2025 -- H 5762
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LC001911
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHER'S RETIREMENT
Introduced By: Representatives Slater, Diaz, Morales, and DeSimone
Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
Referred To: House Finance
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16-16-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-16 entitled "Teachers’ 1
Retirement [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby 2
amended to read as follows: 3
16-16-13. Amount of service retirement allowance. 4
(a)(1)(i) For teachers eligible to retire on or before September 30, 2009, upon retirement 5
from service under § 16-16-12 a teacher whose membership commenced before July 1, 2005, and 6
who has completed at least ten (10) years of contributory service on or before July 1, 2005, shall 7
receive a retirement allowance which shall be determined in accordance with schedule A for service 8
prior to July 1, 2012. 9
SCHEDULE A 10
YEARS OF SERVICE PERCENTAGE ALLOWANCE 11
1st through 10th inclusive 1.7% 12
11th through 20th inclusive 1.9% 13
21st through 34th inclusive 3.0% 14
35
th
2.0% 15
(ii) For teachers eligible to retire on or after October 1, 2009, who were not eligible to retire 16
on or before September 30, 2009, upon retirement for service under § 16-16-12, a teacher whose 17
membership commenced before July 1, 2005, and who has completed at least ten (10) years of 18
contributory service on or before July 1, 2005, shall receive a retirement allowance which shall be 19
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determined in accordance with schedule A above for service on before September 30, 2009, and 1
shall be determined in accordance with schedule B in subsection (a)(2) below for service on or after 2
October 1, 2009, and prior to July 1, 2012. 3
(2) Upon retirement from service under § 16-16-12 a teacher whose membership 4
commenced after July 1, 2005, or who has not completed at least ten (10) years of contributory 5
service as of July 1, 2005, shall receive a retirement allowance which shall be determined in 6
accordance with Schedule B for service prior to July 1, 2012. 7
SCHEDULE B 8
YEARS OF SERVICE PERCENTAGE ALLOWANCE 9
1st through 10th inclusive 1.60% 10
11th through 20th inclusive 1.80% 11
21st through 25th inclusive 2.0% 12
26th through 30th inclusive 2.25% 13
31st through 37th inclusive 2.50% 14
38
th
2.25% 15
(b) The retirement allowance of any teacher whose membership commenced before July 1, 16
2005, and who has completed at least ten (10) years of contributory service on or before July 1, 17
2005, shall be in an amount equal to the percentage allowance specified in subsection (a)(1) of the 18
member’s average highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation multiplied by the number 19
of years of total service, but in no case to exceed eighty percent (80%) of the compensation, payable 20
at completion of thirty-five (35) years of service; provided, however, for teachers retiring on or 21
after October 1, 2009, who were not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009, the calculation 22
shall be based on the average highest five (5) consecutive years of compensation; provided, 23
however for teachers retiring on or after July 1, 2024, the calculation shall be based on the average 24
highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation; provided, however for teachers retiring on or 25
after July 1, 2024, the calculation shall be based on the average highest three (3) consecutive years 26
of compensation. 27
The retirement allowance of any teacher whose membership commenced after July 1, 2005, 28
or who has not completed at least ten (10) years of contributory service as of July 1, 2005, shall be 29
in an amount equal to the percentage allowance specified in Schedule B of the member’s average 30
highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation multiplied by the number of years of total 31
service, but in no case to exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the compensation, payable at 32
completion of thirty-eight (38) years of service; provided, however, for teachers retiring on or after 33
October 1, 2009, who were not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009, the calculation shall be 34
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based on the average highest five (5) consecutive years of compensation; provided, however, for 1
teachers retiring on or after July 1, 2024, the calculation shall be based on the average highest three 2
(3) consecutive years of compensation; provided, however for teachers retiring on or after July 1, 3
2024, the calculation shall be based on the average highest three (3) consecutive years of 4
compensation. 5
Any teacher who has in excess of thirty-five (35) years on or before June 2, 1985, shall not 6
be entitled to any refund, and any teacher with thirty-five (35) years or more on or after June 2, 7
1985, shall contribute from July 1, 1985, until their retirement. 8
(c) For service prior to July 2012, the retirement allowance of a teacher shall be determined 9
in accordance with subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) above. For service on and after July 1, 2012: 10
(i) For teachers with fewer than twenty (20) years of total service as of June 30, 2012, a 11
teacher’s retirement allowance shall be equal to one percent (1%) of the teacher’s average 12
compensation multiplied by the teacher’s years of total service on and after July 1, 2012; and 13
(ii) For teachers with twenty (20) or more years of total service as of June 30, 2012, a 14
teacher’s retirement allowance shall be equal to one percent (1%) of the teacher’s average 15
