BENEFIT IMPROVEMENTS

(a) Each regular legislative session, the legislature shall determine whether the performance of the retirement system trust fund makes the fund capable of supporting improvements in the plan of benefits. (b) A determination under this section shall be founded on the information in the most recent report of an investment practices and performance evaluation conducted under Section 802.109 and the application of that information to: (1) the present amortization period for liabilities of the retirement system; (2) the rate of return on retirement system investments over and above the rate of inflation of the investment portfolio as a whole, of the portion of the investment portfolio entrusted to private investment entities, and of the portion of the investment portfolio entrusted to investment officers who are employees of the retirement system; (3) economic projections of market conditions and future investment rates of return as reflected in the comptroller's most recent economic forecast and revenue estimate; (4) the costs, including changes in the amortization period for liabilities of the retirement system, of providing cost-of-living or other increases in benefits to current annuitants; and (5) an evaluation of the diversity of retirement system investments and whether the portfolio provides low-risk, long-term growth.