AN ACT DISSOLVING THE CONTRIBUTORY RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE TOWN OF ATHOL
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 contributory retirement system of the town of Athol 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 contributory retirement system of the town of Athol, hereinafter referred to as the 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 on or before January 1, 2015. All assets and funds of the dissolved system shall be transferred to the Worcester regional retirement system on January 1, 2015. The funds shall be valued at market value as of the date of dissolution of the dissolved system. Funds on deposit with the pension reserves investment management board may remain on deposit with the 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. The 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. Any 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 dissolved 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 the 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 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 in this act, this act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, October 31, 2014.