Articles about Retirement Boards that may be useful to Massachusetts retirees.
MARCH 2012 VOICE: Year 2011 was not a good year for the $47.1 billion Commonwealth’s Pension Reserves Investment Trust (PRIT) Fund.
After strongly recovering from disastrous Year 2008, when the Fund lost -29.50% of its value, followed by earnings of 17.06% in Year 2009 and 13.56% in Year 2010, the Fund was a victim of the worldwide market slump last year. PRIT barely squeaked into the black with a return of 0.15%
BY ANNE MARIE TOBIN, Lynn Item
NOVEMBER 19, 2021: PEABODY — There were plenty of smiles to go around Wednesday morning at the Fire Department headquarters on Lowell Street as Joseph P. DiFranco, one of Peabody’s most beloved and respected firefighters, was honored posthumously with the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM) Joseph J. Cantalupa Lifetime Service Award.
DiFranco’s wife, Marie, accepted the award on behalf of “Big Joe” from PFFM President Richard MacKinnon Jr.
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: There is no question that the tremendous investment success of the Commonwealth and local retirement systems should be celebrated. When modern pension funding schedules were implemented in the mid-1980s, no one could have envisioned the high level of asset gains that would come to fruition over the ensuing 36 years.
September 2021 Voice: When the proper funding of our 104 public retirement systems began in 1985, the majority of Massachusetts systems were woefully underfunded. Back then the Commonwealth was the 2nd worst unfunded system in the country – second only to West Virginia!
House, Senate Discussing Vaccine Requirements for Their Employees
Katie Lannan, State House News Service
AUG. 19, 2021: About 42,000 state employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have secured a medical or religious exemption by Oct. 17, or face the risk of consequences including losing their jobs, under an executive order Gov. Charlie Baker signed Thursday.
FY '21 Gains Neared 30 Percent, Pushed Fund to $95.7 Bil
Colin A. Young, State House News Service
AUG. 3, 2021.....Fiscal year 2021 was a record year for the Massachusetts state pension fund, which closed the one-year period ending June 30 with the highest return in its history and invested assets that swelled to a record $95.7 billion.
Former Head of Teachers’ Retirement Board
MAY 28, 2020: It is with heavy hearts that we report the passing of Joan Schloss DeLena, who died on May 22nd from a lung disorder related to her prolonged fight with cancer. Joan had served as a member of the Mass Retirees Executive Board since September of 2015.
Well Prepared to Weather Storm
APRIL 24, 2020: Learning from the 2008 Financial Collapse and Great Recession that followed, Massachusetts’ 104 public pension systems are financially stable and secure. Not a single system in the Commonwealth is in financial hardship or stands in danger of not being able to meet pension obligations to retirees.
Managers Overseeing $70.7 Billion Fund From Homes
Colin A. Young, State House News Service
BOSTON, APRIL 22, 2020.....The state pension fund is confident that, despite the volatility that has rocked financial markets over the last six weeks or so, it will have no problem paying out roughly $1.3 billion for pension benefits this year.
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.
