Articles about Retirement Benefits that may be useful to Massachusetts retirees.
SEPTEMBER 2002
- Disability retirees have suffered another setback in their battle
with the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC)
over what they can earn to supplement their pensions. This time, a
Mass. court has sided with PERAC's broader definition of the term
"earned income".
JULY 2002
- Pension Benefits May Be Reduced - Unfortunately the problems for Polaroid's retirees continue to go
from bad to worse, further demonstrating the importance of the pension
and insurance protections for public retirees that we have under Mass.
law. These same retirees, who have been devastated by the loss of their
health insurance benefits, may also suffer a reduction in their Polaroid pensions.
MAY 2002
- Even though the filing deadline for state income tax returns (April
16) may have passed, you can still file for circuit breaker (CB)
property tax relief. So members, particularly those who normally don’t
file state returns, should not be upset with themselves if they forgot
to apply by April 16. Time has not run out!
MARCH 2002
- Deadline: April 30 - Don't forget you must apply before April 30, under the state's fuel
assistance program known as Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program,
(LIHEAP).
JANUARY 2002 -
Eligible Members File This Year - Homeowners and renters, who are 65 or over before this January 1, can
file for the circuit breaker tax relief this year. For specifics, refer
to our earlier reports on the program in the January and March issues
of the Voice.
NOVEMBER 2001
- Two years ago, we first reported on Association member Charles
Peckham and his work down in North Carolina, where he had moved after
retiring from Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational School. Peckham and
other members, in that state, were pushing passage of legislation that
would exclude public pensions, from Massachusetts and other states,
from North Carolina tax.
SEPTEMBER 2001
-
Firefighters Lead The Way - Led by a group of retired Haverhill firefighters, former employees of
the City of Haverhill are now in the process of organizing a Retired
Haverhill Employees Association.
SEPTEMBER 2001 - Able To Meet Donor Family - When
we last visited with Association member Tom Kent at his Roslindale home
in 1995, he was still recovering from a kidney transplant operation
that had occurred that September. Kent, a state retiree from the
Auditor’s office, had been suffering from renal disease since the
mid-80s.
JULY 2001 - Personal Use of “Town” Vehicles May Be Included As Compensation - Employees,
who have unlimited personal use of an employer-supplied (“town”)
vehicle, for which they are not subject to any income tax, may utilize
the value of that vehicle as compensation for retirement purposes,
according to the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission
(PERAC).
JULY 2001 - Reflects Her Enthusiasm - After
two years on the job as director of the State Retirement Board which
oversees the massive State Retirement System, Ellen Philbin is still as
enthusiastic as her first day at the helm.
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.
