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Witnesses tell committee 2015 pension transfer change left lateral hires exposed
Summary
Chief Deputy Jim Gilbert and other witnesses said a 2015 legislative change created unexpected barriers for officers moving between pension systems, leaving some to work decades longer to preserve service credit; members asked for concrete counts and fiscal analysis.
At the committee hearing on April 9, Jim Gilbert, chief deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, testified in support of House Bill 424, saying a 2015 amendment to pension transfer rules altered expectations and left many public-safety professionals unable to carry their prior service credit forward when switching systems.
Gilbert described multiple anecdotal cases and said the change "was kind of slid in at the last minute" with no grandfathering window. He told the committee he knew of officers who thought they would transfer earlier service credit but then discovered after switching that they needed many more years of service to reach retirement eligibility in their new system. Gilbert said a prior FOP poll identified "close to 800 to 1000" potentially affected officers but that he did not have a comprehensive statewide count.
Committee members pressed Gilbert for data, asking how many lateral transfers truly were impacted and whether there had been any notice or appeals process. Members requested the committee staff obtain actuarial and fiscal analyses detailing the scope of the problem and the cost of remediation. Gilbert said stakeholders are willing to consider offsets or employer/employee adjustments but urged the General Assembly to respond to the practical career and family harm the rule change has produced.
No formal action was recorded on HB 424 during the session; members asked for follow-up information before considering next steps.
