All Roll Calls
Yes: 234 • No: 0
NebraskaLB295109th Legislature 1st and 2nd SessionslegislatureWALLET
Change provisions relating to the County Employees Retirement Act, the Judges Retirement Act, the Nebraska State Patrol Retirement Act, the School Employees Retirement Act, the State Employees Retirement Act, the Spousal Pension Rights Act, and the Public Employees Retirement Board
Sponsored By: Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee
Signed by Governor
Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee
Your PRIA Score
Score Hidden
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
12 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 8 mixed.
Proof of lawful status for pensions
You cannot join Nebraska public retirement systems or deferred compensation plans unless you are a U.S. citizen or lawfully present. You and your employer must keep at least one valid, unexpired document (or one DHS/USCIS has extended) that proves this. You must show it if the retirement board asks. For Class V school employees, starting September 1, 2024, you must produce the document on request, and the state retirement board approves other DHS/USCIS documents.
Judges’ contributions and court fees
Judges pay set monthly contribution rates based on when they first served: 4%, 6%, 8% (plus an added 1% for some after July 1, 2009), and 10% for those first serving on or after July 1, 2015. Many civil and appellate court filings include a judges’ fund fee that steps up over time to $12 starting July 1, 2025. The higher filing fees do not apply to criminal, traffic, or city/village ordinance cases in district or county court.
County cash balance interest floor
County cash balance accounts earn interest at the higher of 5% or the IRS mid‑term rate plus 1.5%. Interest is figured daily, compounded yearly, and keeps accruing after you leave until your final account value. For members hired or rehired on or after January 1, 2018, the county uses a unisex mortality table set by the board and actuary to convert your cash balance to an annuity. That table can raise or lower your future payout.
Later required payout ages (RMDs)
You must start required distributions by April 1 of the year after you both leave work and meet the age rule. The age is 70½ if you reached 70½ by 12/31/2019; 72 if you reached 70½ from 1/1/2020–12/31/2022; 73 if you reached 72 during 2023–2032; and 75 if you reach 74 after 12/31/2032. These rules apply across plans, and federal section 401(a)(9) also applies.
Paid time and access for retirement classes
County and State Employees members get up to 24 hours of paid leave to attend retirement‑planning sessions during work hours. Judges, School Employees, and State Patrol members get up to 16 hours. Sessions can be in‑person or live online; short on‑demand materials count only if board‑provided, under four hours, and watched within 48 hours. Starting September 1, 2024, the state retirement board runs these sessions and includes Class V school employees. The plans share session costs by membership size, and in‑person attendees may pay a small registration fee for meals or rooms.
Return‑to‑work and payback rules
If you return to county or state work in under 120 days, you are not treated as separated. You are reenrolled, must make up missed contributions, and any payouts are canceled and must be repaid unless the board finds hardship. If you return after 120 days, you are reenrolled and must contribute, but you may keep a prior annuity; no new payouts are allowed until you leave again. If you repay a prior withdrawal, you must start within 3 years of rehire and finish within 5 years (or before you leave again); restored employer amounts match the share you repay. For State Patrol, if the board finds you did not actually terminate but got a benefit, you must repay unless it was an inadvertent overpayment and repayment is a significant hardship.
School retirement rules and safeguards
Leave‑of‑absence pay now counts as retirement compensation for school employees. For those hired or rehired on/after July 1, 2017 (and Class V on/after July 1, 2018), annuity calculations use a board‑approved unisex mortality table and interest rate set after actuarial studies. The school retirement board can fix wrong contributions or payments, collect overpayments (or pay underpayments with interest), investigate, and issue subpoenas. If a school employer is found not to qualify under federal rules, affected members become fully vested and inactive within 90 days, and the employer must pay required costs. For certain long‑service members, a primary beneficiary now has 60 days (not 90) after death to elect a lump sum instead of a survivorship annuity.
State employees’ annuity table update
If hired before January 1, 2018, your cash‑balance annuity uses the 1994 mortality table with a 50/50 unisex rate (with a special rule for certain pre‑1984 transfers). If hired or rehired on or after January 1, 2018, the board and actuary set a unisex mortality table after a study, and the factors in effect when you retire apply.
State Patrol pension math by hire date
If hired before July 1, 2017, annuities use the 1994 mortality table (75% male/25% female) and an 8% interest rate until changed by law. If hired on or after July 1, 2017 (or rehired later), a board‑set unisex mortality table and interest rate apply; the one‑year Treasury yield on July 1 defines regular interest. For pay calculations, officers hired on or after July 1, 2016 cannot count any cashouts of unused leave as compensation. Earlier hire groups follow older inclusion/exclusion rules for converted leave.
Who stays in State plan; spousal rights
People who must join the School Employees plan are excluded from the State Employees plan. But if you were actively contributing to the State plan on March 4, 2022, you stay in that plan. The law also clarifies that spousal pension rights apply to all statewide public retirement systems: county, judges, school and Class V, State Patrol, and state employees.
Clear labels on retirement solicitations
Companies cannot use official retirement system names or logos in written sales pitches to members without the board’s consent. Any written offer must clearly say it is not sponsored or affiliated with the board, with the notice near the logo and easy to see. Pitches that could confuse members about sponsorship or endorsement are banned.
Board pay and statute cleanup
Public Employees Retirement Board members (not the state investment officer) get a $75 per‑diem for each meeting day or qualifying travel day. They are reimbursed for mileage and expenses as allowed by law. The act also repeals superseded statutory sections to update the code.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 36 • No: 0 • Other: 13
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 38 • No: 0 • Other: 11
legislature vote • 4/25/2025
Final Reading
Yes: 46 • No: 0 • Other: 3
legislature vote • 4/9/2025
Vote
Yes: 38 • No: 0 • Other: 11
legislature vote • 3/14/2025
Vote
Yes: 36 • No: 0 • Other: 13
legislature vote • 3/14/2025
Vote
Yes: 40 • No: 0 • Other: 9
Actions Timeline
Provisions/portions of LB420 amended into LB295 by AM404
6/6/2025legislatureApproved by Governor on April 30, 2025
5/1/2025legislatureDispensing of reading at large approved
4/25/2025legislaturePassed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 46-0-3
4/25/2025legislaturePresident/Speaker signed
4/25/2025legislaturePresented to Governor on April 25, 2025
4/25/2025legislaturePlaced on Final Reading with ST17
4/15/2025legislatureEnrollment and Review ST17 filed
4/15/2025legislatureEnrollment and Review ST17 recorded
4/15/2025legislatureEnrollment and Review ER30 adopted
4/9/2025legislatureBallard AM797 adopted
4/9/2025legislatureAdvanced to Enrollment and Review for Engrossment
4/9/2025legislatureBallard AM797 filed
3/27/2025legislaturePlaced on Select File with ER30
3/25/2025legislatureEnrollment and Review ER30 filed
3/25/2025legislatureNebraska Retirement Systems AM404 adopted
3/14/2025legislatureBallard AM18 withdrawn
3/14/2025legislatureAdvanced to Enrollment and Review Initial
3/14/2025legislatureNebraska Retirement Systems priority bill
3/6/2025legislaturePlaced on General File with AM404
3/6/2025legislatureNebraska Retirement Systems AM404 filed
3/6/2025legislatureNotice of hearing for January 31, 2025
1/24/2025legislatureBallard AM18 filed
1/23/2025legislatureReferred to Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee
1/17/2025legislatureDate of introduction
1/15/2025legislature
Bill Text
Introduced
6/6/2025
Enrolled / Slip Law
Final / Enacted