Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: A member of the Registrars of Voters Employees’ Retirement System of Louisiana (ROVERS) can take a life annuity or a reduced benefit under Options 1 to 4, and the choice is made before the first payment is due. Members who became eligible before January 1, 2013 earn three and one-third percent of average final compensation per year; later members earn three percent. A member can also enter DROP for up to three years, and the option chosen then cannot be changed. A refund of contributions cancels all accrued rights.
More on public pension COLAs for 2027: the Louisiana Registrars of Voters COLA and its 2027 status.
What this page covers and what it does not
The valuation summary describes membership this way: “Membership should include the Registrars of Voters in each parish of the State of Louisiana, their deputies, and their permanent employees”. ROVERS publishes no member handbook that the pages read could find. This page works from two documents on the ROVERS website, read on October 30, 2026: the ROVERS statute chapter (R.S. 11:2031 ff.), a PDF created in 2013, and the actuarial valuation report as of June 30, 2025, whose Appendix C summarizes the plan provisions. The statute chapter is a copy of the law, not a handbook, and because it dates from 2013 it may predate amendments. The valuation summary itself says “The following summary of plan provisions is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute a guarantee of benefits.” Disability retirement and reemployment of retirees are not covered.
How big the system is
In the June 30, 2025 valuation, the actuary reports that “there are 240 active members, of whom, 110 members, including 11 participants in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), have vested retirement benefits”, and that “189 former members or their beneficiaries are receiving retirement benefits”. It also reports “An additional 56 former members have contributions remaining on deposit with the system; of this number 7 former members have vested rights for future retirement benefits”. Those counts are as of the valuation date, not today. The employee contribution rate is described as “employee contributions of at least 7% but not more than 9% of earnable compensation as determined by the Board of Trustees”.
When a pension can start, and what it pays
The valuation splits members by when their first eligible employment began. For the earlier group it says “Members whose first employment making them eligible for membership occurred prior to January 1, 2013 with ten years of creditable service may retire at age sixty; such members with twenty years of service may retire at age fifty-five; such members with thirty years of service may retire regardless of age”. For the later group it says “Members whose first employment making them eligible for membership occurred on or after January 1, 2013 with ten years of creditable service may retire at age sixty-two; such members with twenty years of service may retire at age sixty; such members with thirty years of service may retire at age fifty-five”.
| First eligible employment | Service and age needed to retire | Allowance per year of creditable service |
|---|---|---|
| Before January 1, 2013 | 10 years at age 60, 20 years at age 55, 30 years at any age | three and one-third percent |
| On or after January 1, 2013 | 10 years at age 62, 20 years at age 60, 30 years at age 55 | three percent |
The allowance for the earlier group is “three and one-third percent of the member’s average final compensation for each year of creditable service”, and for the later group “three percent of the member’s average final compensation for each year of creditable service”. The valuation adds a carve-out: “The annual amount of the retirement allowance for any member, who has at least thirty years of total creditable service, with at least twenty years of creditable service in this system, is three and one-third percent of the average final compensation for each year of creditable service”. For members first eligible after June 30, 2006, final average compensation uses “the average monthly earnings during the highest sixty consecutive months or joined months if service was interrupted”. On service, “Creditable service at retirement includes membership service, service as certified on prior service certificates, and any unused sick leave and any unused annual leave in excess of 300 hours at the date of retirement”.
A computed example from assumed inputs, not a ROVERS figure: a member in the later group retires with 20 years of creditable service and an assumed $60,000 final average compensation. Three percent of $60,000 for each of 20 years is a computed $36,000 a year, or a computed $3,000 a month before any option reduction. A member in the earlier group with the same inputs, at three and one-third percent (ten-thirds of one percent), would have a computed $40,000 a year.
The election: a life annuity or Options 1 to 4
On timing, the statute says “until the first payment on account of any benefit becomes normally due, any member may elect to receive his benefit in a retirement allowance payable throughout life”, or the member may elect a reduced allowance of equal actuarial value. The valuation says “Members may receive their benefits as a life annuity, or in lieu of such receive a reduced benefit according to the option selected that is the actuarial equivalent of the maximum benefit”. The statute adds that “no optional selection shall be effective in case a beneficiary dies within thirty days after retirement, and that such a beneficiary shall be considered as an active member at the time of death”.
| Choice | What the member receives | What a survivor receives |
|---|---|---|
| Life annuity (maximum) | The highest monthly allowance, payable throughout life | No continuing benefit is described under this choice |
| Option 1 | A reduced allowance of equal actuarial value | If the member dies before payments equal the annuity value at retirement, the balance goes to a named person or legal representatives |
| Option 2 | A reduced allowance of equal actuarial value | The same reduced benefit continues to the designated beneficiary |
| Option 3 | A reduced allowance of equal actuarial value | One-half of the reduced benefit continues to the designated beneficiary |
| Option 4 | A Board-approved benefit of equal actuarial value | Whatever the approved benefit provides |
Option 1 pays out a remainder: the statute says that if the member dies before receiving back in payments the present value of his annuity at retirement, “the balance shall be paid to his legal representatives or to such person as he shall nominate by written designation”. Option 2 in the valuation: “Upon retirement, the member receives a reduced benefit. Upon the member’s death, the designated beneficiary will continue to receive the same reduced benefit”. Option 3: “Upon retirement, the member receives a reduced benefit. Upon the member’s death, the designated beneficiary will receive one-half of the member’s reduced benefit”. For Option 4 the statute requires the other benefit and the reduced allowance to be certified by the actuary to be of “equivalent actuarial value to his retirement allowance, and approved by the board of trustees”.
