any plan terminated through legislation, privatization, sale, 109
dissolution, actions of the board through subparagraph (v) of this 110
paragraph, or any other method, shall pay to the board its portion 111
of the net pension liability as of June 30, 2026, or the date of 112
termination, whichever amount is greater, in a lump sum before 113
termination, as provided by board regulations. No such plan shall 114
be approved unless: 115
(i) It provides that all services that constitute 116
employment as defined in Section 25-11-5 and are performed in the 117
employ of the political subdivision or instrumentality, by any 118
employees thereof, shall be covered by the plan, with the 119
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exception of municipal employees who are already covered by 120
existing retirement plans; however, those employees in this class 121
may elect to come under the provisions of this article; 122
(ii) It specifies the source or sources from which 123
the funds necessary to make the payments required by paragraph (d) 124
of Section 25-11-123 and of paragraph (f)(v)2 and 3 of this 125
section are expected to be derived and contains reasonable 126
assurance that those sources will be adequate for that purpose; 127
(iii) It provides for such methods of 128
administration of the plan by the political subdivision or 129
instrumentality as are found by the board of trustees to be 130
necessary for the proper and efficient administration thereof; 131
(iv) It provides that the political subdivision or 132
instrumentality will make such reports, in such form and 133
containing such information, as the board of trustees may from 134
time to time require; 135
(v) It authorizes the board of trustees to 136
terminate the plan in its entirety in the discretion of the board 137
if it finds that there has been a failure to comply substantially 138
with any provision contained in the plan, the termination to take 139
effect at the expiration of such notice and on such conditions as 140
may be provided by regulations of the board and as may be 141
consistent with applicable federal law. 142
1. The board of trustees shall not finally 143
refuse to approve a plan submitted under paragraph (f), and shall 144
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not terminate an approved plan without reasonable notice and 145
opportunity for hearing to each political subdivision or 146
instrumentality affected by the board's decision. The board's 147
decision in any such case shall be final, conclusive and binding 148
unless an appeal is taken by the political subdivision or 149
instrumentality aggrieved by the decision to the Circuit Court of 150
the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in 151
accordance with the provisions of law with respect to civil causes 152
by certiorari. 153
2. Each political subdivision or 154
instrumentality as to which a plan has been approved under this 155
section shall pay into the contribution fund, with respect to 156
wages (as defined in Section 25-11-5), at such time or times as 157
the board of trustees may by regulation prescribe, contributions 158
in the amounts and at the rates specified in the applicable 159
agreement entered into by the board. 160
3. Every political subdivision or 161
instrumentality required to make payments under paragraph (f)(v)2 162
of this section is authorized, in consideration of the employees' 163
retention in or entry upon employment after enactment of Articles 164
1 and 3, to impose upon its employees, as to services that are 165
covered by an approved plan, a contribution with respect to wages 166
(as defined in Section 25-11-5) not exceeding the amount provided 167
in Section 25-11-123(d) if those services constituted employment 168
within the meaning of Articles 1 and 3, and to deduct the amount 169
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of the contribution from the wages as and when paid. 170
Contributions so collected shall be paid into the contribution 171
fund as partial discharge of the liability of the political 172
subdivisions or instrumentalities under paragraph (f)(v)2 of this 173
section. Failure to deduct the contribution shall not relieve the 174
employee or employer of liability for the contribution. 175
4. Any state agency, school, political 176
subdivision, instrumentality or any employer that is required to 177
submit contribution payments, termination payments or wage reports 178
under any section of this chapter shall be assessed interest on 179
delinquent payments or wage reports as determined by the board of 180
trustees in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the 181
board and delinquent payments, assessed interest and any other 182
amount certified by the board as owed by an employer, may be 183
recovered by action in a court of competent jurisdiction against 184
the reporting agency liable therefor or may, upon due 185
certification of delinquency and at the request of the board of 186
trustees, be deducted from any other monies payable to the 187
reporting agency by any department or agency of the state. 188
5. Each political subdivision of the state 189
and each instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision 190
or subdivisions that submit a plan for approval of the board, as 191
provided in this section, shall reimburse the board for coverage 192
into the expense account, its pro rata share of the total expense 193
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of administering Articles 1 and 3 as provided by regulations of 194
the board. 195
(g) The board may, in its discretion, deny the right of 196
membership in this system to any class of employees whose 197
compensation is only partly paid by the state or who are occupying 198
positions on a part-time or intermittent basis. The board may, in 199
its discretion, make optional with employees in any such classes 200
their individual entrance into this system. 201
(h) An employee whose membership in this system is 202
contingent on his own election, and who elects not to become a 203
member, may thereafter apply for and be admitted to membership; 204
but no such employee shall receive prior service credit unless he 205
becomes a member before July 1, 1953, except as provided in 206
paragraph (b). 207
(i) If any member of this system changes his employment 208
to any agency of the state having an actuarially funded retirement 209
