MS HB963

Law enforcement officers and firefighters who joined the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) on or after July 1, 2011, with at least 4 years of service, would receive 1 additional year of creditable retirement service for every 5 years worked as a first responder in Mississippi at no cost to the member

Members must be in good standing with no felony convictions at retirement to use this bonus creditable service toward meeting minimum retirement eligibility requirements

Retired PERS members could be employed full-time as law enforcement officers while collecting their full retirement allowance if the hiring department demonstrates a critical need or shortage of officers with quantifiable evidence to PERS

Effective date: July 1, 2026

Beginning March 1, 2026, new PERS members would no longer receive service credit for unused leave at retirement (applies to both regular employees and elected officials)