LCO No. 3568 1 of 11
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1525
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 3568
Referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS
Introduced by:
(APP)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT BOARD'S
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES TO THE TEACHERS'
RETIREMENT SYSTEM STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (15) of section 10-183b of the general statutes 1
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(15) "Employer" means an elected school committee, a board of 4
education, the State Board of Education, the Office of Early Childhood, 5
the Technical Education and Career System, the Board of Regents for 6
Higher Education or any of the constituent units, the governing body of 7
the Children's Center and its successors for members hired before July 8
1, 2025, The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, the E. O. Smith 9
School, or any other activity, institution or school employing members, 10
except "employer" shall not include the State Education Resource Center 11
for members hired on or after July 1, 2025. 12
Sec. 2. Subdivision (21) of section 10-183b of the general statutes is 13
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 14
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 2 of 11
passage): 15
(21) "Public school" means any day school conducted within or 16
without this state under the orders and superintendence of a duly 17
elected school committee, a board of education, the State Board of 18
Education, the Office of Early Childhood, the Board of Regents for 19
Higher Education, or any of its constituent units, The University of 20
Connecticut Board of Trustees, the board of governors or any of its 21
constituent units, the Technical Education and Career System, the E. O. 22
Smith School, the Children's Center and its successors for members 23
hired before July 1, 2025, the State Education Resource Center 24
[established pursuant to section 10-4q of the 2014 supplement to the 25
general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2013, the State 26
Education Resource Center established pursuant to section 10-357a] for 27
members hired before July 1, 2025, joint activities of boards of education 28
authorized by subsection (b) of section 10-158a and (A) any institution 29
supported by the state at which teachers are employed or any 30
incorporated secondary school not under the orders and 31
superintendence of a duly elected school committee or board of 32
education but located in a town not maintaining a high school and 33
providing free tuition to pupils of the town in which it is located, and 34
which has been approved by the State Board of Education under the 35
provisions of part II of chapter 164, or (B) on and after July 1, 2023, any 36
school operated by an interdistrict magnet school operator described in 37
section 10-264s, provided such institution, secondary school or school is 38
classified as a public school by the retirement board. 39
Sec. 3. Subsection (g) of section 10-183g of the general statutes is 40
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 41
2025): 42
(g) A member's complete formal application for retirement, if sent by 43
mail, shall be deemed to have been filed with the board on the date such 44
application is postmarked. Such application for retirement shall be 45
irrevocable on the date the member retires. No benefit computed under 46
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 3 of 11
subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, of this section and under subsections (a) 47
to (g), inclusive, of section 10-183aa, as amended by this act, shall 48
become effective until a member eligible for retirement under section 49
10-183f files with the board a complete formal application for retirement 50
and terminates service with such member's employer. Such benefit shall 51
accrue from the first day of the month following the calendar month in 52
which such application is filed and payment of such benefit in equal 53
monthly installments shall commence on the last day of the month in 54
which such benefit begins to accrue. The initial payment of such benefit 55
may be made not later than three months following the effective date of 56
retirement, provided such payment shall be retroactive to such effective 57
date. Upon a finding that extenuating circumstances relating to the 58
health of a member caused a delay in the filing of the member's complete 59
formal application, and such application is filed on or after July 1, 1986, 60
the board may deem such application to have been filed up to three 61
months earlier than the actual date of the filing. Upon a finding that 62
extenuating circumstances related to the health of a member caused a 63
delay in the filing of an election pursuant to subsection (g) of section 10-64
183aa, and such election is filed on or after July 1, 1986, the board may 65
deem such election to have been filed as of the date such member's 66
benefits would otherwise have been converted to a normal retirement 67
benefit under this section. 68
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 10-183h of the general statutes is 69
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 70
2025): 71
(c) In lieu of a basic survivor's benefit and a lump sum death benefit, 72
a [sole] survivor who has attained age eighteen, and is the member's 73
designated beneficiary may elect to receive an amount equal to such 74
member's accumulated contributions together with credited interest. In 75
