HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1600        FILED ON: 1/20/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1609

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Jonathan Hecht

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to promote equity in pension benefits.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Jonathan Hecht

29th Middlesex

1/20/2011

Carl M. Sciortino, Jr.

34th Middlesex

2/4/2011

Denise Andrews

2nd Franklin

2/4/2011

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

2/4/2011

John P. Fresolo

16th Worcester

2/1/2011

Alice K. Wolf

25th Middlesex

2/3/2011

Jennifer E. Benson

37th Middlesex

2/3/2011

Jay R. Kaufman

15th Middlesex

2/3/2011

Carolyn C. Dykema

8th Middlesex

2/3/2011

Elizabeth A. Malia

11th Suffolk

2/3/2011


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1600        FILED ON: 1/20/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1609

By Mr. Hecht of Watertown, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1609) of Jonathan Hecht and others for legislation to permit certain higher education employees to withdraw from the optional retirement system and join the state retirement system.  Public Service.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1211 OF 2009-2010.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Eleven

_______________

 

An Act to promote equity in pension 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. Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of  section 40 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, or any other general or special law to the contrary, any employee who elected to participate in the optional retirement program provided in said section 40 because the option of marriage was unavailable to that employee prior to May 16, 2004* may elect to withdraw from the optional retirement program and become a member of the state employees’ retirement system by filing an application for this election no later than 1 year after the effective date of this act.

SECTION 2.  Any employee who elects to become a member of the state employees’ retirement system under section 1 shall take all necessary steps to effect the transfer of all funds held on the employee’s account in custodial accounts or payable to the employee under individual or group annuity contracts established under section 40 of chapter 15A of the General Laws to the state employees’ retirement system.

SECTION 3.  The board of higher education and the state board of retirement shall promulgate regulations concerning this election and transfer of funds within 60 days after the effective date of this act. 

SECTION 4.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon the transfer of funds specified in section 2, any employee who makes the election provided for in section 1 shall participate in the state employees’ retirement system under chapter 32 of the General Laws as of the date that employee is considered to have entered service under section 5 of this act.

SECTION 5.  For purposes of determining the percentage of regular compensation which shall be withheld under section 22 of chapter 32 of the General Laws for any employee making the election provided for in section 1, the employee shall be considered to have entered service (a) as of the effective date of the employee’s appointment if the employee was initially appointed on or after the effective date of the optional retirement program, (b) as of the date the employee became a member in service before electing to participate in the optional retirement program if the employee transferred his accumulated total deductions and interest to the optional retirement program under paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 40 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, or (c) as of the date the employee became a member in service before electing to participate in the optional retirement program, if the employee withdrew his accumulated deductions upon electing to participate in the optional retirement program, but pays in a lump sum the amount of total accumulated contributions withdrawn, with interest, within 6 months of making the election provided for in section 1.

*Effective date of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 440 Mass. 309, which was decided on November 18, 2003 and took effect 180 days later