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H 7443Cities & Towns

Towns and Cities - Optional Retirement for Members of Police Force and Firefighters

This bill mandates a guaranteed, compounded 2.5% annual increase in pension payments for retired police officers and firefighters.

Held for study
Population
Affected
8
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Introduced Jan 30, 2026Committee House Municipal Government & Housing

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the general laws regarding the optional retirement for members of police forces and firefighters. Specifically, it establishes a mandatory annual escalation of pension payments for active and retired members. Regardless of other existing provisions, eligible members and their beneficiaries will receive a two and one-half percent (2.5%) increase in their pension payments. This increase is to be compounded annually and applied every January 1st following the year of the member's retirement.

For younger readers

This bill changes the rules for how police officers and firefighters get paid after they retire. When these workers stop working because they are older, they get a regular payment called a pension. This new law says that their pension payment must go up by a small amount (2.5%) every single year. This helps them afford things as they get older because the cost of buying things usually goes up over time. This raise happens every January 1st.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Police OfficersFirefightersRetired Public Safety MembersTaxpayersMunicipal Governments
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Ensures that retired public sector workers have pension benefits that keep pace with inflation, preventing financial insecurity in old age.
  • Strengthens the social safety net for first responders and their families, honoring the labor and risks associated with their careers.
  • Provides predictable financial stability for beneficiaries, allowing them to maintain their standard of living throughout retirement.
  • Allocates significant public funds specifically to police and fire departments, which may divert potential resources from social services, education, or mental health programs.
  • Creates a disparity in benefits between uniformed officers and other public servants or vulnerable community members who do not receive guaranteed compounded annual raises.
  • Increases the unfunded liability of the pension system, potentially endangering the long-term fiscal health of the state and future funding for other progressive priorities.
For Conservatives
  • Supports law enforcement and first responders by providing robust retirement benefits, potentially aiding in the recruitment and retention of essential personnel.
  • Demonstrates a commitment to those who protect private property and maintain public order and safety.
  • Fulfills moral obligations to workers who have served in dangerous professions, ensuring they are not left behind by economic shifts.
  • Imposes a guaranteed, compounded financial mandate on taxpayers without a corresponding mechanism to pay for it, likely leading to future tax increases.
  • Removes fiscal flexibility by mandating a fixed increase regardless of the economic climate or the actual performance of the pension fund investments.
  • Expands government spending and long-term debt liabilities, contributing to the growth of the administrative state.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions · 3 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 45-21.2-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-21.2 entitled "Optional Retirement for Members of Police Force and Firefighters" is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-21.2-5. Retirement on service allowance.

(a) Retirement of a member on a service retirement allowance for members eligible to retire on or before June 30, 2012, shall be made, subject to paragraph (a)(11) below, by the retirement board as follows:

(1) Any member who has attained or attains age seventy (70) shall be retired as stated in §  45-21-16 subject to the discretions contained in that section; provided, that any member who is a member of the Woonsocket fire department who has attained or attains an age of sixty-five (65) years shall be retired. Retirement occurs on the first day of the next succeeding calendar month in which the member has attained the age of sixty-five (65) years.

(2) Any member may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has attained an age of fifty-five (55) years and has completed at least ten (10) years of total service, and notwithstanding that the member may have separated from service.

(3) Any member may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has completed at least twenty-five (25) years of total service, and notwithstanding that the member may have separated from service.

(4) Any member may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has attained an age of fifty (50) years and has completed at least twenty (20) years of total service, notwithstanding that the member may have separated from service; provided, that the service retirement allowance, as determined according to the formula provided in § 45- 21.2-6, is reduced one-half of one percent (1/2%) for each month that the age of the member is less than fifty-five (55) years.

(5) Any member of the South Kingstown police department may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has earned a service retirement allowance of fifty percent (50%) of final compensation pursuant to § 45-21.2-6.1.

(6) Any member of the Johnston police department may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has earned a service retirement allowance of fifty percent (50%) of final compensation pursuant to § 45-21.2-6.2.

(7) Any member of the Cranston fire department hired after July 1, 1995, or any member of the Cranston fire department with five (5) years or less of service effective July 1, 1995, may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has earned a service retirement allowance of fifty percent (50%) of final compensation for at least twenty (20) years service; final compensation for Cranston fire department members is based on the compensation components of weekly salary, longevity and holidays with longevity of the members highest year of earnings and members shall receive a three percent (3%) escalation of their pension payment compounded each year on January 1st following the year of retirement and continuing on an annual basis on that date; further, any illness or injury not covered in title 45 relating to the presumption of disability is governed by the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Cranston and members of the Cranston fire department.

