HB4945

HB4945 directs the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) to study alternative retirement benefits for Texas A&M Forest Service wildland firefighters and related employees. It does not itself award higher pensions or allow earlier retirement. The required study examines whether those changes would be feasible and what they would cost.

The study must examine a proposed Hazardous Duty tier with three retirement routes: age 55 with at least 10 years of wildland-firefighter service credit; at least 25 years of that credit regardless of age; or at least 20 years, with the annuity reduced 5% for each year below the tier’s normal retirement age. A proposed Hazardous Duty–Administrative Support tier covers vested members who spent their entire Forest Service employment as wildland firefighters, and members with enough wildland-firefighter service to meet vesting requirements who work in a support position when they retire.

For the Hazardous Duty proposal and the first administrative-support category, the study considers a benefit based on the five highest-paid years, whether consecutive or not, using the ordinary retirement formula’s percentage factor plus 0.5 percentage point. For the second support category, it considers the proposed age/service rules without that added 0.5 percentage point. These are study scenarios, not an entitlement created by this law.

TRS must begin coordinating with the Forest Service by March 1, 2026, and report to the legislature by December 31, 2026. The work must identify eligible positions and salaries, assess service performed on or after September 1, 2009, estimate additional employer and employee contributions, and examine the effect of earlier retirement while protecting the pension system’s financial soundness. The Legislative Budget Board and Pension Review Board must assist as needed. The law took effect June 20, 2025; the study provision expires September 1, 2027. Enacted text · Official history.