the absence of a designation, the member's surviving spouse or, if none, 76
the member's surviving children in equal shares or, if none, the 77
member's estate shall be entitled to the lump sum payment of the 78
accumulated contributions with credited interest. 79
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 4 of 11
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 10-183l of the general statutes is 80
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 81
2025): 82
(a) (1) On and after July 1, 1991, the management of the system shall 83
continue to be vested in the Teachers' Retirement Board, whose 84
members shall include the Treasurer, the Secretary of the Office of Policy 85
and Management and the Commissioner of Education, or their 86
designees, who shall be voting members of the board, ex officio. (2) On 87
or before June 15, 1985, and quadrennially thereafter, the members of 88
the system shall elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by said 89
board, two persons to serve as members of said board for terms of four 90
years beginning July first following such election. Both of such persons 91
shall be active teachers who shall be nominated by the members of the 92
system who are not retired and elected by all the members of the system. 93
On or before July 1, 1991, and quadrennially thereafter, the members of 94
the system shall elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by said 95
board, three persons to serve as members of said board for terms of four 96
years beginning July first following such election. Two of such persons 97
shall be retired teachers who shall be nominated by the retired members 98
of the system and elected by all the members of the system and one shall 99
be an active teacher who shall be nominated by the members of the 100
system who are not retired and elected by all the members of the system. 101
(3) On or before July 1, 2011, and quadrennially thereafter, the members 102
of the system shall elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by 103
said board, one person to serve as a member of said board for a term of 104
four years beginning July first following such election. Such person shall 105
be an active teacher who shall be nominated by the members of the 106
system who are not retired, elected by all the members of the system 107
and a member of an exclusive representative of a teachers' bargaining 108
unit that is not represented by the members of the board elected under 109
subdivision (2) of this subsection. (4) On or before October 1, 2023, and 110
in July quadrennially thereafter, the retired members of the system shall 111
elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by said board, two 112
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 5 of 11
persons to serve as members of said board for a term of four years 113
beginning October first following such election. Both of such persons 114
shall be (A) retired teachers who are receiving a pension benefit from 115
the system, and (B) nominated and elected by the members of the 116
system who are retired. (5) If a vacancy occurs in the positions filled by 117
the members of the system who are not retired, said board shall elect a 118
member of the system who is not retired to fill the unexpired portion of 119
the term. If a vacancy occurs in the positions filled by the retired 120
members of the system, said board shall elect a retired member of the 121
system to fill the unexpired portion of the term. The Governor shall 122
appoint five public members to said board in accordance with the 123
provisions of section 4-9a, one of whom shall be the mayor, first 124
selectman or chief elected official of a municipality. On and after 125
October 31, 2017, the Governor shall fill the next vacant position on the 126
board that is appointed by the Governor with a person who is the 127
mayor, first selectman or chief elected official of a municipality. The 128
members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be 129
reimbursed for any expenditures or loss of salary or wages which they 130
incur through service on the board. A majority of the membership of the 131
board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. 132
Sec. 6. Section 10-183t of the general statutes is repealed and the 133
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 134
(a) The board shall offer one or more health benefit plans to: Any 135
member receiving retirement benefits or a disability allowance from the 136
system; the spouse or surviving spouse of such member, and a disabled 137
dependent of such member if there is no spouse or surviving spouse, 138
provided such member, spouse, surviving spouse, or disabled 139
dependent is participating in Medicare Part A hospital insurance and 140
Medicare Part B medical insurance. The board may offer one or more 141
basic plans, the cost of which to any such member, spouse, surviving 142
spouse or disabled dependent shall be one-third of the basic plan's 143
premium equivalent, and one or more optional plans, provided such 144
member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent shall pay one-145
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 6 of 11
third of the basic plan's premium equivalent plus the difference in cost 146
between any such basic plans and any such optional plans. The board 147
shall designate those plans which are basic and those plans which are 148
optional for the purpose of determining such cost and the amount to be 149
charged or withheld from benefit payments for such plans. The 150
