Bill > H2384

This bill proposes to amend Chapter 32 of the General Laws to allow certain public employees to receive creditable service for retirement purposes for time spent in the armed forces of the United States, the Peace Corps, Vista, the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, or the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. To qualify, an employee must have at least ten years of "membership service," which refers to the period an individual is an active member of a retirement system. Before receiving this credit, the member must make a "makeup payment" into the annuity savings fund, calculated as ten percent of their regular annual compensation at the time they joined the retirement system, for each year of service they wish to have credited. This credit is limited to a maximum of four years and will not be granted for periods for which the member has already received credit under a different provision of law or for which they receive a federal military pension. The bill specifically applies to both current and former Massachusetts National Guard and Active Reserve personnel, allowing five years of guard or reserve service to be substituted for each year of service in the other listed federal programs.