Bill > H17

This bill proposes several changes to the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) in Massachusetts: 1. It will repeal Section 90(G) 3/4 of Chapter 32, which currently requires employees over the age of 70 to elect to continue accruing creditable service and receiving regular compensation. This change will allow employees over 70 to continue contributing and accruing service on a pre-tax basis, like younger employees, rather than on a post-tax basis. 2. It will provide PERAC with flexibility to make exceptions to the continuing education requirements for retirement board members, who must complete 18 hours of training over a 3-year term, even if the training is not distributed evenly across the years. 3. It will transfer the responsibility for making determinations under Section 15(7) of Chapter 32 from PERAC to the local retirement boards. Section 15(7) allows PERAC to determine if a member's salary was intentionally concealed or misreported, but PERAC currently lacks the authority to hold hearings, issue subpoenas, and administer oaths necessary to make these determinations effectively.