system, the board of trustees may authorize the transfer of the 210
member's creditable service and of the present value of the 211
member's employer's accumulation account and of the present value 212
of the member's accumulated membership contributions to that other 213
system, provided that the employee agrees to the transfer of his 214
accumulated membership contributions and provided that the other 215
system is authorized to receive and agrees to make the transfer. 216
If any member of any other actuarially funded system 217
maintained by an agency of the state changes his employment to an 218
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agency covered by this system, the board of trustees may authorize 219
the receipt of the transfer of the member's creditable service and 220
of the present value of the member's employer's accumulation 221
account and of the present value of the member's accumulated 222
membership contributions from the other system, provided that the 223
employee agrees to the transfer of his accumulated membership 224
contributions to this system and provided that the other system is 225
authorized and agrees to make the transfer. 226
(j) Wherever state employment is referred to in this 227
section, it includes joint employment by state and federal 228
agencies of all kinds. 229
(k) Employees of a political subdivision or 230
instrumentality who were employed by the political subdivision or 231
instrumentality before an agreement between the entity and the 232
Public Employees' Retirement System to extend the benefits of this 233
article to its employees, and which agreement provides for the 234
establishment of retroactive service credit, and who became 235
members of the retirement system before July 1, 2007, and have 236
remained contributors to the retirement system for four (4) years, 237
or who became members of the retirement system on or after July 1, 238
2007, and have remained contributors to the retirement system for 239
eight (8) years, may receive credit for that retroactive service 240
with the political subdivision or instrumentality, provided that 241
the employee and/or employer, as provided under the terms of the 242
modification of the joinder agreement in allowing that coverage, 243
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pay into the retirement system the employer's and employee's 244
contributions on wages paid the member during the previous 245
employment, together with interest or actuarial cost as determined 246
by the board covering the period from the date the service was 247
rendered until the payment for the credit for the service was 248
made. Those wages shall be verified by the Social Security 249
Administration or employer payroll records. Effective July 1, 250
1998, upon eligibility as noted above, a member may receive credit 251
for that retroactive service with the political subdivision or 252
instrumentality provided: 253
(i) The member shall furnish proof satisfactory to 254
the board of trustees of certification of those services from the 255
political subdivision or instrumentality where the services were 256
rendered or verification by the Social Security Administration; 257
and 258
(ii) The member shall pay to the retirement system 259
on the date he or she is eligible for that credit or at any time 260
thereafter before the date of retirement the actuarial cost for 261
each year of that creditable service. The provisions of this 262
subparagraph (ii) shall be subject to the limitations of Section 263
415 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations promulgated under 264
Section 415. 265
Nothing contained in this paragraph (k) shall be construed to 266
limit the authority of the board to allow the correction of 267
reporting errors or omissions based on the payment of employee and 268
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employer contributions plus applicable interest. Payment for that 269
time shall be made beginning with the most recent service. Upon 270
the payment of all or part of the required contributions, plus 271
interest or the actuarial cost as provided above, the member shall 272
receive credit for the period of creditable service for which full 273
payment has been made to the retirement system. 274
(l) Through June 30, 1998, any state service eligible 275
for retroactive service credit, no part of which has ever been 276
reported, and requiring the payment of employee and employer 277
contributions plus interest, or, from and after July 1, 1998, any 278
state service eligible for retroactive service credit, no part of 279
which has ever been reported to the retirement system, and 280
requiring the payment of the actuarial cost for that creditable 281
service, may, at the member's option, be purchased in quarterly 282
increments as provided above at the time that its purchase is 283
otherwise allowed. 284
(m) All rights to purchase retroactive service credit 285
or repay a refund as provided in Section 25-11-101 et seq. shall 286
terminate upon retirement. 287
II. THOSE WHO ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP 288
The following classes of employees and officers shall not 289
become members of this retirement system, any other provisions of 290
Articles 1 and 3 to the contrary notwithstanding: 291
(a) Patient or inmate help in state charitable, penal 292
or correctional institutions; 293
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ST: PERS; require any terminated plan to pay
net pension liability to board in a lump sum
before termination.
(b) Students of any state educational institution 294
employed by any agency of the state for temporary, part-time or 295
intermittent work; 296
(c) Participants of Comprehensive Employment and 297
Training Act of 1973 (CETA) being Public Law 93-203, who enroll on 298
or after July l, 1979; 299
(d) From and after July 1, 2002, individuals who are 300
employed by a governmental entity to perform professional service 301
on less than a full-time basis who do not meet the criteria 302
established in I(a)(ii) of this section. 303
III. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP 304
Membership in this system shall cease by a member withdrawing 305
his accumulated contributions, or by a member withdrawing from 306
active service with a retirement allowance, or by a member's 307
death. 308
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 309
and after July 1, 2026. 310