Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System
Jill Bachus, Director

Council on Pensions and Insurance

Created as a legislative oversight committee, the Council on Pensions and Insurance develops, recommends, and establishes pension and retirement standards and maintains a progressive state policy on retirement. Additionally, the Council reviews legislation affecting state provided insurance programs for both active and retired members of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System.

The Council periodically reviews Tennessee’s retirement and state provided insurance provisions and recommends changes in state law as deemed necessary. Since its creation, the Council has continuously performed studies and comparisons of other pension systems including those of other states and private industry and the federal government’s social security program. All proposed legislation affecting Tennessee’s retirement laws must be reviewed by the Council before the legislature may take action. The Council is authorized to prepare and propose amendments which are then forwarded to the standing committees to which the bills are referred. Information regarding the actuarial cost or impact of proposed legislation is provided by the Council to the other members of the legislature. The staff of the TCRS director also serves as staff to the Council.

The voting membership of the Council consists of the Speaker of each house of the General Assembly; the officers of the House and the Senate Committees on Finance, Ways and Means; and three additional members of each finance committee. The Speaker of the Senate may designate a member of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives may designate a member of the House to serve as alternates to vote or otherwise act at Council meetings in absence of the respective speaker. Nonvoting members include the Commissioner of Human Resources, the Commissioner of Finance and Administration, the Comptroller of the Treasury, the State Treasurer, and the Director of TCRS.