surviving spouse of a member, or a disabled dependent of a member if 151
there is no surviving spouse, shall not be ineligible for participation in 152
any such plan solely because such surviving spouse or disabled 153
dependent is not receiving benefits from the system. With respect to any 154
person participating in any such plan, the state shall appropriate to the 155
board one-third of the cost of such basic plan or plans, or one-third of 156
the cost of the rate in effect during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, 157
whichever is greater. 158
(b) (1) Any member who (A) is receiving retirement benefits or a 159
disability allowance from the system, the spouse or surviving spouse of 160
such member, or a disabled dependent of such member if there is no 161
spouse or surviving spouse, and who is not participating in Medicare 162
Part A hospital insurance and Medicare Part B medical insurance, and 163
(B) meets the state's eligibility criteria for health insurance or is eligible 164
to participate in the group health insurance plan offered by such 165
member's last employing board of education, may fully participate in 166
any or all group health insurance plans maintained for active teachers 167
by such member's last employing board of education, or by the state in 168
the case of a member who was employed by the state, upon payment to 169
such board of education or to the state, as applicable, by such member, 170
spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent, of the premium 171
charged for the member's form of coverage. Such premium shall be no 172
greater than that charged for the same form of coverage for active 173
teachers. 174
(2) The member's spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent 175
shall not be ineligible for participation in any such plan solely because 176
such spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent is not receiving 177
benefits from the system. No person shall be ineligible for participation 178
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 7 of 11
in such plans for failure to enroll in such plans at the time the member's 179
retirement benefit or disability allowance became effective. 180
(3) (A) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impair or alter 181
the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement relating to the 182
payment by a board of education of group health insurance premiums 183
on behalf of any member receiving benefits from the system. No 184
collective bargaining agreement shall provide for a subsidy for any 185
purpose other than to reduce costs for the benefit of a member, spouse, 186
surviving spouse or disabled member. 187
(B) Prior to the cancellation of coverage for any member, spouse, 188
surviving spouse or disabled dependent for failure to pay the required 189
premiums or cost due, the board of education or the state, if applicable, 190
shall notify the Teachers' Retirement Board of its intention to cancel such 191
coverage at least thirty days prior to the date of cancellation. Absent any 192
contractual provisions to the contrary, the payments made pursuant to 193
subsection (c) of this section shall be first applied to any cost borne by 194
the member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent 195
participating in any such plan. 196
(4) As used in this subsection, "last employing board of education" 197
means the board of education by which such member was employed 198
when such member filed his or her initial application for retirement, and 199
"health insurance plans" means hospital, medical, major medical, dental, 200
prescription drug or auditory benefit plans that are available to active 201
teachers. 202
(c) (1) On and after July 1, 2022, the board shall pay a subsidy of two 203
hundred twenty dollars, to the board of education or to the state, if 204
applicable, on behalf of any member who is receiving retirement 205
benefits or a disability allowance from the system, the spouse of such 206
member, the surviving spouse of such member, or a disabled dependent 207
of such member if there is no spouse or surviving spouse, who is 208
participating in a health insurance plan maintained by a board of 209
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 8 of 11
education or by the state, if applicable. Such payment shall not exceed 210
the actual cost of such insurance. 211
(2) With respect to any person participating in any such plan 212
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the state shall appropriate to 213
the board one-third of the cost of the subsidy, except that, for the fiscal 214
year ending June 30, 2013, the state shall appropriate twenty-five per 215
cent of the cost of the subsidy. On and after July 1, 2018, for the fiscal 216
year ending June 30, 2019, and for each fiscal year thereafter, fifty per 217
cent of the total amount appropriated by the state in each such fiscal 218
year for the state's share of the cost of such subsidies shall be paid to the 219
board on or before July first of such fiscal year, and the remaining fifty 220
per cent of such total amount shall be paid to the board on or before 221
December first of such fiscal year. 222
(3) No payment to a board of education pursuant to this subsection 223
may be used to reduce the amount of any premium payment on behalf 224
of any such member, spouse, surviving spouse, or disabled dependent, 225
made by such board pursuant to any agreement in effect on July 1, 1990. 226
On and after July 1, 2022, the board shall pay a subsidy of four hundred 227
forty dollars per month on behalf of the member, spouse or the 228
