Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, sitting at his desk on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 25, 2026, in Montgomery, Alabama. The Senate on Thursday passed a bill allowing certain retirees to go back to work without losing their retirement benefits. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed a bill allowing certain state retirees to go back to work without losing their retirement benefits.
HB 138, sponsored by Rep. Kenneth Paschal, R-Pelham, would allow state retirees to return to work as full time bus drivers while continuing to receive retirement benefits.
The Senate adopted a substitute by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, who carried the bill in the chamber, that combines Paschal’s original bill and a bill sponsored by Elliott that allows retired law enforcement officers and state retirees licensed to practice law to continue working.
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“A lot of them would love to still continue to work, but it doesn’t make financial sense to do so, so what this allows them to do is to do that,” Elliott said. “It allows them to return to work and and to continue to draw their retirement, continue to serve and use that investment we’ve made in them, through their certification, through their training, to continue to derive value from that.”
Under Paschal’s bill, anyone who is retired under the Employees’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Retirement System will be allowed to work full time as bus drivers with employers who participate in either system. The retirees can maintain their retirement benefits if they have drawn retirement benefits for 12 consecutive months and if compensation doesn’t exceed $30,000. The bill applies to former elected officials like superintendents or board of education members.
“We have a lot of retirees that are skilled, they’re confident, capable and able, and want to come back to work and work as bus drivers,” Elliott said.
Nationally, the bus driver shortage has gotten better, but only marginally. According to a recent study from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, the number of bus drivers increased by roughly 2,300 (1.1%) from 2024 to 2025. But it remains 9.5% lower than 2019.
With the addition of Elliott’s bill, the legislation would allow retired law enforcement officers to work as a school resource officer, correctional officer or police officer at any state college or university without suspension of their retirement benefits, as long as their pay does not exceed $52,000 per year and they have not withdrawn from their benefits for a year.
The bill also allows retired firefighters and emergency medical services personnel to work as a firemedic under the same parameters, and those licensed to practice law to work as assistant district attorneys.
“I’ve got a neighbor, in particular, who is a retired law enforcement officer who drives a bus,” Elliott said. “What better guy to be driving a bus than a retired law enforcement officer? They do fantastic work. I’m thrilled with that inclusion in this bill.”
Elliott said that there are retirees in the state that often wish to continue working, but the law prevented them from doing so.
“Government in the way of government operating efficiently, gracious. We’re trying to fix that,” Elliott said.
The bill passed 31-0. It goes back to the House for concurrence or conference committee.
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Author: Anna Barrett