Nebraska

The Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System administers pension and other benefits for most public employees in the state. The System administers five plans, including three defined benefit plans, for teachers, judges, and members of the highway patrol; and two cash balance plans, for state and county employees, respectively. New state and county employees as of January 1, 2003, participate in a cash balance plan, and existing state and county workers were provided an option in 2002 to switch from the defined contribution plan to the new cash balance plan.

Authorizing Statutes

State Employees

Chapter 84 Section 1302 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes creates the State Employees' Retirement System.

(1) An employees retirement system is hereby established for the purpose of providing a retirement annuity or other benefits for employees as provided by the State Employees Retirement Act and sections 84-1332 and 84-1333. The retirement system so created shall begin operation January 1, 1964. It shall be known as the State Employees Retirement System of the State of Nebraska and by such name shall transact all business and hold all cash and other property as provided in such sections.

84-1501 establishes the Retirement Board, which consists of

...eight appointed members as described in this subsection and the state investment officer as a nonvoting, ex officio member. Six of the appointed members shall be active or retired participants in the retirement systems administered by the board, and two of the appointed members (i) shall not be an employee of the State of Nebraska or any of its political subdivisions and (ii) shall have at least ten years of experience in the management of a public or private organization or have at least five years of experience in the field of actuarial analysis or the administration of an employee benefit plan.

Educational Employees

Chapter 79 Section 903 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes creates the School Employees' Retirement System

A school retirement system is hereby established for the purpose of providing retirement allowances or other benefits for the school employees of the State of Nebraska as provided in the School Employees Retirement Act. It shall have the powers and privileges of a corporation, insofar as may be necessary to carry out the act, shall be known as the School Employees Retirement System of the State of Nebraska, and by such name shall transact all business as provided in the act.

Board Composition

Contributions

Per the U.S. Census, in FY 2021, employer contributions to Nebraska state and local government pension plans were 2.84 percent of all state and local government direct general spending.

Constitutional Protections

Nothing in this section shall prevent local governing bodies from reviewing and adjusting vested pension benefits periodically as prescribed by ordinance. NO CONST., Article Ill, §19; Calabro v. City of Omaha, 531 N.W.2d 541 (Neb. 1995)(holding that constitutionally protected contract rights vested upon acceptance of employment and that elimination of plan violated contract clause in Article 1, Sec. 10 of U.S. Constitution); but see Livengood v. Nebraska State Patrol Retirement System, 729 N.W.2d 55 (Neb. 2007) (reduction in sick leave hours in the collective bargaining agreement did not unconstitutionally impair prior contractual right). (NE CONST., Article Ill, §19; Article XV, §17) Source: Robert Klausner, Esq., State Constitutional Protections for Public Sector Retirement Benefits