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Committee hears bill restoring 20-year retirement parity for Montana law enforcement
Summary
Senator Wendy McCamey said Senate Bill 7 would restore 20-year retirement parity across Montana law enforcement retirement systems, changing provisions that currently impose an age 50 requirement for some officers to collect retirement benefits earned after 20 years of service.
Senator Wendy McCamey, sponsor for Senate District 12, opened the hearing on Senate Bill 7 as a correction to a change from the 2023 legislative session. "This bill is about law enforcement retirement, specifically the members of the sheriff's retirement system and the highway patrol officers retirement system," McCamey said, and she described SB 7 as restoring parity among three public-safety retirement systems.
Proponents representing state and local law enforcement, employee unions and associations emphasized recruitment, retention and the physical and mental toll of policing. Colonel Kurt Sager of the Montana Highway Patrol testified the 50-year age requirement for collecting retirement after 20 years of service has hampered recruitment and retention and that many officers cannot continue the stress of front-line duties past 20 years. "Not being able to receive our retirement until age 50 forces many of our troopers to try to continue to work past 20 years," Sager said.
Sheriff Leo Dutton, patrol sergeant Joshua Jonas and representatives of trooper, sheriff and public-employee associations echoed those concerns, citing danger, mental-health stressors and shortened life expectancy among officers. Jonas referenced studies and agency experience showing elevated PTSD, suicide risk and shorter life expectancy for law enforcement; he described a string of difficult incidents and personal losses that underscore officers' risk and the argument for timely retirement options.
Jesse Luther of the Association of Montana Troopers reviewed the fiscal analysis and said the Highway Patrol system's amortization period would remain actuarially sound (24 years) and that the present-value increase to accrued liability was about $21,000 — an immaterial fraction of the overall system liability, in his description.
William Hollahan of the Montana Public Employees Retirement Administration appeared as an informational witness to answer fiscal and technical questions.
Supporters urged the committee to correct what proponents described as the unintended effect of 2023's HB 569, which they said altered parity between the systems. The hearing concluded with senator and committee discussion; no formal committee vote was recorded at the hearing.
