SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2375 FILED ON: 10/31/2017
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2209
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Cindy F. Friedman
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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 relative to the Massachusetts teachers retirement system.
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PETITION OF:
Name: | District/Address: |
Cindy F. Friedman | Fourth Middlesex |
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2375 FILED ON: 10/31/2017
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2209
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)
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An Act relative to the Massachusetts teachers retirement system.
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. Clause (i) of paragraph (4) of section 5 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking, in lines 326-341, the fourth through eighth sentences and inserting in place thereof the following sentences:-
Any member of a contributory retirement system who transfers into the teachers' retirement system or transfers into the Boston retirement system as a teacher and begins contributing to the teachers’ retirement system or the Boston retirement system on or after January 1, 2018 will be a mandatory participant in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program, unless the prior membership that is transferred includes service rendered before January 1, 2018, in which case the member will have 180 days from the date that the teachers’ retirement system or Boston retirement system receives the transfer of the member’s account from the prior contributory retirement system to elect out of the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program. Any member who participates in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program shall be required to make a minimum of five years of retirement contributions at the rate of 11 per cent of regular compensation pursuant to section 22.
SECTION 2. Said clause (i) of said paragraph (4) of said section 5 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking, in lines 365-372, the last sentence.
SECTION 3. Said section 5 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after clause (i) of paragraph (4) the following clause:-
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (i) of subdivision (4) of section 5 of Chapter 32 of the General Law, any active or inactive member of the teachers’ retirement system or of the Boston retirement system who is a teacher who transferred to that system from another contributory retirement system pursuant to section 3(8)(a) of chapter 32 and became eligible for membership in and began contributing to the teachers’ retirement system or the Boston retirement system between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2017, and who had not provided to such retirement system before June 30, 2018 a written election to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program will have a new, one-time opportunity to elect to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program. Said election shall be made on or after July 1, 2018 and before January 1, 2019, provided that a member who is entitled to make an election under this section and who applies for retirement prior to the foregoing election period shall be given a one-time opportunity to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program prior to retirement; provided, further, that in any such case where the teachers’ retirement system or Boston retirement system receives the transfer of the member’s account on or after January 1, 2018, such member shall have 180 days from the date that the teachers’ retirement system or Boston retirement system receives the transfer of the member’s account from the prior retirement system to elect out of the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program. Any member who participates in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program after having had the opportunity to elect to participate or not to participate shall be required to contribute at the rate of 11 percent pursuant to section 22 and, shall be required to pay make-up contributions to the rate of 11 percent, upon such terms and conditions as the relevant retirement system may require, back to the date that such member established membership in the teachers’ retirement system or Boston retirement system.
SECTION 4. Said section 5 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the words “(ii)”, in line 373, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- (iii)
SECTION 5. Said section 5 of said chapter 32 is hereby further amended by inserting after clause (iii) the following clause:-
(iv) Any election made pursuant to this subdivision 4 of section 5 shall be irrevocable. Where the member has the opportunity to elect to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program and fails to do so within the prescribed period, the member shall be deemed to have elected not to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program; where the member has the opportunity to elect not to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program and fails to do so within the prescribed period, the member shall be deemed to have elected to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program. Any member who had the opportunity to elect to participate in the alternative superannuation retirement benefit program and pays additional contributions, but does not complete the creditable service or teaching service requirements set forth in paragraph (iii) of subdivision 4 of this section 5, shall upon termination from membership in or retirement from the system be reimbursed such additional contributions, plus regular interest, as determined by the teachers' retirement board or the Boston retirement board.