Bill > S1413

This bill establishes an alternative retirement benefit program for current and new employees of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) who are in "group 1" or "group 2" membership categories within the Massport Employees Retirement System. For employees hired on or after July 1, 2013, participation in this new program is an optional choice at the time of hiring. Current Massport employees in group 1 and group 2 can elect to join this alternative program between July 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013, and those transferring into the system before July 1, 2013, have 180 days from establishing membership to elect participation. Under this alternative program, participating members will contribute 10% of their regular compensation, with some current members seeing their contribution rate adjusted to 10% if they were previously contributing at lower rates. A key requirement is that members must make contributions for at least 5 years at the 10% rate; if they retire before completing this period, they will need to pay the difference to reach the equivalent of 5 years of 10% contributions based on their final compensation. The bill also outlines how retirement allowances will be calculated for those in the alternative program, generally increasing the percentage of salary used in the calculation for each year of service beyond 24 years, with a minimum of 25 years of service required for eligibility and a cap on the total retirement allowance. Members who participate in this alternative program and do not complete 30 years of creditable service will be reimbursed for their additional contributions plus interest.