House Bill 385

• July 1, 2022 - when the law officially goes into effect.

• There are NO salary restrictions with HB 385. Employers and retirees are free to negotiate the salary as they wish.

• Yes, the law is scheduled to automatically repeal/sunset. Without action from the legislature, its last day in effect will be June 30, 2026.

• Teachers are required to teach in a high needs subject area a minimum of 50% of what a full-time schedule would be for that particular position. Ex., a 40.00-hour work week for a math teacher equals full-time status - then the teacher must be engaged in the position for a minimum of 20.00 hours per week…OR…160.00 hours equals full-time status for the month for a math teacher – then the teacher must be engaged in the position for a minimum of 80.00 hours during the month…etc. Since salary is not an issue, TRS will be working on the “honor system” as it relates to the number of hours worked that are required to be compliant with the law. However, please be advised that TRS reserves the right to audit the hiring records of any TRS participating employer that employs TRS retirees in any capacity.

• The HB 385 EVF's will be submitted through the online portal in the same manner as all other EVF's, with a couple of important exceptions. The employer will select “Full-Time Classroom Teacher” from a prepopulated drop-down box AND the employer will be required to specify the critical “Subject Area” from a prepopulated drop-down box. The remainder of the process remains the same.

• The HB 385 information will be submitted on the EVF's through the online portal as noted above.

• The point of contact for returning to work issues is Christy Gray, Operations Manager of Working-after-Retirement in the Retirement Services Division.
• The point of contact for reporting contributions is Cherie Brown, Operations Manager of Employer Services in the Employer Services Division.

TRS will communicate information to employers through email, social media, www.trsga.com, and employer training events and conferences.
Contribution Reporting for Rehired Retirees Per HB 385

• Contributions from employers are submitted to TRS on a monthly basis. Each month, employers submit a summarization report, as well as contribution details via a turnaround report or through the upload process.
• On the summarization report, employers will report salary and contribution data for retirees rehired per HB 385 in fields 2a. and 6a.
• Employers that upload contributions will use the payment code of 07 to indicate HB 385 employment. The retiree will not receive an additional service credit.
• Employers that report through the turnaround process will select the individual member and indicate the payment reason code of HB 385 on the turnaround report. If the employer submits the contributions on a turnaround or through the upload process, they will:
  • Indicate a payment reason of 07. HB 385 will be indicated as a payment option on the turnaround report.
  • Indicate the service credit eligibility flag as N.
  • Indicate the pre-tax EECON as an increase or decrease.
  • Indicate the pre-tax EECON amount.
  • Indicate the employer paid EECON flag as Y.

• TRS will post information for employers on www.trsga.com by June 1, 2022.

• The Department of Community Health has issued guidance specifically regarding retirees returning to work under HB 385. This information can be located at https://shbp.georgia.gov/employers/your-employees/house-bill-385-trs-beneficiaries. You can contact SHBP at https://shbp.georgia.gov/employers/contact-shbp-employer-services.

• SHBP has specific rules that govern qualifying events such as returning to work full-time in a benefits eligible position under HB 385.  You can find general answers about how health insurance coverage is affected by returning to work at https://shbp.georgia.gov/retirees-0/retirees-who-are-returning-work.  You may contact SHBP at SHBPservicecenter@adp.com or 800-610-1863.