compensation multiplied by the teacher’s years of total service between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 16
2015, and two percent (2%) of the teacher’s average compensation multiplied by the teacher’s years 17
of total service on and after July 1, 2015. For purposes of computing a teacher’s total service under 18
the preceding sentence, service purchases shall be included in total service only with respect to 19
those service purchases approved prior to June 30, 2012, and those applications for service 20
purchases received by the retirement system on or before June 30, 2012. In no event shall a 21
teacher’s retirement allowance exceed the maximum limitations set forth in subsection (b) above. 22
(iii) Effective July 1, 2025, a teacher’s retirement allowance shall be calculated as follows: 23
1-20 years of service 1% per year 24
21-30 years of service 1.5% per year 25
31-35 years of service 2% per year 26
36-40 years of service 3% per year 27
SECTION 2. Section 36-10-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-10 entitled "Retirement 28
System — Contributions and Benefits" is hereby amended to read as follows: 29
36-10-10. Amount of service retirement allowance. 30
(a)(1)(i) For employees eligible to retire on or before September 30, 2009, upon retirement 31
for service under § 36-10-9, a member whose membership commenced before July 1, 2005, and 32
who has completed at least ten (10) years of contributory service on or before July 1, 2005, shall 33
receive a retirement allowance which shall be determined in accordance with schedule A below for 34
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service prior to July 1, 2012: 1
Schedule A 2
Years of Service Percentage Allowance 3
1st through 10th inclusive 1.7% 4
11th through 20th inclusive 1.9% 5
21st through 34th inclusive 3.0% 6
35
th
2.0% 7
(ii) For employees eligible to retire on or after October 1, 2009, who were not eligible to 8
retire on or before September 30, 2009, upon retirement from service under § 36-10-9, a member 9
whose membership commenced before July 1, 2005, and who has completed at least ten (10) years 10
of contributory service on or before July 1, 2005, shall receive a retirement allowance which shall 11
be determined in accordance with schedule A above for service on before September 30, 2009, and 12
shall be determined in accordance with schedule B in subsection (a)(2) below for service on or after 13
October 1, 2009, and prior to July 1, 2012. 14
(2) Upon retirement for service under § 36-10-9, a member whose membership 15
commenced after July 1, 2005, or who has not completed at least ten (10) years of contributory 16
service as of July 1, 2005, shall, receive a retirement allowance which shall be determined in 17
accordance with Schedule B below for service prior to July 1, 2012: 18
Schedule B 19
Years of Service Percentage Allowance 20
1st through 10th inclusive 1.60% 21
11th through 20th inclusive 1.80% 22
21st through 25th inclusive 2.0% 23
26th through 30th inclusive 2.25% 24
31st through 37th inclusive 2.50% 25
38
th
2.25% 26
(b) The retirement allowance of any member whose membership commenced before July 27
1, 2005, and who has completed at least ten (10) years of contributory service on or before July 1, 28
2005, shall be in an amount equal to the percentage allowance specified in subsection (a)(1) of the 29
member’s average highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation multiplied by the number 30
of years of total service, but in no case to exceed eighty percent (80%) of the compensation payable 31
at completion of thirty-five (35) years of service; provided, however, for employees retiring on or 32
after October 1, 2009, who were not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009, the calculation 33
shall be based on the average highest five (5) consecutive years of compensation; provided, 34
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however, for employees retiring on or after July 1, 2024, the calculation shall be based on the 1
average highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation. Any member who has in excess of 2
thirty-five (35) years on or before June 2, 1985, shall not be entitled to any refund, and any member 3
with thirty-five (35) years or more on or after June 2, 1985, shall contribute from July 1, 1985, until 4
the member’s retirement. 5
The retirement allowance of any member whose membership commenced after July 1, 6
2005, or who had not completed at least ten (10) years of contributory service as of July 1, 2005, 7
shall, be in an amount equal to the percentage allowance specified in Schedule B of the member’s 8
average highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation multiplied by the number of years of 9
total service, but in no case to exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the compensation payable at 10
the completion of thirty-eight (38) years of service; provided, however, for employees retiring on 11
or after October 1, 2009, who were not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009, the calculation 12
shall be based on the average highest five (5) consecutive years of compensation; provided, 13
however, for employees retiring on or after July 1, 2024, the calculation shall be based on the 14
average highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation. 15
(c) Any member with thirty-eight (38) years or more of service prior to December 31, 1985, 16
shall not be required to make additional contributions. Contributions made between December 31, 17
1985, and July 1, 1987, by members with thirty-eight (38) or more years of service prior to 18
December 31, 1985, shall be refunded by the retirement board to the persons, their heirs, 19
administrators, or legal representatives. 20
(d) For service prior to July 1, 2012, the retirement allowance of a member shall be 21
