Richmond city employees could soon have the option of becoming members of the Virginia Retirement System.

Despite some lingering concerns, City Council cleared the way Monday for a major overhaul of City Hall’s pension offerings by unanimously approving a plan Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration proffered that would enable the city to join VRS.

VRS’ board still must agree, but the city administration appears confident of receiving approval.

In a statement, Mayor Stoney praised the council for approving “reform to the city’s retirement system. The city’s public servants deserve the best benefits. This is the right move for our city.”

Before the vote, Richmond was one of only seven localities to operate a retirement system separate from VRS.

Assuming VRS approval, the proposal calls for new city employees to be enrolled in the state system beginning Jan. 1, according to the administration’s plan. Current employees would have a year to decide whether to remain with the Richmond Retirement System or switch to VRS.

RRS will continue to serve previous retirees and current members. Under the proposal, the city plans to sell $100 million in bonds to shore up the RRS so it can meet the standard of having 80 percent funding of its pension obligations.

Before the vote, the city’s chief administrative officer Lincoln Saunders and executives who report to him, urged council to approve the plan.

Council was told repeatedly that departments in the city have a harder time recruiting because many of the applicants now have their retirement with VRS and hesitate to take city positions to avoid having to give up VRS and join RRS.

Among other benefits, VRS provides annual cost of living increases in retirement payments while RRS has been unable to do so.

Employees who select VRS would face making a contribution, but the city plans to raise salaries to cover the cost of the contribution, Mr. Saunders said.

He told the council that the move to VRS also would benefit the city budget, and that sticking with RRS alone would require the city to spend an additional $5 million next year, while making the transition to VRS would save the city $4 million in the first year.

Separately, the council put a hold on another potential employee benefit – assistance with a home purchase.

The administration has proposed to expand an existing program that provides up to $25,000 in assistance to teachers, police officers and firefighters to all city employees. The plan called for $1.3 million in federal funds the city has received to be used for the program.

Sixth District Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson won agreement to hold off approving the plan while the council considers whether to use the money for other purposes.

One potential use would be to steer the money to the city’s family crisis fund, according to 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch. The fund provides direct aid to pay off bills so that hard-pressed families can stay in their homes, but is rapidly running out of money.