Tennessee Senate Bill SB2017

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/26
• Engrossed: 2/23/26
• Enrolled: 4/29/26
• Passed: 5/22/26
• Chaptered: 5/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 34, Part 6, relative to creditable service for a period of disability.

Summary

SB2017 amends Tennessee’s retirement law to allow certain public employees who receive temporary disability benefits under a workers’ compensation program to earn retirement credit for the period of disability. The bill revises Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-34-625 to let an eligible member apply for creditable service during or after the disability period, with the employing department, agency, or political subdivision required to certify the disability period and the salary in effect immediately before the disability. The bill also sets the contribution rules for establishing that credit. Contributions, by or on behalf of the member, are to be remitted based on the pre-disability salary, plus interest if applicable, and the state treasurer is given authority to prescribe the process. For members subject to mandatory retirement, the bill provides that disability credit established on or after July 1, 2026, must be at no cost to the member, and political subdivisions may opt in to the same framework by resolution if they accept the associated liability. The bill caps the amount of temporary disability credit at one year per occurrence.

Impact

The bill affects Tennessee retirement and public employment law by expanding when temporary disability time can count as creditable service in the state retirement system. It changes the obligations of state agencies and participating political subdivisions to certify disability periods and handle retirement contributions, and it gives political subdivisions the option to adopt the same benefit for their employees through a governing-body resolution. It also creates a no-cost pathway for certain mandatory-retirement members beginning July 1, 2026, while preserving prior arrangements for members who already received disability credit before that date.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate State & Local Government Committee unanimously and later cleared floor votes in both chambers without any recorded opposition, suggesting general agreement on the policy. The voting history indicates strong bipartisan or at least unanimous institutional support for the measure.

Contention

There is little evidence of major contention in the available record. The main policy distinctions are administrative and fiscal: whether retirement credit for disability should be funded by the member or, for certain mandatory-retirement members after July 1, 2026, provided at no cost; and whether political subdivisions should choose to adopt the benefit and accept the liability. Any potential concern would likely center on the cost to employers or local governments and the retroactive/transition treatment of members who already established disability credit before the new effective date.