surviving spouse of such member who: (A) Has attained the normal 229
retirement age to participate in Medicare, (B) is not eligible for Medicare 230
Part A without cost, and (C) contributes at least four hundred forty 231
dollars per month towards his or her medical and prescription drug 232
plan provided by the board of education. 233
(d) The Treasurer shall establish a separate retired teachers' health 234
insurance premium account within the Teachers' Retirement Fund. 235
Commencing July 1, 1989, and annually thereafter all health benefit plan 236
contributions withheld under this chapter in excess of five hundred 237
thousand dollars shall, upon deposit in the Teachers' Retirement Fund, 238
be credited to such account. Interest derived from the investment of 239
funds in the account shall be credited to the account. Funds in the 240
account shall be used for (1) payments to boards of education pursuant 241
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 9 of 11
to subsection (c) of this section and for payment of premiums on behalf 242
of members, spouses of members, surviving spouses of members or 243
disabled dependents of members participating in one or more health 244
insurance plans pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in an amount 245
equal to the difference between the amount paid pursuant to subsection 246
(a) of this section and the amount paid pursuant to subsection (c) of this 247
section, and (2) payments for professional fees associated with the 248
administration of the health benefit plans offered pursuant to this 249
section. If, during any fiscal year, there are insufficient funds in the 250
account for the purposes of all such payments, the General Assembly 251
shall appropriate sufficient funds to the account for such purpose. 252
(e) (1) Not later than the first business day of [February, May, August 253
and November] March, April, September and December of each year, 254
each employer shall submit to the board, in a format required by the 255
board, any information the board determines to be necessary concerning 256
additions, deletions and premium changes for the health insurance 257
subsidy program described in subsection (c) of this section. Any report 258
received by the board after the due date shall be processed in the 259
following quarterly cycle. An employer's failure to timely submit a 260
quarterly report shall result in a delay of the subsidy for that quarter 261
and the board shall pay the subsidy as a retroactive subsidy, as provided 262
in subdivision (2) of this subsection. 263
(2) Retroactive subsidy payments shall be limited to six months prior 264
to the first day of the month in which the board receives an untimely 265
report that includes newly eligible retired members or dependents. The 266
board shall pay the subsidy retroactively to the effective date of the 267
disability, provided any eligible members or dependents are added to 268
the report not later than the first quarter following the board's approval 269
of the disability and the member's disability allowance is initiated 270
within four months of board approval. The employer shall hold any 271
member or dependent harmless for any costs associated with, arising 272
from or out of the loss of the benefit of the subsidy as a result of the 273
employer's untimely or inaccurate filing of the quarterly report. 274
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 10 of 11
Sec. 7. Subsection (c) of section 10-183aa of the general statutes is 275
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 276
2025): 277
(c) The board shall designate a medical committee to be composed of 278
no more than five physicians. If required, other physicians may be 279
employed to report on special cases. Such medical committee shall 280
review each eligible application for a disability allowance and shall 281
make findings and recommendations in writing to the board. The 282
medical committee shall perform additional examinations or case 283
reviews as deemed necessary by the board. Members of such committee 284
shall receive compensation for their services at a rate to be determined 285
by the board. 286
Sec. 8. Subsection (b) of section 4d-80 of the general statutes is 287
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 288
2025): 289
(b) The Governor shall appoint a chairperson from among the 290
members of the commission or their designees. Subject to the provisions 291
of chapter 67, and within available appropriations, the commission may 292
appoint an executive director and such other employees as may be 293
necessary for the discharge of the duties of the commission. 294
Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the executive 295
director shall have the option to elect participation in the state 296
employees retirement system, or the alternate retirement program 297
established for eligible employees in higher education. [or the teachers' 298
retirement system.] 299
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 10-183b(15)
Sec. 2 from passage 10-183b(21)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 10-183g(g)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 10-183h(c)
Raised Bill No. 1525
LCO No. 3568 11 of 11
Sec. 5 July 1, 2025 10-183l(a)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2025 10-183t
Sec. 7 July 1, 2025 10-183aa(c)
Sec. 8 July 1, 2025 4d-80(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Teachers' Retirement Board's recommendations for
changes to the teachers' retirement system statutes.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]