HB 5401 — AN ACT CONCERNING CREDIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE UNDER THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

House of Representatives General Assembly FileSubstitute Bill No.

1945401 February Session, 2024 SubstituteAN HouseACT BillCONCERNING No.CREDIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE UNDER THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

5401 House of Representatives, April 2, 2024 The Committee on Veterans' and Military Affairs reported through REP.

NOLAN of the 39th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING CREDIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE UNDER THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

[(a)] (b) Any member of fund B of the municipal employees' retirement system [,] who, prior to such member's date of employment with a municipality that is participating in said fund B, served [in any branchofthearmed forcesoftheUnitedStatesduring thetimessetthetimes set forth in section 27-103] one or more days in the armed forces during a period of war shall be credited with the period of such service to the extent that such member makes contributions to said fund for all or any part of the sHB5401period /of Filesuch No.service, except that any veteran who becomes a member on or after October 1, 1984, shall not receive credit for such [war] service in the armed forces during a period of war if such member has received or is entitled to receive any retirement allowance for the same [years] period of service from the federal government.

194Such contributions shall becomputed at a rate oftwo per cent ofsuch member'sfirst year'ssalary as such employee, with interest at five per cent per annum, payable LCO 1 sHB5401of File5 Substitute Bill No.

1945401 periodwithin one year of such service,employment, exceptor that any veteran who becomes a member on or afterbefore OctoberJanuary 1, 1984,1992, shallwhichever notis receivelater, creditprovided for such [war]contributions serviceare inmade theprior armed forces during a period of war if such member has received or is entitled to receive any retirement allowance for the samedate [years] period of serviceretirement. from the federal government.

Such contributions shall becomputed at a rate oftwo per cent ofsuch member'sfirst year'ssalary as such employee, with interest at five per cent per annum, payable within one year of such employment, or on or before January 1, 1992, whichever is later, provided such contributions are made prior to the date of retirement.

[(b)] (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection [(a)] (b) of this section, the municipal employer of any member who applies, on or after July 1, 1986, for such [military service] credit for service in the armed forces during a period of war shall pay all contributions required under said subsection [which] that are attributable to that portion of the member's [military service time] service in the armed forces during which [he] such member was a prisoner of war, provided such member sHB5401submits /with File[his] No.such member's application for such credit for service in the armed forces sufficient proof from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that [he] such member is a former prisoner of war.

194Any municipal employer [which] that pays the contributions required under this subsection for a member who later receives a retirement allowance for permanent and total disability under this part shall, upon LCO 2 sHB5401of File5 Substitute Bill No.

1945401 submits[its] withsuch [his]municipal employer's written request, be refunded all such member'scontributions applicationpaid forunder this subsection, provided such [military service] credit for service in the armed forces sufficientduring proofa fromperiod theof Unitedwar Statesdid Departmentnot of[serve] Veteransoperate Affairsto thatincrease [he]the suchamount memberof isdisability aretirement formerbenefits prisonerfor ofwhich war.[the] such member was eligible.

Any municipal employer [which] that pays the contributions required under this subsection for a member who later receives a retirement allowance for permanent and total disability under this part shall, upon [its] such municipal employer's written request, be refunded all such contributions paid under this subsection, provided such [military service] credit for service in the armed forces during a period of war did not [serve] operate to increase the amount of disability retirement benefits for which [the] such member was eligible.

In addition, for the partial year during sHB5401which /the Fileemployee No.leaves municipal service or withdraws his contributions, whichever is later, interest shall be credited at the rate of five-twelfths of one per cent multiplied by the full number of months completed during that year, such interest rate to be applied to the value of contributions, including any prior interest credits, as of the first day of that year.

194Any employee who withdraws his contributions from the LCO 3 sHB5401of File5 Substitute Bill No.

1945401 whichfund theand employeeis leavessubsequently municipalreinstated serviceshall ornot withdrawsreceive hiscredit contributions,for whicheverservice isfor later,such interestprior shallemployment bein credited at the ratecomputation of five-twelfthshis ofeventual oneretirement perallowance centunless multipliedthe bywithdrawn thecontributions fullplus numberinterest, ofif monthsany, completedhave duringbeen thatrepaid year,with suchadditional interest at a rate to be applieddetermined toby the valuecommission. of contributions, including any prior interest credits, as of the first day of that year.

Any employee who withdraws his contributions from the fund and is subsequently reinstated shall not receive credit for service for such prior employment in the computation of his eventual retirement allowance unless the withdrawn contributions plus interest, if any, have been repaid with additional interest at a rate to be determined by the commission.

In case of the death of a member before retirement, who has not elected a retirement income option in accordance with the provisions of this part or who has made such election but has not completed the age and service requirements that would permit him to retire on his own application, or after retirement without having made such election, or in case of the death of the survivor of a member who has made such election and his spouse after a retirement allowance has become payable, his contributions to the fund plus such five per cent interest, if any, less any retirement allowance paid to him or his spouse, and less any retroactive contributions paid by such member to the Old Age and Survivors Insurance System [which] that have been paid from the fund under the provisions of section 7-451, shall be paid from the fund on the sHB5401order /of Filethe No.Retirement Commission to the beneficiary or beneficiaries, if any, named by such member.

194If no named beneficiaries survive the member, or the survivor of the member and his spouse, payment shall be made to the executors or administrators of such member or his spouse, as the case may be, except that, if the amount is less than five hundred dollars, the refund may be made, at the option of the LCO 4 sHB5401of File5 Substitute Bill No.

1945401 orderRetirement ofCommission, thein Retirementaccordance Commissionwith to the beneficiaryterms orof beneficiaries,section if45a- any,273. named by such member.

If no named beneficiaries survive the member, or the survivor of the member and his spouse, payment shall be made to the executors or administrators of such member or his spouse, as the case may be, except that, if the amount is less than five hundred dollars, the refund may be made, at the option of the Retirement Commission, in accordance with the terms of section 45a- 273.

2 October 1, 2024 7-440(h) StatementVA ofJoint LegislativeFavorable Commissioners:Subst.

In-LCO SectionPD 1(c),Joint "suchFavorable creditLCO in5 theof armed5 forces" was changed to "such credit for service in the armed forces" for clarity;

and in Section 2, the effective date was changed from "from passage" to "October 1, 2024" for consistency.

VA Joint Favorable Subst.

-LCO sHB5401 / File No.

194 5 sHB5401 File No.

194 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill, which does not result in a fiscal impact, makes various clarifying and technical changes to the statutes allowing members of the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement System (CMERS) to purchase credit for their service in the armed forces during a period of war.

There is no fiscal impact to municipalities in CMERS as the purchaser bears the cost of the actuarial value of the service being credited.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None sHB5401 / File No.

194 6 sHB5401 File No.

194 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5401 AN ACT CONCERNING CREDIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE UNDER THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

SUMMARY This bill makes changes in statutes that allow members of fund B of the Connecticut Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (CMERS) to purchase credit for their wartime service with the armed forces (see BACKGROUND).