Payment of employee required contributions under the Wisconsin Retirement System for participating employees activated to serve on military duty in the U.S. armed forces

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, with exceptions, participating employees in the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) must pay all employee required contributions that are used to fund their retirement benefits. This bill requires employers to pay WRS employee required contributions for participating employees who are activated to serve on military duty in the U.S. armed forces and the commitment is for a period of more than 30 days. Under the bill, the contributions must be based on the earnings that the participating employee would have received from the employer had the participating employee not been activated to serve on military duty.

The bill also provides that an employer may recover from the employee's earnings paid after the employee is reemployed by the employer the contributions paid for the employee. In recovering the contributions, the employer may not deduct from the employee's earnings more than 5 percent of each payment of earnings, unless otherwise provided in a voluntary written agreement between the employer and employee.

Who's behind it

7 representatives are its authors⁠. All 7 are Republicans.

1 more lawmaker signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From ETF
• Fiscal Estimate From RET