Bill > S1336

This bill proposes to increase the veteran allowance for public retirees by allowing retirement systems to accept a new provision that grants an additional yearly allowance of fifty dollars for each year of creditable service, or a fraction thereof, to veterans in Group 1, 2, or 4, with a maximum total additional allowance of one thousand dollars. This new provision, referred to as paragraph (b 1/2) or (f) depending on the specific section of law being amended, requires acceptance by a majority vote of the retirement system's board and approval from the relevant legislative body, which is defined differently for cities, towns, counties, regions, districts, and authorities, with the state teachers' and state employees' retirement systems automatically deemed to have accepted it. The bill also makes conforming amendments to existing allowances, changing a $15 allowance to $50 and a $300 maximum to $1,000 in certain sections, and clarifies that these changes will be prospective, meaning they will not apply retroactively to retirees.