ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session

Majority Research Staff

Senate: FIN DP 6-1-0-0 | Third Read 20-7-3-0-0

House: PSLE DPA 10-1-2-1

SB 1270: correctional officers; supplemental contributions

Sponsor: Senator Gowan, LD 19

Caucus & COW

Overview

Allows an employer to make a supplemental contribution incentive payment to a participant's Public Safety Personnel Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (Plan) in accordance with specified contribution requirements.

History

The Plan was established in 2017 and is administered by the Board of Trustees (Board) of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. The Plan is designed to be: 1) fully funded on a current basis from employer and participant contributions; 2) a qualified governmental plan under the IRC's definition; and 3) exempt from federal taxation. The Plan also provides for appropriate long-term retirement-oriented investments and includes both fixed and variable deferred annuity options (A.R.S. § 38-866).

Each participant in the Plan is required to contribute 7% of their gross pensionable compensation by salary reduction to their annuity account. Participants are allowed to make a onetime irrevocable election, to either contribute more or less than their given percentage but may not elect to contribute less than 5% of their gross compensation. Contributions are paid by the employer into the Plan on the participant's behalf through a reduction in the participant's compensation (A.R.S. § 38-867).

Employers also make annual contributions to participants' Plans that are equal to 5% of each participant's gross pensionable compensation and classification. Employer contributions are made at the same time as participant contributions and are deposited directly into the participant's annuity account (A.R.S. § 38-867).

Participant is defined as any employee who is a full-time, paid employee of the participating employer and who was either: 1) hired on or after July 1, 2018, not to a designated position, and was not a member of the corrections officer retirement plan; or 2) hired on or after July 1, 2018, to a designated position, who participates solely in the Plan and who was not a member of the corrections officer retirement plan (A.R.S. § 38-865).

Employer means an agency or department of this state or a political subdivision of this state that has one or more employees in a designated position (A.R.S. § 38-881).

Designated position encompasses corrections employees throughout counties, cities and towns; from the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Corrections; from the judiciary; and from the Department of Public Safety (A.R.S. § 38-881).

Provisions

1. Authorizes an employer to make a supplemental contribution incentive payment to a participant's defined contribution plan account if the supplemental contribution meets all the following requirements:

a. does not exceed $5,000 per participant;

b. is made only on a specified service interval such as 5, 10 or 15 years of service;

c. is made equally to all participants of the employer; and

d. does not require the participant to make any additional monetary contribution to receive the employer's supplemental contribution. (Sec. 1)

2. Specifies a supplemental contribution does not affect any other employer or participant who is employed by the employer that made the contribution. (Sec. 1)

3. Asserts an employer is not obligated to make an additional supplemental contribution to a participant who has received a previous contribution. (Sec. 1)

4. Allows employers to discontinue supplemental contributions at any time. (Sec. 1)

Amendments

Committee on Public Safety & Law Enforcement

1. Modifies the supplemental contribution requirements, allowing employers to contribute if the contribution:

a. does not exceed $5,000 per participant, per year;

b. is made only on specified years of employment or years of service intervals;

c. is made equally as an amount or as a rate of pensionable pay at each interval to all participants of the employer who meet the service and the employer's policy requirements; and

d. does not require the participant to make any additional monetary contribution to receive the employer's supplemental contribution.

2. Requires employers to adopt a policy detailing the requirements and amounts of the supplemental contribution program before implementing an additional employer contribution.

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6. Initials NM/AI SB 1270

7. 3/24/2026 Page 0 Caucus & COW

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