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A4623
ASSEMBLY, No. 4623
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Scharfenberger
SYNOPSIS
���� Reinstates automatic COLAs for retirement benefits of
certain SPRS members.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning cost-of-living adjustments for retirement
benefits of certain members of the State Police Retirement System,
amending
and supplementing P.L.1965, c.89, and
amending
P.L.1958, c.143.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 30 of P.L.1965, c.89 (C.53:5A-30) is
amended to read as follows:
���� 30.� a. Subject to the provisions of P.L.1955,
c.70 (C.52:18A-95 et seq.), the general responsibility for the proper operation
of the retirement system is hereby vested in the board of trustees, and, as
specified, the committee established pursuant to subsection o. of this section.
���� b.��� The board shall consist of five trustees
as follows:
���� (1)�� Two active or retired members of the
system who shall be appointed by the Superintendent of State Police, who shall
serve at the pleasure of the superintendent and until their successors are
appointed and one of whom shall be or shall have been a commissioned officer of
the Division of State Police.
���� (2)�� Two members to be appointed by the
Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall serve for a term
of office of three years and until their successors are appointed and who may
be private citizens of the State of New Jersey.� Of the two members initially
appointed by the Governor pursuant to P.L.1992, c.125 (C.43:4B-1 et al.), one
shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for a term of three years.�
���� (3)�� The State Treasurer ex officio.� The
Deputy State Treasurer, when designated for that purpose by the State
Treasurer, may sit as a member of the board of trustees and when so sitting
shall have all the powers and shall perform all the duties vested by this act
in the State Treasurer.
���� c.���� Each trustee shall, after his
appointment, take an oath of office that, so far as it devolves upon him, he
will diligently and honestly fulfill his duties as a board member, and that he
will not knowingly violate or permit to be violated any of the provisions of
the law applicable to the retirement system.� Such oath shall be subscribed by
the member taking it, and certified by the official before whom it is taken,
and immediately filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
���� d.��� If a vacancy occurs in the office of a
trustee, the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the office was
previously filled.�
���� e.���� The trustees shall serve without
compensation, but they shall be reimbursed by the State for all necessary
expenses that they may incur through service on the board.� No employee member
shall suffer loss of salary through the serving on the board.�
���� f.���� Except as otherwise herein provided, no
member of the board of trustees shall have any direct interest in the gains or
profits of any investments of the retirement system; nor shall any member of
the board of trustees directly or indirectly, for himself or as an agent in any
manner use the moneys of the retirement system, except to make such current and
necessary payments as are authorized by the board of trustees; nor shall any
member of the board of trustees become an endorser or surety, or in any manner
an obligor for moneys loaned to or borrowed from the retirement system.�
���� g.��� Each trustee shall be entitled to one vote
in the board.� A majority vote of all trustees shall be necessary for any
decision by the trustees at any meeting of said board.�
���� h.��� Subject to the limitations of this act,
the board of trustees shall annually establish rules and regulations for the
administration of the funds created by this act and for the transactions of the
board's and committee's business.� Such rules and regulations shall be
consistent with those adopted by the other pension funds within the Division of
Pensions and Benefits in order to permit the most economical and uniform
administration of all such retirement systems.� The committee shall adopt such
regulations as provided in subsection o. of this section.
���� i.���� The actuary of the fund shall be selected
by the Retirement Systems Actuary Selection Committee established by P.L.1992,
c.125.� He shall be the technical adviser of the board and the committee on
matters regarding the operation of the funds created by the provisions of this
act and shall perform such other duties as are required in connection
herewith.�
���� j.���� The Attorney General shall be the legal
adviser of the retirement system, except that if the Attorney General
determines that a conflict of interest would affect the ability of the Attorney
General to represent the board or the committee on a matter affecting the
retirement system, the board may select and employ legal counsel to advise and
represent the board or the committee on that matter.�
���� k.��� The Director of the Division of Pensions
and Benefits of the State Department of the Treasury shall appoint a qualified
member of the division who shall be the secretary of the board.
���� l.���� The board of trustees shall keep a record
of all of its proceedings which shall be open to public inspection.� The
retirement system shall publish annually a report showing the fiscal
transactions of the retirement system for the preceding year, the amount of the
accumulated cash and securities of the system and the last balance sheet
showing the financial condition of the system by means of an actuarial
valuation of the assets and liabilities of the retirement system.
���� m.�� The State Treasurer shall designate a
medical board after consultation with the Director of the Division of Pensions
and Benefits, subject to veto by the board of trustees for valid reason.� It
shall be composed of three physicians.� The medical board shall pass on all
medical examinations required under the provisions of this act, and shall
report in writing to the retirement system its conclusions and recommendations
upon all matters referred to it.
���� n.��� (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1987, c.330).
