# Georgia SB 143: Georgia Firefighter's Pension Fund; certain members to retire at age 50; provide Georgia SB 143, Georgia Firefighter's Pension Fund; certain members to retire at age 50; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by John Albers (Republican), Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB143-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia SB 143 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Georgia Firefighter's Pension Fund; certain members to retire at age 50; provide - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-11 - Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date - Sponsors: John Albers (Republican), Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican), Randy Robertson (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Retirement, General Bill - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (267 yes, 4 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Lifetime pensions for long-serving Georgia firefighters: benefit, high. Eligible Georgia Firefighter's Pension Fund members gain lifetime pension rights after 15 years of credited service. For 15–24 years, the monthly pension equals years served divided by 25, multiplied by the maximum monthly benefit. After leaving service and getting board approval, payments start at… - More service counts toward firefighter pension increases: benefit, medium. Eligible retirees can count full years of credited fund membership beyond 25 years toward pension increases. Counting is no longer limited to service specifically as a firefighter or volunteer firefighter. The increase is 1% per extra service year for retirements after July 1, 1984, or 2% after Jul… - Georgia firefighters get earlier, smaller pensions: mixed, high. Eligible fund members who qualify for benefits at 55 can choose to start between ages 50 and 54. Monthly payments equal 70% of the unreduced benefit at 50, 76% at 51, and 82% at 52. The amount is 88% at 53 or 94% at 54. A surviving spouse with an Option A survivor benefit can also choose early paym… - Georgia firefighters keep pensions while working: mixed, high. Fund members age 55 or older with at least 25 years of service can collect pensions without leaving fire service. Payments start on the board's approval date, and members can keep working or volunteering. While collecting these benefits, they pay no monthly dues and earn no additional service credi… - New pension choices for returning firefighter retirees: mixed, low. Fund retirees covered by Code Section 47-7-100(b)(2) or (3) can choose to pay dues and earn service credit after reemployment. This choice applies when they return to paid work with a fire department or volunteer fire department. The law removes the former route for qualifying retirees to rejoin th… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: John Albers (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Chuck Payne (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Randy Robertson (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Shawn Still (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Rick Williams (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Lauren McDonald III (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-02 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE | pass | 52 | 1 | 2 | | 2026-03-31 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 168 | 0 | 5 | | 2026-02-17 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 47 | 3 | 3 | ## Actions (16) - 2026-07-01: Effective Date - 2026-05-12: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate) - 2026-05-12: Act 630 - 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate) - 2026-04-02: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate) - 2026-03-31: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2026-03-31: House Third Readers (House) - 2026-03-31: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House) - 2026-02-19: House Second Readers (House) - 2026-02-18: House First Readers (House) - 2026-02-17: Senate Third Read (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate) - 2026-02-06: Senate Read Second Time (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate) - 2025-02-12: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Senate Hopper (Senate) ## Bill text - SB 143/AP* (v13): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249149) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [SB 143/AP* (v13) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249149) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB143-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).