Election 2026: What is Louisiana's Amendment 5?

(The Center Square) — Louisiana voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to give state retirement systems greater flexibility in paying down billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities.

The proposal, appearing as Amendment 5 on the staewide ballot, would change how certain state payments are applied to outstanding retirement debt.

State retirement systems have accumulated unfunded liabilities, representing the difference between the assets available to pay retirement benefits and the value of benefits they owe.

Under existing constitutional requirements, certain one-time state payments must be directed toward the oldest outstanding pension liabilities.

The proposed amendment would allow retirement systems to apply those payments to other unfunded liabilities instead.

The change would give retirement administrators greater flexibility in managing pension debt, potentially allowing them to prioritize obligations based on financial considerations rather than their age.

A vote in favor would authorize the change, while a vote against would maintain the requirement to pay down the oldest liabilities first.

The proposal is one of 10 constitutional amendments on Louisiana's November ballot. Each requires majority approval from voters to become part of the state constitution.