Press Room

 Legislation would give teachers until mid-2027 to join RetirementPlus

(BOSTON—6/4/2026) The Massachusetts Senate today unanimously passed legislation to allow longtime public school teachers the opportunity to buy into an enhanced savings program if they missed out when the program was first launched a quarter century ago.

An estimated 6,500 to 8,500 current teachers in Massachusetts have been unable to participate in the RetirementPlus pension program because they missed the window to opt into the plan in 2001.

The bill—S.3109, An Act relative to benefits for teachers—would provide another one-time opportunity to that group of longtime educators and give them until mid-2027 to choose whether they would like to join RetirementPlus.

“Massachusetts teachers give everything to our children and communities, and they deserve to retire with the security and dignity that reflects that commitment," said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “Too many educators were shut out of RetirementPlus through no fault of their own. Today, the Senate is correcting that injustice and giving these teachers the retirement they have earned. I thank Chair Rodrigues for his work on this bill and applaud Senator Miranda for her tireless leadership. I’m deeply grateful for the unmatched advocacy of AFT Massachusetts President Tang, and thank every advocate educator who raised their voice to make this day possible.”

“Today, the Senate acted in a thoughtful manner to promote retirement security and protect the financial wellbeing of our hard-working teachers, providing them with a new pathway to opt into the RetirementPlus program,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “I want to thank the Senate President, Senator Miranda, and Senator Brownsberger for their collective leadership, and many of my Senate colleagues for their unwavering support. With this action, we have passed a bill that will boost retirement benefits for teachers who have dedicated their time and energy to serve and teach kids in our communities and deserve to retire with the dignity they have earned.”

Teachers who join RetirementPlus through this new opportunity would pay into the program as if they had joined at the outset, which would include interest payments, to ensure both fiscal stability and fairness for teachers and retirees who have been participating throughout the past 25 years.

“This legislation will allow many educators who were disadvantaged by errors and poor communication to make themselves whole,” said Senate President Pro Tempore William Brownsberger (D-Belmont). “The Senate has taken a careful and deliberate approach to this legislation and reached a fair result for the teachers who have given so much for our children.”

“For too long, teachers who missed the original RetirementPlus enrollment period because of confusing procedures, inadequate notice, administrative errors, or time spent on maternity or medical leave have been denied benefits they believed they were working toward,” said Senator Liz Miranda (D-Boston), lead Senate sponsor of the legislation. “In many cases, these educators have had to delay retirement, faced with the impossible decision between working well into old age and retiring without the security of knowing if there’s enough in the bank. This legislation creates a fair, one-time opportunity for these educators to enroll in RetirementPlus. I am grateful to my Senate colleagues for their partnership in bringing forward this bill. I also want to thank our labor partners and the many educators who shared their experiences and advocated for this change over the years. Their voices helped shine a light on this longstanding inequity and made this long-overdue reform possible.”

Full details of the legislation are available in a fact sheet in the Senate’s press room.

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means reported the bill to the floor with a bipartisan 17-0 vote on June 3, 2026. A previous version of the bill was engrossed by the House of Representatives.

The Senate passed the bill today on a 39-0 roll call vote and sent it to the House of Representatives for further review.

Statements of Support

AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang

“With today’s vote, the Senate is reaffirming its support for some of our state’s most dedicated teachers and the schools and communities they serve. This bill provides teachers who have been working in our schools for decades the chance to enroll in a retirement system many of them were unfairly shut out of 25 years ago, the same system new teachers are automatically enrolled in. These are teachers who were dropped from the system when they changed districts, teachers who were told they were enrolled only to find out years later that was not the case, and teachers who were not provided the necessary resources to enroll in the first place, including ASL interpreters to explain the new system and the enrollment process for deaf and hard of hearing teachers in the Boston Public Schools. We are grateful to the Senate President for her leadership and the Senate’s commitment to ensuring our public educators receive the dignified and secure retirement they’ve earned.”

Boston Teachers Union President Erik Berg

“The teachers who are represented by the Boston Teachers Union are grateful for the Senate’s passage of Retirement Plus. This important legislation will allow educators across the Commonwealth—who were left out 25 years ago—to retire on par with their colleagues after their years of tireless service to our state’s students. Final passage of this bill is particularly urgent at a time when Boston and many other districts are facing fiscal challenges, and we hope that it will allow some of the hundreds of educator positions facing cuts to be restored.”

Ted Chambers, longtime Boston Public Schools teacher and Chairman of the Committee for a Fair Fix to R+

“Today marks a major step forward for fairness for Massachusetts educators. We are deeply grateful to our allies at AFT Massachusetts for their advocacy and especially to Senator Liz Miranda for her determined leadership and tireless fight on behalf of educators unfairly excluded from Retirement Plus. We also thank Senate leadership for advancing this legislation to a vote and moving it to the conference committee process. After years of advocacy educators across Massachusetts can finally see a path toward correcting a long-standing inequity. We look forward to working with legislative leaders to secure a final bill that delivers the fair fix teachers have earned.”

Amy Piacitelli, Boston Public Schools teacher since 1995

“Since April of 2019, I've worked with a team of dedicated teachers and allies to push for legislation that would provide a fair fix for Retirement Plus. I am proud of the work we've done to raise awareness about this issue and am thankful to the Senate for taking steps today that get us closer to correcting an injustice that is now a quarter-century old. For me, a clerical error on my paychecks during the R+ rollout period led me to believe I was already enrolled, and that administrative mistake cost me an extra four years. I am thrilled that we are now a step closer to passing the bill and look forward to seeing it pass into law this session. I want to offer a huge thank you to the Senate for recognizing the contributions educators make to the Commonwealth, and for the steps they've taken today to get us closer to the fair fix we need.”

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