���� o.��� There is established a committee to be
composed of eight members, four of whom shall be appointed by the Governor as
representatives of the public employer whose employees are enrolled in the
retirement system, three of whom shall be appointed by the head of the State
Troopers Fraternal Association, and one of whom shall be appointed by the head
of the union representing the greatest number of members of the retirement
system who are supervisory officers having union membership.� The members of
the committee shall not be appointed until the system attains the target funded
ratio.�
���� The members of the committee shall serve for a
term of three years and until a successor is appointed and qualified.� Of the
initial appointments by the Governor, two members shall serve for two years and
until a successor is appointed and qualified, and one shall serve for one year
and until a successor is appointed and qualified.� Of the initial appointments
by the State Troopers Fraternal Association, one member shall serve for two
years and until a successor is appointed and qualified, and one shall serve for
one year and until a successor is appointed and qualified.�
���� The members of the committee shall select a
chairperson from among the members, who shall serve for a term of one year,
with no member serving more than one term until all the members of the
committee have served a term in a manner alternating among the employer
representatives and employee representatives, unless the committee determines
otherwise with regard to this process.
���� The provisions of subsections c. through g.,
inclusive, of this section shall apply to the committee and its members, as
appropriate.� The committee shall keep a record of all of its proceedings which
shall be open to public inspection.
���� Upon the convening of any meeting of the
committee, the members shall consider a motion to assume the authority provided
in this subsection and shall proceed only if a majority of the members of the
committee vote in the affirmative on that motion.
���� The committee may contract with such actuaries
or consultants, or both, in accordance with the provisions of P.L.1954, c.48
(C.52:34-6 et seq.), as the committee may deem necessary to perform its duties,
when the system has attained the target funded ratio.
����
[
When
]
Except as provided in section 3 of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), when
the
retirement system has attained the target funded ratio as defined in section 27
of P.L.2011, c.78 (C.43:3C-16), the committee shall have the discretionary
authority for the system to (1) modify the: member contribution rate; formula
for calculation of final compensation or final salary; age at which a member
may be eligible for and the benefits for service or special retirement; and
benefits provided for disability retirement; and (2) activate the application
of the "Pension Adjustment Act," P.L.1958, c.143 (C.43:3B-1 et seq.)
for retirees for the period that the system is at or above the target funded
ratio and modify the basis for the calculation of the adjustment and set the
duration and extent of the activation.� The committee shall give priority
consideration to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph.� The committee shall not
have the authority to change the years of creditable service required for
vesting.
���� The committee may consider a matter described
above and render a decision notwithstanding that the provisions of the
statutory law may set forth a specific requirement on that matter.�
���� The committee may consider a matter described
above and render a decision notwithstanding that the provisions of the
statutory law do not set forth a specific requirement on the considered aspect
of that matter or address that matter at all.
���� The members of the committee shall have the same
duty and responsibility to the retirement system as do the members of the board
of trustees.� No decision of the committee shall be implemented if the direct
or indirect result of the decision will be that the system's funded ratio falls
below the target funded ratio in any valuation period during the 30 years
following the implementation of the decision.� The actuary of the fund shall
make a determination of the result in that regard and submit that determination
in a written report to the committee and the board prior to the implementation
of the decision.
���� If any matter before the committee receives at
least five votes in the affirmative, the board of trustees shall approve and
implement the committee's decision.
���� If any matter regarding benefits before the
committee receives four votes in the affirmative and four votes in the negative
or the committee otherwise reaches an impasse on a decision, the provisions of
section 33 of P.L.2011, c.78 (C.43:3C-17) shall be followed.
���� A final action of the committee shall be made by
the adoption of a regulation that shall identify the modifications to the
system by reference to statutory section.� The regulations shall also specify
the effective date of the modification and the system members, including
beneficiaries and retirees, to whom the modification applies.� Regulations of
the committee are considered to be part of the plan document for the system.� A
regulation adopted by the committee may be modified by regulation in order to
comply with the requirements of this section.
���� p.��� No member of the board, committee,
employee of the board, or employee of the Division of Pensions and Benefits in
the Department of the Treasury shall accept from any person, whether directly
or indirectly and whether by himself or through his spouse or any member of his
family, or through any partner or associate, any gift, favor, service,
employment or offer of employment, or any other thing of value, including
contributions to the campaign of a member or employee as a candidate for
elective public office, which he knows or has reason to believe is offered to
him with intent to influence him in the performance of his public duties and
responsibilities.� As used in this subsection, "person" means an (1)
individual or business entity, or officer or employee of such an entity, who is
seeking, or who holds, or who held within the prior three years, a contract
with the board; (2) an active or retired member, or beneficiary, of the
retirement system; or (3) an entity, or officer or employee of such an entity,
in which the assets of the retirement system have been invested.� A board or
committee member or employee violating this prohibition shall be guilty of a
crime of the third degree.
