Bill > H2392

This bill proposes to amend existing law to allow teachers who previously taught in parochial schools or public or private academies to purchase up to 10 years of service credit for retirement purposes. To qualify, members must have taught in a school approved by the department of education while holding a valid teaching certificate, and they must have begun their membership in the retirement system before January 1, 1976. Before retirement, these members will need to make contributions to their retirement fund for the years of private or parochial school teaching, calculated as if they had been state employees, including interest. Their earnings for those years will be assumed to be the same as the average salary for teachers in the Commonwealth during those periods. Additionally, the member's last ten years of creditable service before retirement must have been as a state employee or teacher in the Commonwealth. The bill also outlines an alternative provision for members who may not meet all the initial criteria, allowing them to receive additional service credit by paying an amount equal to the contributions they would have made plus regular interest.