PERS board approves two draft bills for legislature, including QDRO change and employer payment for unfunded liability

Board of Trustees members for the Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi on Oct. 23 approved sending two pieces of draft legislation to the state legislature, including a change to participant distribution rules and a proposal to require employers that leave PERS to cover their share of unfunded liabilities.

The first bill, described by staff as unchanged from last year, would add a Roth provision tied to catch-up contributions and allow Mississippi Deferred Compensation (MDC) to be subject to qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs). Staff said the change is driven largely by recent federal-law adjustments related to Roth catch-up rules. A board member moved approval of including the MDC language in the legislative package; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

The second bill would require an employer that exits PERS — for example through sale or privatization — to pay its proportionate share of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability. Staff described a revision intended to reduce the risk that an employer could “slow play” an exit: the amount due would be calculated as of June 30, 2025, or the date of termination, whichever is greater, giving the system a fixed baseline to prevent reductions through workforce attrition. The board moved, seconded and approved inclusion of the draft unfunded-liability bill in the legislative package.

Board discussion clarified the target of the unfunded-liability bill would be employers (not individual members). Staff explained the measure is intended to strengthen the system’s position to pursue amounts if employers decline to pay voluntarily, and to protect remaining employers and members from bearing those costs. Trustees asked practical questions about calculation methods and enforcement; staff said the draft aimed to capture a reasonable baseline and improve the system’s standing to collect owed amounts.

What happens next: staff will include both measures in the system’s legislative package for consideration by the legislature. The board’s approval was a directive to move those drafts forward; any final change to law would require legislative action.

Notes: Motion text and mover/second were recorded in the meeting transcript but roll-call tallies were taken by voice vote and not recorded as numeric counts in the transcript.