An Act relating to the teachers' defined contribution retirement plan; relating to the public employees' defined contribution retirement plan; and providing for an effective date.
SB 198 amends Alaska's retirement benefit rules for teachers and public employees, directly affecting current and future participants in the state's defined contribution retirement plans. It adjusts eligibility requirements (e.g., requiring 25 years of service for teachers to qualify for full retirement benefits instead of 30) and modifies retiree health insurance premiums based on years of service - reducing the discount for Medicare-eligible retirees with 25+ years of service from 15% to 10%. The bill also clarifies that employees who leave before meeting retirement requirements lose their contributions unless they return to work with a participating employer by age 65, at which point their account balance is restored with interest. These changes update existing benefit calculations without creating new programs.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced May 19, 2025
Last action Feb 9, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
SB 198
→
CSSB 198(L&C)
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from a Senate Bill to a Committee Substitute, indicating it was revised by the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. The primary substantive change involves a reorganization of sections, moving the rules regarding employee termination and account restoration (previously Section 3) to Section 2, while shifting the retirement eligibility and premium cost rules (previously Section 2) to Section 3. No new policy requirements, funding amounts, or eligibility thresholds were added or removed in this revision.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the revision is a structural reorganization of existing provisions.
TECHNICAL
The bill was renumbered from SB 198 to CSSB 198(L&C), reflecting its status as a committee substitute in the second legislative session.
The order of the bill's sections was swapped: the termination of employment and account restoration rules are now Section 2, and the retirement eligibility and premium cost rules are now Section 3.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
13
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Feb 9, 2026
Committee
(S) REFERRED TO FINANCE
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
(S) Moved CSSB 198(L&C) Out of Committee
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
James Kaufman
RRepublican
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