Louisiana

Major public retirement systems in the state of Louisiana include the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (LASERS), the Louisiana Teachers Retirement System (TRS), and the Parochial Employees' Retirement System.

The LASERS, a qualified defined benefit pension plan, was created in 1946. It provides guaranteed benefits to state employees, elected judges, and certain other elected officials. Members of LASERS do not contribute to Social Security and their pension benefit is the only guaranteed retirement income.

TRS of Louisiana administers pension and other benefits to employees who meet the definition of a teacher at public educational institutions of the state. TRS also administers an optional defined contribution plan for academic employees of state higher educational institutions.

PERSLA is a defined benefit plan which provides retirement and other allowances to retired employees of all civil parishes in Louisiana except Orleans East Baton Rouge, and Lafourche.

Authorizing Statute

Sections about retirement in Louisiana:

Title 58 of the Louisiana Administrative Code 

Title 11 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes

Board Composition

Contributions

Per the U.S. Census, in FY 2021, employer contributions to Louisiana state and local government pension plans were 6.10 percent of all state and local government direct general spending.

Constitutional Protections

Membership in any retirement system of the state of a political subdivision thereof shall be a contractual relationship between employee and employer, and the state shall guarantee benefits payable to a member of a state retirement system or retiree or his lawful beneficiary upon his death... The accrued benefits of members of any state or statewide public retirement system shall not be diminished or impaired. Future benefit provisions for members of the state and statewide public retirement systems shall only be altered by legislative enactment. But see Louisiana Municipal Association v. State, Sup.2005, 893 So.2d 809, 2004-0227 (La. 2005)(state constitutional mandate of actuarial soundness of state and statewide public retirement systems does not dictate how that actuarial soundness is to be accomplished and does not prescribe how the retirement systems are to be funded; mechanism by which actuarial soundness is achieved is left to the discretion of the legislature). (LA CONST., Article X, §29) Source: Robert Klausner, Esq., State Constitutional Protections for Public Sector Retirement Benefits