determined in accordance with subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) above. For service on and after July 1, 22
2012, a member’s retirement allowance shall be equal to: 23
(i) For members with fewer than twenty (20) years of total service as of June 30, 2012, one 24
percent (1%) of the member’s average compensation multiplied by the member’s years of total 25
service on and after July 1 2012; and 26
(ii) For members with twenty (20) or more years of total service as of June 30, 2012, a 27
member’s retirement allowance shall be equal to one percent (1%) of the member’s average 28
compensation multiplied by the member’s years of total service between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 29
2015, and two percent (2%) of the member’s average compensation multiplied by the member’s 30
years of total service on and after July 1, 2015. For purposes of computing a member’s total service 31
under the preceding sentence, service purchases shall be included in total service only with respect 32
to those service purchases approved prior to June 30, 2012, and those applications for service 33
purchases received by the retirement system on or before June 30, 2012. 34
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(iii) Effective July 1, 2025, an employee’s retirement allowance shall be calculated as 1
follows: 2
1-20 years of service 1% per year 3
21-30 years of service 1.5% per year 4
31-35 years of service 2% per year 5
36-40 years of service 3% per year 6
In no event shall a member’s retirement allowance exceed the maximum limitations set 7
forth in paragraph (b) above. 8
SECTION 3. Section 45-21-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-21 entitled "Retirement 9
of Municipal Employees" is hereby amended to read as follows: 10
45-21-17. Service retirement allowance. 11
(a) Upon retirement from service after January 1, 1969, a member shall receive a retirement 12
allowance which is a life annuity terminable upon death of the annuitant and is an amount equal to 13
two percent (2%) of final compensation multiplied by the number of years of total service, not to 14
exceed thirty-seven and one-half (37½) years for services on and prior to June 30, 2012. For service 15
on and after July 1, 2012: (i) For members with fewer than twenty (20) years of total service as of 16
June 30, 2012, a member’s retirement allowance shall be equal to one percent (1%) of the member’s 17
final compensation multiplied by the member’s years of total service on and after July 1, 2012; and 18
(ii) For members with twenty (20) or more years of total service as of June 30, 2012, a member’s 19
retirement allowance shall be equal to one percent (1%) of the member’s average compensation 20
multiplied by the member’s years of total service between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015, and two 21
percent (2%) of the member’s average compensation multiplied by the member’s years of total 22
service on and after July 1, 2015. For purposes of computing a member’s total service under the 23
preceding sentence, service purchases shall be included in total service only with respect to those 24
service purchases approved prior to June 30, 2012, and those applications for service purchases 25
received by the retirement system on or before June 30, 2012. In no event shall a member’s 26
retirement allowance exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the member’s final compensation. 27
Provided, however, that every person elected prior to July 1, 2012, who has served as a part time 28
elected official of the city of Cranston for a period of ten (10) years, is entitled to receive, upon 29
retirement from that part time service, and not being otherwise regularly employed by the city of 30
Cranston in which that person has served, a service retirement allowance equivalent to fifty percent 31
(50%) of the salary received at the time of retirement by that part time elected official; and, 32
provided, further, that if that person retires after a period of service greater than ten (10) years, the 33
person is entitled to receive an additional service retirement allowance equivalent to five percent 34
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(5%) of the salary received at the time of retirement for each whole year of service, in excess of ten 1
(10) years up to a maximum additional allowance equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the salary 2
received. 3
(b) This section also applies to any former part time elected official of the city of Cranston 4
who is presently receiving retirement benefits from the municipal retirement system. 5
(c) Every person elected prior to July 1, 2012, who serves or has served at least four (4) 6
years as a part time elected official of the city of Cranston may include that person’s years of service 7
as a member of the general assembly, and any other credits acquired while serving as a legislator, 8
when computing the person’s period of service to the city of Cranston pursuant to the provisions 9
of this section. 10
(d) Effective July 1, 2025, an employee’s retirement allowance shall be calculated as 11
follows: 12
1-20 years of service 1% per year 13
21-30 years of service 1.5% per year 14
31-35 years of service 2% per year 15
36-40 years of service 3% per year 16
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 17
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHER'S RETIREMENT
***
This act would recalculate the retirement allowance related to early retirement and pension 1
benefits for teachers, state employees and municipal employees. 2
This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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LC001911
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