Articles about Retirement Benefits that may be useful to Massachusetts retirees.
Baker Plan Limited in Scope
MARCH 9, 2014: Last week, Governor Charlie Baker proposed the first early retirement incentive (ERI) plan in nearly twelve years as a means to avoid potential layoffs of some 4,500 state executive branch employees.
Baker to start by offering enhanced-pension deals, hopes for 4,500 takers
By Joshua Miller Globe Staff March 02, 2015
Facing the prospect of a daunting state budget gap, Governor Charlie Baker will file legislation this week aimed at enticing thousands of state employees to retire early. But if the move does not generate the expected savings, workers will be laid off, a top official said Sunday.
Blizzard May Cause Postal Delays
JANUARY 29, 2015: Tax documents for retired Massachusetts public employees are now in the process of being issued by the 10 retirement systems.
The IRS gives retirement boards (and all employers) through January 30th to issue 1099s to those retirees and surviving spouses who received a retirement allowance in 2014. Some systems have already mailed the forms to retirees. All members should receive their 1099 document by the end of the first week of February.
LEOMINSTER -- A statewide association representing retired municipal employees is criticizing the city's Retirement Board for voting in July not to give retirees a cost-of-living pay increase in their pensions for the fifth straight year.
Mayor Mazzarella Controlled Board Manipulates Funding Schedule and Treats Retirees as Second Rate
SEPTEMBER 2014 VOICE: By any fair measure, five years is a considerable amount of time. It’s half a decade, longer than a presidential or gubernatorial term in office and exceeds the time spent in high school or college. For Leominster’s retirees and survivors five years may only be the beginning of their wait for a modest and much needed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
Let's Deal With The Facts, Not An Agenda
July 2014 Voice: We’ve all seen the steady stream of headlines and heard the sound bites declaring public pension systems a disaster, unsustainable or a failure. To the average citizen these are examples of bloated entitlement programs run amuck. For public retirees, these reports portray a nightmare scenario in which their retirement security is in jeopardy.
Applies Only To State Chartered Banks
JUNE 20, 2014: “In our July 2014 issue of the Voice, we included an article reporting on the Association’s successful enactment in 1984 of a law that prohibited a bank from imposing any fee or assessment on a checking or savings account of a person 65 or over,” according to Publisher Nancy Delaney. “We termed it the "Bank Fee Waiver Law".
Report Brings Focus to Increase For State Retirees & Employees
MAY 2014 Voice: Information recently obtained from the both the National and State Associations of Funeral Directors has brought renewed focus on our Association’s proposal to increase basic life insurance for state retirees and employees to $10,000.
Finally Recovered From FY08 Losses
MARCH 2014 VOICE: Year 2013 was cause for a modest celebration at the Commonwealth’s giant Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board, chaired by State Treasurer Steve Grossman.
A strong market year saw PRIM’s Pension Reserves Investment Trust (PRIT) Fund earn 15.2%, and finally climb back and exceed its pre-Year 2008 value with a new high of $57.9 billion at year’s end.
Adopts Conservative Approach & Increased Funding
MARCH 2014 VOICE: Governor Deval Patrick and the state’s Legislative Leadership have agreed to significantly increase the appropriation toward funding the Commonwealth’s unfunded pension liabilities, along with shortening the pension funding schedule by four years and adopting a more conservative set of assumptions.
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.
