Michigan Senate Bill SB0047

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/4/25

Caption

Retirement: state employees; election process to transfer a corrections officer to the Michigan state police retirement system; provide for. Amends sec. 55 of 1943 PA 240 (MCL 38.55) & adds secs. 50b & 64a. TIE BAR WITH: SB 48'25

Summary

Senate Bill 47 would create a new election option for certain state employees in covered positions, allowing qualified participants who first entered the Tier 2 retirement system on or after March 31, 1997 to irrevocably leave that status and instead become members of the Michigan State Police Retirement System. The bill sets a limited election window for current eligible employees and a 75-day election period for future hires, with employees who do not act deemed to have chosen to remain in Tier 2. It also makes the election subject to domestic relations orders, preserving the usual treatment of retirement benefits in divorce or similar proceedings. The bill further amends the definition of “qualified participant” in the State Employees’ Retirement Act to exclude those who make this new election, and it adds a new transfer provision allowing eligible employees to move some or all of their Tier 2 employee contributions, and vested employer contributions, to purchase service credit under the state police retirement system. The bill is tied to Senate Bill 48, meaning it would not take effect unless that companion bill also becomes law.

Impact

SB 47 would amend the State Employees’ Retirement Act, 1943 PA 240, by adding sections 50b and 64a and revising section 55. Its practical effect is to create a statutory pathway for certain corrections officers or other covered-position employees to switch retirement systems and potentially buy service credit in the Michigan State Police Retirement System using accumulated Tier 2 contributions. The bill would affect the retirement rights, contribution treatment, vesting, and benefit calculations of eligible state employees, while also requiring the retirement system to administer a new election process and related transfers.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, amendments, or partisan division in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be a targeted retirement-option bill intended to give a subset of state employees a more favorable or different retirement path. The tie-bar to SB 48 suggests the proposal is part of a coordinated package rather than a standalone policy change.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are likely to be the cost and fairness of allowing a one-time transfer into the state police retirement system, the treatment of employer contributions and vested benefits, and whether the new option creates unequal retirement treatment among state employees. Another possible issue is administrative complexity, since the retirement system must implement a short election window for current employees and a separate process for future hires. Because the bill is tied to SB 48, support for this measure may depend on agreement with the companion legislation and the broader retirement-system restructuring it contemplates.