AN ACT PROVIDING EARLY RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO WATER TREATMENT PLANT OPERATORS AT THE WATER DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE DUE TO THE CLOSURE OF THE TREATMENT PLANT FOR RENOVATION.
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 the provisions of chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the city of Cambridge, acting through the city manager, may, as of an effective date to be determined by said city manager, establish that a limited number of employees of said city, no greater than five who are employed and paid by the water department as water treatment plant operators, at grades I through IV, who are members of the retirement system of said city and otherwise eligible for a superannuation retirement, who shall have filed a written application for superannuation retirement pursuant to section 5 of said chapter 32 no earlier than 30 days after such effective date, but no later than 60 days after such effective date, specifying a retirement date no later than 90 days after such effective date, shall have their normal yearly amount of the retirement allowance as determined under paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of said section 5 of said chapter 32 computed according to the table contained in said paragraph (a) based upon the age of such member and his number of years and full months of creditable service at the time of his retirement increased, at the option of the employee, by up to three years of age or by up to three years of creditable service or by a combination of additional years of age and service the sum of which shall not be greater than three; provided, however, that whereas participation under this act is limited to five eligible employees employed as water treatment plant operators in the water department of said city, the retirement of employees with the greatest creditable service from among those eligible and so applying shall be approved before approval is given to employees with lesser creditable service.
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the words used herein shall have the same meaning as in chapter 32 of the General Laws unless the context clearly requires otherwise. An employee who retires and receives an additional benefit in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be deemed to be retired for superannuation under the provisions of said chapter 32 and shall be subject to the provisions of said chapter 32.
SECTION 3. The total normal yearly amount of the retirement allowance, as determined in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, of any employee who retires and receives an additional benefit in accordance with the provisions of this act shall not exceed four-fifths of the average annual rate of his regular compensation received during any period of three consecutive years of creditable service for which such rate of compensation was the highest or of the average annual rate of regular compensation received by such member during the period or periods, whether consecutive or not, constituting his last three years of creditable service preceding retirement.
SECTION 4. The retirement board of the city of Cambridge shall prepare a funding schedule which shall reflect the costs and the actuarial liabilities attributable to the additional benefits payable under this section and said schedule shall be designed to reduce the retirement system's additional pension liability of said city attributable to such costs and liabilities to zero on or before June 30, 2013; provided, however, that said retirement board shall triennially update such schedule until June 30, 2013.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage.