Alabama House Bill HB589

Alabama 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/10/26
• Refer: 3/10/26
• Report Pass: 3/18/26

Caption

Retirement; active participating judges, clerks, and district attorneys allowed to purchase withdrawn service from District Attorneys Plan and Judges' and Clerks' Plan

Impact

The bill is expected to enhance the retirement benefits for judges, clerks, and district attorneys by enabling them to restore service credit that they may have previously withdrawn. This provision could encourage more individuals to continue their service in these roles by providing a more flexible retirement option. The restoration of service credit, however, necessitates that the employee complete two years of contributing membership service in the Judicial Retirement Fund after reinstatement.

Summary

House Bill 589 aims to amend Sections 12-17-227.3 and 12-18-153 of the Code of Alabama 1975, allowing active judges, clerks, and district attorneys to purchase withdrawn service from their respective retirement plans. This is similar to provisions already in place for members of the Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System, facilitating the transfer of membership service and accumulated contributions between these retirement systems.

Contention

One notable aspect of HB589 is the provision that members who wish to restore service credit must repay any amounts withdrawn, along with compounded interest. This requirement may lead to discussions around the fairness and financial feasibility for those wishing to reclaim their service credits. Furthermore, the bill stipulates that members are only eligible to purchase credit to the extent that they do not have similar credits established with other public retirement systems, which could complicate matters for those with mixed service records.