Retirement cleanup bill clears first round

Lawmakers amended and advanced a bill from general file March 14 that would make a number of changes to the state’s various retirement systems.

Among other changes, LB295, introduced by the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee, would:
• provide a process for the Public Employees Retirement Board to waive repayment of retirement benefits if the board determines that those benefits were the result of an inadvertent overpayment;
• update eligible types of identification documents under the retirement systems statutes;
• include the Class V school employees retirement system in the definition of statewide public retirement system under the Spousal Pension Rights Act;
• include leave of absence pay in the definition of compensation under the School Employees Retirement Act;
• provide that lump-sum payments to multiple beneficiaries under the School Employees Retirement Act can be made independently of each other;
• clarify the definition of early retirement under the Class V School Employees Retirement Act;
• provide that employees deemed full-time under the Class V School Employees Retirement Act remain full-time employees once they are deemed as such;
• eliminate the 60-day deadline for beneficiaries to elect a lump-sum distribution under the Class V School Employees Retirement Act; and
• ensure that school employees who are members of the retirement system under the Class V School Employees Retirement Act receive leave with pay to attend preretirement planning programs sponsored by the PERB.

A committee amendment, adopted 36-0, would incorporate the amended provisions of LB420, also sponsored by the committee. The amendment would strike existing language in state law requiring that state contributions to the judges’ retirement fund be done by administrative transfer to the state treasurer.

Among other provisions, the committee amendment also would clarify that inadvertent overpayments could be waived by the PERB only if the repayment would cause a significant hardship.

The amendment also would extend the deadline for beneficiaries under the Class V School plan to elect a lump-sum distribution from 60 days to 90 days rather than eliminating the deadline, as specified in the bill as introduced.

Following adoption of the committee amendment, senators voted 40-0 to advance LB295 to select file.