An Act to Stabilize the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1607
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: PIERCE, MILLETT, INGWERSEN, LIBBY, RAFFERTY, TIPPING, DODGE, GATTINE, MURPHY, SARGENT
Amends: 5 MRSA §1536

Legislative Document
No. 1607
S.P. 639
In Senate, April 11, 2023
An Act to Stabilize the Pension Funds of the Maine Public 
Employees Retirement System
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator PIERCE of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Representative MILLETT of Cape Elizabeth and
Senators: INGWERSEN of York, LIBBY of Cumberland, RAFFERTY of York, TIPPING of 
Penobscot, Representatives: DODGE of Belfast, GATTINE of Westbrook, MURPHY of 
Scarborough, SARGENT of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §1536, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2021, c. 398, Pt. ZZZ, §§2 and 
3, is further amended to read:
1.  Final priority reserves.  After the transfers to the State Contingent Account 
pursuant to section 1507, the transfers to the Loan Insurance Reserve pursuant to section 
1511, the transfers pursuant to section 1522, a transfer of $2,500,000 for the Reserve for 
General Fund Operating Capital and, the transfers to the Retiree Health Insurance Internal 
Service Fund pursuant to section 1519 and the transfer to the Retirement Improvement 
Fund pursuant to section 17445, the State Controller shall transfer at the close of each fiscal 
year from the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund an amount equal to the amount 
available from the unappropriated surplus after all required deductions of appropriations, 
budgeted financial commitments and adjustments considered necessary by the State 
Controller have been made as follows:
A.  Eighty percent to the stabilization fund; and
G.  Twenty percent to the Highway and Bridge Capital program, Other Special 
Revenue Funds account.
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA c. 421, sub-c. 4, art. 10 is enacted to read:
ARTICLE 10
RETIREMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND
§17445. Retirement Improvement Fund
1. Establishment of fund.  The Retirement Improvement Fund, referred to in this 
section as "the fund," is established as an interest-bearing, nonlapsing fund for the payment 
of retirement benefit improvements.
2. Content of fund. The fund consists of all resources transferred to the fund under 
section 1536, subsection 1 and other resources made available to the fund.
A. At the close of each fiscal year, the State Controller shall transfer to the fund from 
the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund, after all required deductions of 
appropriations, budgeted financial commitments and adjustments considered necessary 
by the State Controller have been made pursuant to section 1536, subsection 1, and 
prior to the transfers required under section 1536, subsection 1, paragraphs A and G, 
an amount calculated under subsection 3. 
3. Calculation of transfer amount. The amount required to be transferred to the fund 
under subsection 2 is equal to the difference between the amount of the payments made 
toward the obligation for the unfunded actuarial liability in the year in which the amount is 
transferred and the amount of those payments for the year preceding the year in which the 
amount is transferred.
4. Use of fund.  Money in the fund must be used to pay for retirement benefit 
improvements, including the increase in benefits described by section 17806, subsection 1, 
paragraph A.
SUMMARY
This bill requires that an amount of surplus General Fund revenue be transferred 
annually to a nonlapsing fund to be used to pay for retirement benefit improvements for 
retired state employees and teachers and their beneficiaries.