(8) Any member of the Cranston police department hired after July 1, 1995, or any member of the Cranston police department with five (5) years or less of service effective July 1, 1995, may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has earned a service retirement allowance of fifty percent (50%) of final compensation for at least twenty (20) years service; final compensation for Cranston police department members is based on the compensation components of weekly salary, longevity and holidays with longevity of the members highest year of earnings and members shall receive a three percent (3%) escalation of their pension payment compounded each year on January 1st following the year of retirement and continuing on an annual basis on that date; further, any illness or injury not covered in title 45 relating to the presumption of disability is governed by the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Cranston and members of the Cranston police department.

(9) Any member of the Hopkinton police department may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has earned a service retirement allowance of fifty percent (50%) of final compensation for at least twenty (20) years service; final compensation for Hopkinton police department members is based on the compensation components of weekly salary, longevity and holidays with longevity of the members highest year of earnings and members shall receive a three percent (3%) escalation of their pension payment compounded each year on January 1st following the year of retirement and continuing on an annual basis on that date.

(10) Any member of the Richmond police department may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement has earned a service retirement allowance of fifty percent (50%) of final compensation for at least twenty-two (22) years’ service pursuant to § 45-21.2-6.3.

(11) Notwithstanding any provision in this section to the contrary, for any service on or after July 1, 2012, final compensation shall be defined in accordance with § 45-21.2-2, and no benefit adjustments shall be provided except as set forth in §  45-21-52(c).

(12) Notwithstanding any provision in this section or in § 45-21-52(c) or (d), active and retired members, and the beneficiaries receiving any retirement allowance or benefit of any kind, shall also receive a two and one-half percent (2.5%) escalation of their pension payment, compounded each year on January 1 following the year of retirement and continuing on an annual basis thereafter on that date. (12)(13) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, with respect to police officers employed by the town of Johnston, only those police officers hired on or after July 1, 2010, shall be eligible to be members of the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of the state of Rhode Island in accordance with this chapter.

(b) Retirement of a member on a service retirement allowance eligible to retire on and after July 1, 2012, shall be made by the retirement board as follows:

(1) Any member may retire pursuant to this subdivision upon written application to the board stating at what time the member desires to retire; provided, that the member at the specified time for retirement attained the age of at least fifty-five (55) years and has completed at least twenty-five (25) years of total service, and notwithstanding that the member may have separated from service; or

(2) Effective July 1, 2015, the member makes contributions to the plan effective July 1, 2015, in accordance with § 45-21.2-14, and (i) The member at the specified time for retirement attained the age of at least fifty (50) years and has completed at least twenty-five (25) years of total service; or (ii) The member has completed at least twenty-seven (27) years of total service regardless of the member’s attained age, and notwithstanding that the member may have separated from service.

(3) Any member with contributory service on or after July 1, 2012, who has completed at least five (5) years of contributory service but who has not completed twenty-five (25) years of service, shall be eligible to retire upon the attainment of the member’s Social Security retirement age.

(4) If a member had ten (10) or more years of contributory service and attained age forty- five (45) prior to July 1, 2012, and would have been eligible to retire at or prior to age fifty-two

(52) in accordance with the rules in effect prior to July 1, 2012, the member may retire upon attainment of age fifty-two (52).

(5) Effective July 1, 2015, a member who has completed twenty (20) or more years of total service who has attained an age within five (5) years of the eligible retirement age under subparagraphs (b)(1) or (b)(2) or (b)(3) or (b)(4) above, may elect to retire provided that the retirement allowance shall be reduced actuarially for each month that the age of the member is less than the eligible retirement age under subparagraphs (b)(1) or (b)(2) or (b)(3) or (b)(4) above in accordance with the following table: Year Preceding Retirement Cumulative Annual Reduction Cumulative Monthly Reduction For Year 1 9% .75% For Year 2 8% .667% For Year 3 7% .583% For Year 4 7% .583% For Year 5 7% .583%

(6) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a member on June 30, 2012, may elect to retire at his or her eligible retirement date as determined under the rules in effect on June 30, 2012, provided that a member making an election under this paragraph shall receive the member’s retirement benefit determined and calculated based on the member’s service and final compensation as of June 30, 2012. This provision shall be interpreted and administered in a manner to protect a member’s accrued benefit on June 30, 2012.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.