The reduction percentages are not printed in the documents read, so the size of the cut for a given pair of ages has to come from ROVERS. A computed example from an assumed reduced allowance of $2,000 a month, not a ROVERS figure: under Option 2 the beneficiary would continue to receive a computed $2,000 a month, and under Option 3 one-half, a computed $1,000 a month. The general trade-off is at single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension.
The automatic yearly increase option
The valuation describes a choice that the 2013 statute copy does not mention: a member may elect an actuarially reduced benefit that provides for “an automatic 2 ½% annual compound increase in monthly retirement benefits based on the reduced benefit and commencing on the later of age fifty-five or retirement anniversary; this COLA is in addition to any ad hoc COLAs which are payable”. A member who wants built-in increases therefore starts lower. The documents read do not print the size of that reduction, so ask ROVERS for an estimate. ROVERS’s forms page lists an Option Explanation Form and an Application for Retirement or DROP, each described as including a description of option selection.
What is irrevocable and the deadline
For a regular retirement, the documents read do not say in so many words that an election cannot be changed once filed; the statute’s limit is the first payment date quoted above, so confirm the cutoff with ROVERS before then.
For DROP the statute is explicit. “At the time the member elects to participate in the plan, the member shall exercise a retirement option for service retirement”, and “no change in the option selected shall be permitted after it has been filed with the board”. It adds that “A person may participate in the plan only once”. Two exceptions follow in the statute: a person in service on July 1, 1993 who had earlier participated could take one additional year on the same terms, and a member who stays in service after subsequent participation may, at its end, select any option for the supplemental benefits earned, though no change is allowed for the original retirement.
DROP: deferring the pension while still working
The valuation summarizes the plan: “any member who is eligible for normal retirement may elect to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) for up to three years and defer the receipt of benefits”. It adds: “Upon commencement of participation in the plan, membership in the system terminates”. The monthly benefit that would have been paid goes into a separate fund, and the statute states that “The Deferred Retirement Option Plan shall not earn interest”.
On leaving, the valuation says “a participant in the plan may receive, at his option, a lump sum from the account equal to the payments into the account, a true annuity based upon his account balance in that fund, or any other method of payment if approved by the Board of Trustees”. The documents read do not describe a rollover of the lump sum; the IRS section below sets out the general rules. A cost-of-living increase waits too: the statute says a participant “shall not be eligible for a cost-of-living increase until the employment which made the person eligible to become a member of the system has been terminated for at least one full calendar year”.
If a participant dies in the plan, the valuation says “a lump sum equal to his account balance in the plan fund shall be paid to his named beneficiary or, if none, to his estate”. If employment is not terminated at the end of the three years, “payments into the plan fund cease and the person resumes active contributing membership in the system”. The ROVERS forms page also lists DROP withdrawal and DROP completion forms.
Leaving before retirement: refund or leave the money
The statute says a member who leaves is paid “such part of the amount of the accumulated contributions standing to the credit of his individual account in the annuity savings fund as he shall demand”. The valuation says “members not entitled to a retirement allowance are paid a refund of accumulated contributions upon request”. Its warning matters most for the decision: “Receipt of such a refund cancels all accrued rights in the system”.
The other path is leaving the contributions in. In the 2013 statute copy, the Tier 1 provision (R.S. 11:2071) gives a deferred allowance to a member who “shall have completed more than ten years of creditable service and shall not have received a refund of his accumulated contributions”; the statute describes the benefit as a “retirement allowance beginning upon his attaining the age of sixty years of the amount earned and accrued at the date of withdrawal from service; provided that such benefits shall begin at age fifty-five if he has twenty or more years of creditable service”, starting at 60, or 55 with twenty years. The Tier 2 provision (R.S. 11:2165.4) has the same ten-year condition but starts the allowance at 62, at 60 with twenty years, or at 55 with thirty years. That makes the qualifying test a service-years rule with a no-refund condition. The valuation reports that of the 56 former members with contributions on deposit, only 7 have vested rights. The 2013 text and the current plan could differ on the exact years, so confirm with ROVERS. The general question is at pension refund versus leaving it.
The statute describes one way to restore forfeited service: “If an employee returns to membership in the system after withdrawing his contributions and remains a contributing member for four years, he then shall be entitled to repay the amount which he withdrew, plus interest at a rate determined by the board of trustees, and upon such repayment, he shall again be given credit for the service he forfeited at the time he withdrew”. On death before retirement the statute adds: “If a member dies before retirement, the amount of his accumulated contributions standing to the credit of his individual account shall be paid to his estate or to such person as he shall have nominated by written designation”. The pages read do not state a spousal consent requirement for a refund.
