Sen. Hanig files bill in North Carolina Senate to revise retirement, health plan and investment laws

A new bill filed by State Sen. Bobby Hanig aims to update laws affecting retirement benefits, the State Health Plan and investment procedures in North Carolina, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 936 on April 29 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘2026 DST Admin/Technical/Clarifying Changes.-AB’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill makes wide-ranging administrative, technical and clarifying changes to laws governing the Department of State Treasurer, retirement systems, the State Health Plan and state investment practices. It restores certain forfeited military service credits when members repurchase service; shields fully contributory retiree death benefits from offsets for prior overpayments; refines anti–pension-spiking rules; and adjusts reemployment limits and disability, survivor and deferred-retirement provisions. It allows electronic reporting for firefighters’ pensions, clarifies felony forfeiture of supplemental law enforcement benefits, expands pay and legal-counsel flexibility at the Treasurer’s office, standardizes trustee per diem, revises LEIA funding uses, updates maternity and Medicare coordination rules in the State Health Plan, shifts numerous investment custodial duties and sanctions-compliance responsibilities to the North Carolina Investment Authority, excludes NCIA performance bonuses from pensionable compensation, and repeals or cleans up obsolete or duplicative benefit statutes. Many provisions, including key retirement changes, take effect January 1, 2027, while others take effect upon becoming law or on specific dates noted in the act.

Of the three sponsors of this bill, Hanig proposed the most bills (58) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Hanig, a Republican, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2025 to represent the state’s 1st Senate district, replacing previous state senator Norman Sanderson.