Tax exemption for certain retirement benefits received from the Wisconsin Retirement System. (FE)

What it would have done

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

This bill provides an income tax exemption for pension payments received from the Wisconsin Retirement System by protective occupation participants, as defined under current law with respect to the WRS, correctional officers, and frontline workers. The bill defines “frontline worker” to mean an individual who was a state, county, or municipal employee with regular job duties that, as determined by the Employment Relations Commission in consultation with the Department of Revenue, included interacting with members of the public or with large populations of people or directly involved the maintenance of public works. Elected state officials, constitutional officers, agency heads, and legislative staff are excluded from the definition of “frontline worker.” Under the bill, 25 percent of the pension payment received in 2021 is exempt;

50 percent of the payment received in 2022 is exempt; 75 percent of the payment received in 2023 is exempt; and 100 percent of the payment received in 2024 and thereafter is exempt. The bill provides that the amount exempted may not exceed the portion of the pension payment that is attributable to the period of time during which the individual was a protective occupation participant or frontline worker.

Who's behind it

2 senators are its authors⁠. All 2 are Democrats.

17 more lawmakers 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 DOR