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Technical fix would let newly hired county correctional officers join public safety retirement plan from day one
Summary
Representative Todd Porter sponsored House Bill 1177 to adjust the definition of correctional officer so newly hired county correctional officers are eligible immediately for North Dakota's public safety retirement plan rather than waiting for training and licensing.
Representative Todd Porter, sponsor, told the committee House Bill 1177 is a technical correction requested after the state's public safety retirement plan transition left newly hired correctional officers in the defined contribution plan during required on‑the‑job training. Porter said other public‑safety hires (police and firefighters) are placed in the public safety plan on hire, but correctional officers were being placed only after licensing completion, creating a gap.
Major Trent Wongen (Burleigh County Sheriff's Department) described local practice: when deputy sheriffs and correctional officers attend the same initial training, deputies enter the public safety plan on hire while correctional officers remain in the defined contribution plan during training. He said Burleigh County training often completes in about 30 days and asked that correctional officers be treated consistently.
Pam Binder, Burleigh County human resources director, explained an administrative problem the gap creates: employees receive two different retirement plan accounts (defined contribution funds are deposited and incur record‑keeping and fund fees while the employee is still in service), and the accounts cannot be cashed out while employed. She testified this creates burdens for HR and confusing choices for new hires.
Derek Holbein, Chief Operating and Financial Officer for the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System, testified for PERS and said the proposed change produces no material actuarial impact because current contribution rates exceed the normal cost of the benefit; the retirement system administers multiple plans under the PERS umbrella and would implement the definition change if the Legislature acts.
Committee members asked about downstream fiscal effects and whether the change could be applied retroactively; PERS said the plan transition that closed the main defined benefit plan in January 2025 was accomplished on an expedited timeline and retroactive fixes are not available for accounts already created under the new rules.
Ending: Witnesses characterized HB1177 as a technical and administrative correction intended to remove an unintended gap between hire and plan eligibility for corrections staff; PERS called the actuarial impact immaterial. The committee closed the hearing and requested no immediate fiscal note.
