Articles about Legislation that may be useful to Massachusetts retirees.
By Matt Stout, Globe Staff
Massachusetts legislators in recent weeks have loosened 40-year-old limits on how many hours government retirees can work for a public agency each year while still collecting their taxpayer-funded pension, realizing a change long sought by former employees but derided by critics as too generous.
10/15/2021 Weekly Update, By Shawn Duhamel
If you have read our September newsletter or watched/read any of my recent weekly updates, then you know that a major focus of our ongoing work is to make improvements to the annual COLA or cost-of-living adjustment. Wednesday’s news that the CPI is now 5.9% only bolsters our argument that more needs to be done in this area.
October 1, 2021 Weekly Update: By Chief Executive Officer Shawn Duhamel
Before my brief hiatus in August, I reported to you that we anticipated a very busy fall. I’m happy to say that not only were we correct, but that things have been even busier than we would have thought.
September 28, 2021: The "number-one problem" that Mass Retirees President Frank Valeri hears from his members is that it takes too long for newly retired public employees to collect their first monthly benefit check. Warning that the sizable gaps between a retirement date and a payment date put undue financial strain on workers at the end of their careers, Valeri urged lawmakers Tuesday to adopt reforms that guarantee delivery of at least partial checks by the due date. "These are the things that bother me," Valeri told the Public Service Committee.
September 2021 Voice: We are eight months into the 2021-2022 legislative session, and the State House remains closed to the public. We are anticipating that this will continue into the fall and many of the functions of the legislature will remain virtual. This includes committee hearings, such as those by the all-important Joint Committee on Public Service.
Katie Lannan, State House News Service
JULY 28, 2021.....A pair of harbormasters and Coast Guard veterans on Wednesday asked lawmakers to approve a bill they said would make things easier on veterans adjusting to civilian life and new government careers.
Sends Back Amended Budget Section
JULY 19, 2021: Governor Charlie Baker signed the $47.6 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget on Friday, July 16th. While no changes were made to the State and Teacher retirees COLA or the Group Insurance Commission line items, he did return certain items to the legislature with amended language.
June 16, 2021- Late last evening, the House and Senate passed a bill that would extend several COVID-19 policy measures that expired when the Governor’s state of emergency was lifted on June 15th. The House passed their version mid-morning and in an unusual move the two versions were sent to conference committee and hammered out the same day. The Senate version included language that would extend the Post Retirement Work Waiver until December 15th, 2021.
June 10, 2021-Thursday the Senate passed the Post-Retirement Work Waiver Extension amendment as part of legislation that addressed policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current waiver was set to expire when the Governor’s state of emergency order expired on June 15th.
Mass Retirees Seeks Extension Through Year-End
June 9, 2021 – On Thursday the state Senate is poised to debate legislation aimed at addressing various public policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are set to expire next week when Governor Baker’s Public Health Emergency Order ends on June 15th. Of direct concern to our Association is the expiration of the post retirement work waiver that has been in place since March 2020.
Since 1968 the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association has been the leading voice for Massachusetts public retirees and their families. Join with our 52,000 members as we continue the fight.
