St. Paul, M.N. – The Minnesota House of Representatives approved a bill that will improve retirement plans for teachers and public safety employees.
By a vote of 133-1, the chamber signed off on the measure that was already approved by the state Senate the day prior.
The legislation would allow teachers to retire sooner with lower penalties to their benefits beginning at age 60 instead of 62, so long as they have 30 years of service.
Benefit reductions applied for retiring early will drop from 6% to 5%.
A 3% cost of living adjustment was also included for retired public safety employees to counter economic factors like inflation that can erode a retiree’s benefits.
$2.3 million will go toward a retirement fund for state patrol troopers leading to a permanent annual cost of living adjustment increase to 1.25% annually.
The bipartisan bill was cosponsored by Representatives Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul) and Tim O’Driscoll (GOP-Sartell).
“We are improving enhanced early retirement benefits for our teachers and increasing cost-of-living adjustments for those who serve our communities and keep us safe,” said Lillie in a written statement. “This is a bipartisan pension budget we can all be proud of.”
The bill now heads to Governor Tim Walz to be signed into law.
