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House Bill 1 was recently signed into law. The bill made no changes to the benefits of current members or retirees of PERS.
The bill established Tier 5, which means a new benefit structure for future employees. The new benefit provisions only apply to PERS-covered employees hired March 1, 2026, and later. HRM will provided additional information to affected employees.
The bill also contained modifications to the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). Specifically, it proposes that each participant in the ORP will contribute 9% of their total earned compensation monthly. The employer's contribution will be reallocated as follows:
- For employees hired before July 1, 2025, 14.9% of the participant's total earned compensation will be applied to the participant's retirement account.
- For employees hired on or after July 1, 2025, 9% of the participant's total earned compensation will be applied to the participant's retirement account.