Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System; death benefits; beneficiaries; transfer; disclaimer; time period; liability; effective date.
HB 1458 modifies Oklahoma's public employees retirement system death benefits by increasing the payout to $5,000 for retirees who died on or after July 1, 1999 (up from $4,000). It establishes a new process allowing the system to pay up to $25,000 directly to heirs without probate court involvement, requiring documents like heirship affidavits, beneficiary releases, and proof debts are settled. The bill also adds a provision enabling beneficiaries to disclaim death benefits in writing, transferring funds directly to licensed funeral providers within nine months, without requiring probate. These changes apply to retirees and active members' beneficiaries, effective November 1, 2025.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 3, 2025
Signed May 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
Floor (House)
→
Floor (Senate)
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was reformatted from a House version to a Senate version with minor text adjustments. The substantive policy content remains unchanged, including death benefit amounts, eligibility criteria, and procedural requirements for probate waivers and benefit disclaimers.
TECHNICAL
Header and formatting changed from 'HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION' to 'SENATE FLOOR VERSION' with updated page numbering and version identifiers.
Minor wording adjustment in the act title changing 'disclaimer shall be in writing' to 'disclaimer is to be received by the transferor' for clarity.
Minor formatting adjustments to the death benefit amount text, reordering the presentation of amounts for members who died before versus after July 1, 1999.
Floor votes · Senate May 1, 2025 · House Mar 11, 2025
How they voted
48–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 49
May 1, 2025
D
Democratic9
100% Yea
R
Republican40
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
23
Key actions
8
Committee
6
May 12, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 05/09/2025
lower
May 1, 2025
Committee
Referred for enrollment
lower
May 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Engrossed measure signed, returned to House
upper
May 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Measure passed: Ayes: 46 Nays: 0
upper
Apr 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass Retirement and Government Resources committee; CR filed
upper
Mar 12, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
upper
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Engrossed, signed, to Senate
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Committee
Referred for engrossment
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 93 Nays: 0
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass Government Oversight Committee
lower
Feb 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Government Oversight committee; Do Pass Banking, Financial Services and Pensions
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Committee
Referred to Banking, Financial Services and Pensions
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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