Louisiana higher ed employees get most of their retirement wishes
Rep. Tony Bacala presents his bill. (Allison Allsop / Louisiana Illuminator)
The Louisiana Legislature has unanimously approved a bill that grants a wish list of retirement reforms state higher education employees put forward, though it lacks one enticement faculty and staff consider critical to keeping them on campus.
House Bill 24 by Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, passed the Senate on a 36-0 vote and had previously cleared the House on a 97-0 vote. It next goes to Gov. Jeff Landry for his approval.
Bacala's bill expands eligibility for the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) to include faculty at the state's community and technical colleges. It also extends the period when employees can switch from a 'portable' retirement plan to the fixed, pension style plan offered to most state employees.
Qualifying campus faculty and employees will have seven years, instead of the current five years to choose between the two plans, aligning it with the typical timeline it takes for professors to earn tenure.
Bacala's bill incorporates most of the recommendations from a Board of Regents task force he helped form.
An increase in employer contributions to TRSL retirement plans was among the most anticipated portions of Bacala's bill. In its original state, it would have increased the minimum employer contribution to portable plan accounts from 6.2% to 8% of employee pay.
The contribution bump was removed from the bill because it would have increased state spending more than $11 million annually, and the legislature is trying not to add to state spending amid uncertain fiscal times.
Bacala said he would try to address this provision in future legislation.
Last year, lawmakers gave certain higher education employees a limited window to switch from the portable plan to defined benefits. According to the Board of Regents, 795 applied for the change as of the end of 2024.
Nearly 7,000 college and university faculty and staff members are enrolled in the state's 'portable' or optional retirement plan that allows them to take their accrued benefits with them if they choose to leave the state for another job.
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