AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF THE JOSEPH B. DEVLIN MEDICAL INSTITUTION AND THE LYNN CONVALESCENT HOME.
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 chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the provisions of this act providing for an early retirement incentive program shall apply to an eligible employee who: (i) was employed by the Lynn Convalescent Home or the Joseph B. Devlin Medical Institution, municipal long term care facilities located in the city of Lynn, for the 6 month period preceding the date of closure of the facility in which the employee was employed; (ii) shall be eligible to receive a superannuation retirement allowance in accordance with subdivision (1) of section 5 of subdivision (1) of section 10 of said chapter 32 upon the effective retirement date specified in his written application to the retirement system; (iii) shall have filed a written application to the retirement system no earlier than the date of closure but within 60 days following the date of closure of the facility in which the employee was employed; and (iv) shall be classified in Group 1, Group 2 or Group 4 in accordance with clause (g) of subdivision (2) of section 3 of said chapter 32. The early retirement incentive program shall be administered by the city of Lynn Retirement Board.
For purposes of this chapter, "date of closure" shall be the date the facilities cease operations.
Notwithstanding said chapter 32 to the contrary, the normal yearly amount of the retirement allowance for an eligible employee shall be based on the average annual rate of regular compensation as determined under paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of section 5 of said chapter 32 and shall be computed according to the table contained in said paragraph (a) based on the age of such member and his number of years and full months of creditable service at the time of his retirement increased either by adding up to 5 years of age or by adding up to 5 years of creditable service or by a combination of additional years of age and service the sum of which shall not be greater than 5; provided, however, that the city may limit the amount of additional credit for service or age or a combination of service or age offered.
Words used in this act shall have the same meaning as they are used in said chapter 32 unless otherwise expressly provided or unless the context clearly requires otherwise. An eligible employee who retires and receives an additional benefit in accordance with this section shall be deemed to be retired for superannuation under said chapter 32 and shall be subject to all of said chapter 32; provided, however, that for the purposes of this section and notwithstanding subdivision (1) of section 10 of said chapter 32 requiring a member classified in Group 2 to have attained age 55 on the date of his termination of service in order to receive a Group 2 benefit, any employee eligible pursuant to the criteria established in this section, who is classified in Group 2 and who is at least 50 years of age but not yet 55 years of age, shall be eligible for a retirement allowance equal to that prescribed for a member classified in Group 2 upon the application for the additional benefit in accordance with this section.
The total normal yearly amount of the retirement allowance, as determined in accordance with section 5 of said chapter 32, of an eligible employee who retires and receives an additional benefit under the early retirement incentive program in accordance with this section shall not exceed 80 per cent of the average annual rate of his regular compensation received during any period of 3 consecutive years of creditable service for which the rate of compensation was the highest or of the average annual rate of his regular compensation received during the periods, whether or not consecutive, constituting his last 3 years of creditable service preceding retirement, whichever is greater.
Notwithstanding section 5 of said chapter 32 that requires a retirement date within 4 months of the filing of an application for superannuation retirement in order to receive the retirement benefit provided by this section, an eligible employee shall file his written application to the retirement system no earlier than the date of closure but within 60 days following the date of closure of the facility in which said employee was employed.
The executive director of the public employee retirement administration commission shall analyze, study and valuate the costs and the actuarial liabilities attributable to the additional benefits payable in accordance with the early retirement incentive program established by this section for the Lynn retirement system. The executive director shall file a report of his findings to the Lynn retirement board, in writing on or before December 31, 2003, together with copies thereof to the mayor.
In accordance with section 22D of said chapter 32, the Lynn retirement board shall revise its retirement funding schedule to reflect the costs and the actuarial liabilities attributable to the additional benefits payable under the retirement incentive program in accordance with this section. In each of the fiscal years until the actuarial liability determined under this section shall be reduced to zero, it shall be an obligation of the city to fund such liability and there shall be appropriated to the applicable pension reserve fund in each such fiscal year the amount required by the funding schedule and the updates thereto.
SECTION 2. For purposes of this act, only those eligible employees in section 1, and no other employee of the city of Lynn, shall be deemed to be affected by the early retirement program.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.