SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the Athol contributory retirement system is hereby dissolved. 

Section 2.  The town of Athol, the Athol Housing Authority and the Athol-Royalston regional school district shall become member units of the Worcester regional retirement system. Active members, retired members, survivors and beneficiaries of the dissolved Athol contributory retirement system, hereinafter “dissolved system”, shall also become members of the Worcester regional retirement system. 

SECTION 3. All data, files, papers, accounts, records and other materials of the dissolved system shall be transferred to the Worcester regional retirement system, not later than January 1, 2015. All assets and funds of the dissolved system shall be transferred to the Worcester Regional Retirement System on January 1, 2015. Such funds shall be valued at market value as of the date of dissolution of the dissolved system.  Funds on deposit with the pension reserve investment management board may remain on deposit with said board and no further action shall be necessary to effectuate the transfer.

SECTION 4.  All liabilities of the dissolved system shall be transferred to the Worcester regional retirement system effective January 1, 2015.  Said liability shall be determined by the actuary of the Worcester regional retirement system in consultation with the public employee retirement administration commission.  Additional costs, if any, to the funding schedule that are incurred by the new member units as a result of this transfer, shall be phased in over a 1 to 5 year period and any such phase-in shall be subject to final approval by the public employee retirement administration commission.

SECTION 5.  Nothing in this act shall relieve the member units of the Athol contributory retirement system from their responsibilities and obligations pursuant to section 22 of chapter 32 of the General Laws.  The member units shall appropriate the required annual contribution for fiscal year 2015 as previously determined by the actuary and as established by the most recent funding schedule as approved by said actuary.  The same process shall be followed for fiscal year 2016.  The dissolved system’s liabilities and credits, under paragraph (c) of subdivision (8) of section 3 of said chapter 32, shall become the liabilities and credits of the Worcester regional retirement system.

SECTION 6.  Board members and officers of the dissolved system and the treasurer of the town of Athol may take all appropriate actions as may be necessary to effectuate the transfers to be made pursuant to this act.

SECTION 7.  Section 1 shall take effect on December 31, 2014.

SECTION 8. Section 2 shall take effect on January 1, 2015.

SECTION 9. Except as otherwise specified, this Act shall take effect upon its passage.