(cf: P.L.2024, c.70, s.1)
���� 2.� Section 2 of P.L.1958, c.143 (C.43:3B-2) is
amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� The monthly retirement allowance or
pension originally granted to any retirant and the pension or survivorship
benefit originally granted to any beneficiary shall be adjusted in accordance
with the provisions of this act provided, however, that:
���� a.���� The maximum retirement allowance, without
option, shall be considered the retirement allowance originally granted to any
retirant who, at retirement, elected an Option I allowance pursuant to the
provisions of the statutes stipulated in subsection b. of section 1 of this act
(C.43:3B-1); and
���� b.��� the minimum pension granted to any
beneficiary stipulated in subsection d. (4) of section 1 of this act
(C.43:3B-1), shall be considered the pension originally granted to such
beneficiary.
���� Pension adjustments shall not be paid to
retirants or beneficiaries who are not receiving their regular, full, monthly
retirement allowances, pensions or survivorship benefits.� The adjustment
granted under the provisions of this act shall be effective only on the first
day of a month, shall be paid in monthly installments, and shall not be
decreased, increased, revoked or repealed except as otherwise provided in this
act.� No adjustment shall be due to a retirant or a beneficiary unless it
constitutes a payment for an entire month; provided, however, that an
adjustment shall be payable for the entire month in which the retirant or
beneficiary dies.
����
[
Commencing
]
Except as provided in section 3 of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), commencing
with the effective date of P.L.2011, c.78 and thereafter, no further
adjustments to the monthly retirement allowance or pension originally granted
to any retirant and the pension or survivorship benefit granted to any
beneficiary shall be made in accordance with the provisions of P.L.1958, c.143
(C.43:3B-1 et seq.), unless the adjustment is reactivated as permitted by law.�
This provision shall not reduce the monthly retirement benefit that a retirant
or a beneficiary is receiving on the effective date of P.L.2011, c.78 when the
benefit includes an adjustment granted prior to that effective date.� The Board
of Trustees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System may adjust the
monthly retirement allowance or pension of its retired members in accordance
with subsection b. of section 13 of P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-13).
(cf: P.L.2018, c.55, s.1)
���� 3.� (New Section)� a.�
Notwithstanding
the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Board
of Trustees of the State Police Retirement System, in consultation with the
actuary of the retirement system and the State Treasurer, shall implement automatic
cost-of-living adjustments subject to the provisions of this section for annual
pension, ordinary disability pension, and accidental disability pension
benefits for members of the State Police Retirement System.
���� Members of the State Police
Retirement System who have been retired and receiving retirement benefits for a
minimum of ten years shall be considered eligible to receive cost-of-living
adjustments under this section.� Members of the State Police Retirement System
who are hired more than 30 days following the effective date of this act,
P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall not be
considered eligible to receive cost-of-living adjustments under this section.
���� Members of the State Police
Retirement System who have been retired and receiving ordinary disability or
accidental disability retirement benefits for a minimum of ten years shall be
considered eligible to receive cost-of-living adjustments under this section
and no minimum years of service requirement shall apply to such members.
���� b.� The adjustment in members�
annual pension, ordinary disability pension, and accidental disability pension
benefits pursuant to this section shall be calculated based on an amount up to
$75,000 of a retiree�s annual pension benefit for the first calendar year
following the enactment of this act, P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).� For every calendar year thereafter, the member�s
annual pension benefits shall be adjusted annually according to the increase in
the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, All Items
Series A (1967=100), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
United States Department of Labor.� The base calendar year utilized in
calculating the adjustment in members� benefits shall be the calendar year
prior to the calendar year of the effective date of this act, P.L.��� , c.���
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).� Any adjustment in a member�s
annual pension, ordinary disability pension, and accidental disability pension
benefits pursuant to this section shall be cumulative, meaning the adjustment
shall be applied to the benefit amount the member received in the previous
calendar year, including previous cost-of-living adjustments granted under this
section.
���� c.� The adjustment in a
member�s annual pension, ordinary disability pension, and accidental disability
pension benefits pursuant to this section shall not exceed one percent if the
member�s annual pension benefit exceeds $75,000 in the first calendar year
following the enactment of this act, P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).� For every calendar year thereafter, the member�s
annual pension benefits shall be adjusted annually according to the increase in
the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, All Items
Series A (1967=100), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
United States Department of Labor, except that the adjustment shall be
calculated at a rate not to exceed one percent.� The base calendar year
utilized in calculating the adjustment in members� benefits shall be the
calendar year prior to the calendar year of the effective date of this act,
P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the Legislature as this bill).� Any adjustment
in a member�s annual pension, ordinary disability pension, and accidental
disability pension benefits pursuant to this section shall be cumulative,
meaning the adjustment shall be applied to the benefit amount the member
received in the previous calendar year, including previous cost-of-living
adjustments granted under this section.
