Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-35-116 (2026)

• (a)
  • (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, and except as provided in subdivision (a)(2), all county officials or county judges taking office after July 1, 1977, may become members of the Tennessee consolidated retirement system only in accordance with part 2 of this chapter, and shall be allowed to participate in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system if the county in which they are employed is participating in accordance with part 2 of this chapter.
  • (2) Any such county official or county judge who takes office on or after July 1, 2018, shall become a member of the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as a condition of taking office if the county official or county judge is a current or former member of the retirement system. This subdivision (a)(2) shall not apply if the county official or county judge was in office as a county official or county judge with the county on the date the county elected to participate in the retirement system, unless the county official or county judge was a member or former member of a closed preexisting defined benefit plan maintained by that county.
  • (3) The county shall be responsible for all employer costs on behalf of its county officials and county judges as provided in part 2 of this chapter.

• (b)
  • (1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other law to the contrary, full-time employees in the positions of county judges and county officials, as these terms are defined in chapter 34 of this title, in office or taking office after June 30, 1981, may participate in the retirement system as Group 1 members in accordance with chapters 34-37 of this title and this subsection (b) under the following terms and conditions:
    • (A) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(1)(C), any such county official or county judge taking office on or after July 1, 2018, shall participate in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as a condition of taking office if the county official or county judge is a current or former member of the retirement system;
    • (B) The employer cost of such participation shall be paid from funds appropriated by the county legislative body for the office of the participating judge or official or from the excess fees of the participating official's office, where such excess fees are available;
    • (C) Participation in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system shall not be available to county judges or county officials in counties that provide a county retirement system in which such judges or officials may participate unless:
      • (i) The county legislative body passes a resolution allowing such election; provided, that the passage of the resolution shall not be required for any person who has obtained vesting in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system and who is elected or appointed as a county judge or county official;
      • (ii) The participation is approved by the state retirement division; and
      • (iii) The county official or county judge is not a current or former member of the county retirement system;
    • (D) The state's share of any additional costs of this section shall be funded from the increase in state-imposed taxes that are earmarked to counties and that are not designated to be used by such counties for a particular purpose;
    • (E) All employer and employee contributions, together with investment earnings made on behalf of persons covered under this subsection (b), must be equal to or exceed benefits that will be paid out. Employees participating pursuant to this subsection (b) shall contribute to the retirement system at a rate of five percent (5%) of earnable compensation or, in lieu of employee contributions, the employer may pay or cause to be paid all or part of such contributions on behalf of the employees. Employer contributions shall be determined by the state retirement division based on an actuarial valuation for each county with county officials electing to participate under this subsection (b);
    • (F) Any liabilities resulting from the participation of a county under this subsection (b) shall be a liability of the county and not the state. If any required employer costs become delinquent, the commissioner of finance and administration, at the direction of the board of trustees of the retirement system, is authorized to withhold such amount or part of such amount from any state-shared taxes that are otherwise apportioned to the county; and
    • (G) In the event of withdrawal of a county participating under this subsection (b), the assets of the county shall be distributed in accordance with § 8-35-211.
  • (2) The governing body of a county may pass a resolution to permit its county judges and county officials who participate in the retirement system pursuant to this subsection (b) to claim prior service credit for service rendered as full-time county general employees, county judges, or county officials, if the county authorizes the credit and assumes the liability for such prior service. Upon the authorization and assumption of the liability for prior service credit by the county, the county official or county judge shall be entitled to receive credit for such prior service only by the making of a lump sum payment of the contributions the official or judge would have made had the official or judge been a member, plus interest at the rate provided for in § 8-37-214. Except as otherwise provided in chapter 36, part 8 of this title, no person who has service credit in the retirement system under this subsection (b) shall be permitted to draw a retirement allowance from the system if the person continues or returns to service with the county in an employment classification for which the person received service credit under this subsection (b). For purposes of this subdivision (b)(2), "employment classification" means county general employee, county judge, or county official as those terms are defined in § 8-34-101. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, on or after January 1, 2009, county officials and county judges may claim prior service credit in the retirement system for service rendered as county general employees only if the county for which they are employed is participating in accordance with part 2 of this chapter, and only for periods of previous service that are authorized for other employees of the county.
  • (3) Any person entitled to participate in the retirement system under this subsection (b) shall be entitled to all rights, benefits, and privileges accruing under chapters 34-37 of this title, except as otherwise provided in this subsection (b), and such person shall be prohibited from participating in any other retirement system while at the same time participating in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system.
  • (4) A county judge or county official must choose to participate in either the consolidated retirement system in accordance with this subsection (b) or a county retirement system. A county judge or county official who is covered by a county system shall not be eligible to participate in the consolidated system.

Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 736, s 10, eff. 4/18/2018.

Acts 1977, ch. 400, §§ 8, 9; T.C.A., § 8-3903(14); Acts 1981, ch. 139, § 1; 1982, ch. 927, §§ 1-4; 1983, ch. 207, § 4; 1987, ch. 54, § 6; 1987, ch. 179, § 1; 1988, ch. 973, § 3; 2003 , ch. 90, § 2; 2008 , ch. 674, § 9.