The supplemental savings account
Separate from the pension, the valuation describes a defined contribution account, the Members’ Supplemental Savings Fund. On leaving, it says “A member is entitled to payment of all contributions and interest credited to his account upon termination of employment” and “Payment to the member is made at the end of the calendar quarter following the quarter in which the member terminates”. The pages read do not say how this balance compares with a refund, so ask about both payments together.
If the member dies before retiring
The valuation says “If a member has less than five years of service credit, the surviving spouse or minor children receive a refund of the member’s contributions”. For a member with at least five years of service credit who is not yet eligible to retire, “the spouse receives an automatic option 2 benefit based on the accrued benefits at the time of death”. For a member eligible to retire at death, “the surviving spouse receives automatic option 2 benefits”. Where a member with five or more years of service credit leaves minor or handicapped children and no spouse, “the children receive eighty percent of the accrued retirement benefit in equal portions until the age of majority or for the duration of the handicap for a handicapped child”.
The statute lets a surviving spouse choose a refund in place of the Option 2 benefits: the spouse may receive “a refund of the member’s contributions, with interest earned thereon” by “specifying her choice in writing, properly notarized, to the board of trustees”. The statute then says the system pays a lump sum equal to the difference between the total monthly survivor benefits paid and the total accumulated contributions, if any, on cessation of all eligible monthly payments, so the refund is not an immediate full payout. See survivor benefit with a government pension for how this fits with other survivor income.
Cost-of-living increases
The statute authorizes the board to “use interest earnings on investments of the system in excess of normal requirements, as determined by the actuary, to provide an annual cost of living adjustment payable monthly for members retired at least two years, in an amount not to exceed three percent of the original benefit”. It adds: “Such benefits shall be paid only when funds are available from this source”. The valuation’s actuary says “there is no evidence to conclude that COLAs will be granted on a predictable basis in the future”, and records that “The system granted a COLA as of July 1, 2024, using funds from the funding deposit account”. An increase is therefore a board decision, not a promise, which is why the automatic-increase option above is a separate choice.
What the IRS adds on tax
A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of ROVERS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that “If you do roll it over and want to defer tax on the entire taxable portion, you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. The ROVERS documents read do not describe a direct rollover or withholding procedure for a refund or a DROP lump sum, so ask ROVERS for its tax notice before choosing. See 20% withholding on a pension lump sum. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.
On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan (within in the meaning of section 414(d)) provided that the qualified public safety employee has separated from service during or after the year in which they attained age 50 or 25 years of service under the plan, whichever is earlier”. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.
Where the sources disagree
The statute copy is older than the valuation. On ages and rates the two agree: the statute copy holds both tiers, R.S. 11:2071 and 11:2072 for members first employed before 2013 and R.S. 11:2165.4 and 11:2165.5 for later members, and the valuation’s table matches them. The difference is in children’s benefits: the statute says “If the member has more than five years of service credit, pay eighty percent of the accrued retirement benefit to the surviving children”, while the valuation says “the member has five or more years of service credit”. The newer valuation is the better guide for a current member, but it describes itself as informational, so confirm with ROVERS.
What this page could not settle
- ROVERS publishes no member handbook; the statute chapter read is a copy created in 2013 and may predate amendments. A more current official statute text was not found in readable form.
- The ROVERS homepage lists a 2025 Back-DROP study report, but its link returned a not-found page when read on October 30, 2026, so the pages read say nothing reliable about a Back-DROP.
- The pages read do not print the reduction factors for Options 1 to 4 or for the automatic increase option; ROVERS publishes actuarial equivalence assumptions that were not read.
- The pages read do not state a deadline for changing a regular retirement option once filed, spousal consent rules, or a rollover and withholding procedure.
- The deferred-benefit years test in the 2013 statute copy was not matched against a current plan document.
- The member counts are from the June 30, 2025 valuation and are not a current count.
Common mistakes
- Taking a refund without weighing that it cancels all accrued rights in the system.
- Choosing a DROP option without knowing it cannot be changed once filed with the board.
- Assuming a cost-of-living increase is automatic; the board pays one only when funds are available.
- Applying one tier’s ages and rates to a member of the other tier; the statute copy and the valuation both split them by January 1, 2013.
Related on this site: pension refund versus leaving it, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, 20% withholding on a pension lump sum, survivor benefit with a government pension and public pension retirement decisions by system.
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Answer againSources
- Registrars of Voters Employees’ Retirement System of Louisiana, ROVERS Statutes, R.S. 11:2031 ff., statute chapter copy (PDF created December 18, 2013): https://www.larovers.com/app/download/3081389/ROVERS+Statutes.pdf
- Registrars of Voters Employees’ Retirement System of Louisiana, Actuarial Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025 (dated November 25, 2025): https://www.larovers.com/app/download/16769631/ROVERS+Actuarial+Valuation+Report+-+2025.pdf
- Registrars of Voters Employees’ Retirement System of Louisiana, Member and Employer Forms page (larovers.com): https://www.larovers.com/forms/
- IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
- IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 30, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.