HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3421        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2423

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to noncontributory retirement benefits..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 7 of chapter 32 of the General appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended inserting after the words “Group 4”, in line 142, the words:— or any person retired on an accidental disability receiving a noncontributory retirement allowance.

SECTION 2. An additional yearly retirement allowance which would have been payable under section 1 of this act, if that provision had been in effect and for which a member in service would have been eligible at the time of the member's retirement, shall be paid retroactively to the date of each such veteran's retirement. A veteran shall be eligible for payment of a retroactive additional yearly retirement allowance under this section only upon filing an application no later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, in a form that the appropriate retirement board, as defined in chapter 32 of the General Laws, shall prescribe. Payment under this section shall be made in a lump sum or in installments and shall be made in full within 1 year of the receipt of a completed and satisfactory application by the board. No payment shall be made under this act with respect to a person who is deceased. The appropriate retirement board shall provide reasonable notice to eligible retirees about the application process prescribed by this section. This section shall only take effect upon its acceptance by the majority vote of the board of a system, subject to the approval of the legislative body. For purposes of this paragraph, legislative body shall mean, in the case of a city, the city council in accordance with its charter, in the case of a town, the town meeting, in the case of a county, the county retirement board advisory council, in the case of a district, the district members, in the case of an authority, the governing body and in the case of a regional retirement system, the regional retirement board advisory council.