SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1599        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1544

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Adam G. Hinds

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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 resolve:

Resolve establishing a study on providing absolute social security coverage for public employees.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1599        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1544

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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Resolve establishing a study on providing absolute social security coverage for public employees.

Resolved, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Massachusetts state retirement board, hereinafter “the board”, shall conduct a study that identifies, analyzes and makes recommendations relative to the costs, benefits and issues of providing absolute social security coverage for all current and future state and local government employees of the commonwealth.  For purposes of this section, state and local government employees of the commonwealth shall mean all persons employed part-time and full-time by state or local government entities of the commonwealth who pay into a supplementary public retirement system of the commonwealth.  Provided further, state and local employees shall also mean employees of police and firefighter departments, employees of public elementary and secondary schools, and employees of public education institutions beyond the secondary level.

The board shall study the costs, benefits and issues relating to social security coverage of state and local employees including, but not limited to, the following: identify state and local government employers in Massachusetts who are not permitted by the state’s Section 218 Agreement with the federal social security administration to be covered by social security; the state and federal processes involved for implementing and mandating system-wide and gradual social security coverage for all state and local government employees; subsequent impacts of cost of living adjustments on social security coverage and benefits; subsequent impacts on state and local taxes; subsequent impacts on existing state supplementary public retirement systems; subsequent impacts on social security beneficiary rights of spouses, survivors and dependents of state and local government employees who paid into a supplementary public retirement system of the commonwealth; subsequent impacts on former employees, who no longer pay into supplementary public retirement systems of the commonwealth, of state and local government employers; issues relating to the effects of the federal windfall elimination provision and the federal government pension offset on providing absolute social security coverage for state and local employees; feasibility recommendations.

The board shall work in collaboration or consultation with, but not limited to: the public employee retirement administration commission; the Massachusetts teachers’ retirement board; other offices, departments and agencies of the commonwealth, including the department of administration and finance and the treasurer’s office, as appropriate; employees of the federal social security administration.

The board shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on revenue, the joint committee on labor and workforce development, joint committee on municipalities and regional government, and the joint committee on public service, not later than December 31, 2020.