���� d.� After the first calendar
year following the enactment of this act, P.L.��� c.,��� (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), in every calendar year thereafter, the $75,000
threshold established in subsections b. and c. of this section shall be adjusted
annually according to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers, All Items Series A (1967=100), as published by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States Department of Labor, except
that the adjustment shall be calculated at a rate not to exceed three percent.�
Any adjustment in the $75,000 threshold established in subsections b. and c. of
this section shall be cumulative, meaning the adjustment shall be applied to
the threshold calculated in the previous calendar year, including previous
adjustments granted under this section.
���� e.� The adjustment in members�
pension benefits as provided pursuant to this section shall apply to such
benefit entitlements granted prior to and in effect on the effective date of
this act, but only for benefit payments made after that effective date.� No
member of the retirement system shall be granted a retroactive payment based
upon the difference between the benefit the member would have received if the
adjustment had been applicable at the date of entitlement and the benefit that
the member has received from the date of entitlement to that effective date.
���� f.� The cost-of-living
adjustments shall apply, in accordance with the provisions of this section, to
the monthly retirement allowance or pension of a retired member, and the
monthly pension or survivorship benefit of a surviving spouse, child, or beneficiary,
that is provided by the State Police Retirement System established pursuant to
P.L.1965, c.89 (C.53:5A-1 et seq.)
���� g.� Notwithstanding the
provisions of this section, or any other law, rule, or regulation to the
contrary, if the Board of Trustees of the State Police Retirement System fails
to comply with the provisions of this section within six months following the effective
date of this act, P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the Legislature as this
bill), the State Treasurer shall be responsible for implementing the
cost-of-living adjustments required by this section.
���� h.� The Legislature shall
appropriate such monies from the General Fund as necessary to effectuate the
provisions of this section.� The funding for the cost-of-living adjustments
outlined in this section shall take precedence over any additional funding added
to the annual State appropriations act by the Legislature through resolutions
or through changes to the Governor�s budget message.
���� 4.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill reinstates automatic
cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for annual pension, ordinary disability
pension, or accidental disability pension retirement benefits for certain
members of the State Police Retirement System (SPRS).� Provisions contained in
P.L.2011, c.78 (C.43:3C-16 et al.), signed into law on June 28, 2011, had
suspended the automatic annual adjustment for current and future retirees and
beneficiaries of the SPRS and other State-administered retirement systems until
those systems reach a target funded ratio.� Decades of underfunding those
systems by the State had placed the systems in precarious financial conditions.
���� Although this bill does not
reinstate COLAs for other retirees, this bill serves as an initial step in
reinstating COLAs for all retirees of the State-administered retirement
systems.� Through the prioritization of the SPRS, the State will begin this process
with retired State police to provide them greater financial security and
stability at a time when inflation has significantly eroded the value of their
retirement benefit payments, which are already based on the lower salaries of
years ago.� To that end, the bill includes restrictions intended to limit costs
and focus on segments among retirees of the SPRS expected to be most in need of
an immediate benefit.
���� Under the bill, members of the
SPRS will receive automatic COLAs for annual pension, ordinary disability
pension, and accidental disability pension benefits if the member has been
retired and receiving retirement benefits for a minimum of ten years.� Longer-term
retirees generally will have lower pension benefits and be less able to obtain
employment to offset the erosion of their benefits.� Members of the SPRS who
are hired more than 30 days following the effective date of this act will not
be considered eligible to receive these automatic COLAs.� The COLAs will only
apply to future pension benefit payments.
���� The adjustment in eligible
members� pension benefits will be calculated based on an amount up to $75,000
of a retiree�s benefit for the first year following the enactment of this
bill.� Eligible members receiving up to $75,000 of pension benefits will receive
a COLA tied to the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.� This will
ensure that greater initial benefits will be provided to those likely to be
most in need.
���� The adjustment in eligible
member�s pension benefits will be limited to one percent if the member receives
more than $75,000 in benefits for the first year following the enactment of the
bill.�
���� After the first calendar year
following the enactment of the bill, the $75,000 threshold will be adjusted
annually according to the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers,
except that the adjustment will be calculated at a rate not to exceed three
percent.
���� The bill also grants the
cost-of-living adjustment to the monthly pension or survivorship benefit of a
surviving spouse, child, or beneficiary that is provided by SPRS.
���� Under the bill, if the Board
of Trustees of SPRS fails to comply with the provisions of this bill within six
months following the effective date, then the State Treasurer will be
responsible for implementing the cost-of-living adjustments.
���� The bill requires the
Legislature to appropriate monies from the General Fund as necessary to
effectuate the cost-of-living adjustments established under the bill.� The bill
further provides that this appropriation will take precedence over any
additional funding added to the annual State budget by the Legislature through
resolutions or through changes to the Governor�s budget message.