TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PERMISSIVE SERVICE CREDIT FOR GAP YEAR SERVICE UNDER THE ARKANSAS TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

HB 1160 amends Arkansas's teacher retirement system to allow educators who took career breaks (called "gap years") to purchase service credit toward retirement. It redefines a "gap year" as one-quarter of a fiscal year (not a full year), enabling teachers with at least five years of prior service to buy up to five years of credit for inactive periods - provided they left teaching immediately before the gap, returned afterward, and accrued at least half a year of service post-return. Teachers must pay the actuarial equivalent of benefits upfront for each quarter-year of credit purchased, and credit cannot be bought after retirement. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, to align with the system's fiscal year and address administrative complexities.