TRSL will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, and Friday, Nov. 29, for the Thanksgiving holiday. 
  1. Home
  2. Legislation
  3. Archive
  4. Regular Session News #8: Full Senate passes amended RTW bill
Change Text Size: A A A

Regular Session News #8: Full Senate passes amended RTW bill

Apr 18, 2022


Last week, the full Senate passed Senate Bill 434 (Sen. Fields) with amendments. In addition to changes related to postsecondary education, as outlined below, the amendments extended the sunset of certain provisions to July 1, 2027. This bill, which would make changes to the 2010 and 2020 RTW laws, proposes to:
  • allow retirees subject to the 2010 RTW law after a 12-month waiting period (who did not retire based on disability), to be directly re-employed without a suspension or reduction in retirement benefit through June 30, 2027, if: 1) the retiree is certified to teach mathematics, science, English language arts, or special education (excluding gifted/talented), or 2) the retiree is re-employed to fill a vacancy created by maternity leave, military leave, sabbatical leave, or extended sick leave;
  • allow employers, under certain circumstances, to hire retirees certified in any subject area to fill a vacancy in any critical shortage area;
  • change employer advertising and posting requirements for declaring a critical shortage for any position needing to be filled before July 1, 2027;
  • allow retirees who retired on or before June 30, 2020, but returned on/after June 30, 2020, to choose to be subject to the 2010 RTW law; After June 30, 2027, such retiree may irrevocably elect to be subject to the 2020 RTW law;
  • make the 2020 RTW law applicable to any retiree who retired on/after July 1, 2020–rather than who returned to work for the first time on/after July 1, 2020; and
  • require the Louisiana Department of Education to conduct a study and make recommendations for policy changes related to critical shortages at TRSL-participating and non-participating schools.
The postsecondary education-related amendments provide for the critical shortage of nursing instructors. As amended, the bill will allow for postsecondary education institutions to hire RTW retirees as adjunct professors to instruct students in a nursing program until the provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2027, under the following conditions:
  • the employer must certify a critical shortage of instructors in nursing in order for the RTW retiree to receive an unreduced retirement benefit during re-employment;
  • the employer must follow posting and advertising requirements for filling critical shortage vacancies;
  • the retiree would be subject to a mandatory 12-month waiting period;
  • the retiree must be at least age 62 with at least 30 years of service credit at retirement;
  • the retiree must not be a disability retiree;
  • the retiree cannot be hired under contract or corporate contract;
  • the retirement benefit of the RTW retiree would not be suspended or reduced during re-employment if the retiree meets the criteria and the employer has properly certified a critical shortage;
  • the employee and employer would make contributions to TRSL for the duration of the re-employment;
  • no additional service credit would be earned during re-employment;
  • employee contributions would be refundable upon request at termination of re-employment; and
  • the employer must follow reporting requirements when hiring RTW retirees.
Senate Bill 434 now awaits a House referral.
Last week:

The House Retirement Committee, originally scheduled to meet on April 14, was rescheduled for 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 20. Four RTW bills that originated in the House are on the agenda for consideration.
  • House Bill 22 (Rep. Edmonds) would temporarily increase the earnings limit from 25% to 50% per fiscal year of the retiree’s final average compensation (FAC) under Option 1 of the 2020 RTW law for retirees who returned to work for the first time on or after July 1, 2020, and before December 31, 2021. This change to the earnings limit would be in effect for the period July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025.
  • House Bill 26 (Rep. Romero) would increase the earnings limit for RTW retirees from 25% to 50% per fiscal year of the retiree’s FAC for those who returned to work for the first time on or after July 1, 2020, under Option 1 of the 2020 RTW law.
  • House Bill 30 (Rep. Frieman) would repeal the 2010 RTW law and enact a new RTW law, which would authorize K-12 retirees to return to work under the following conditions:
    • the retirement benefit of the RTW retiree would not be suspended or reduced;
    • neither the retiree nor the employer would make contributions to TRSL for the duration of the re-employment; and
    • the retiree would not earn service credit during re-employment.
    • (For unclassified employees of colleges, universities, vo-tech schools, and BESE special schools, the 2020 RTW law would still apply.)
  • House Bill 1021 (Rep. McFarland, DeVillier, Edmonds, Frieman, Harris, and Romero) would amend the 2010 RTW law to allow an employer to hire a RTW retiree certified in any area to fill critical shortage vacancies. The bill would also change employer advertising and posting requirements for declaring a critical shortage for any position needing to be filled as follows:
    • requires the employer to post on its website for a period of 10 days and publish a notice at least once in the official journal of the employer's governing authority that a critical shortage of certified positions exists/positions sought to be filled; and
    • removes the requirement that the employer must post notice with the designated career development entities within a 120-mile radius.
You can view all meeting schedules and agendas on the Louisiana State Legislature website. Visit the Legislation page of this website to see all legislation impacting the retirement system. Stay tuned for future updates. 
Back to Top of Page