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State engineers ask committee to allow long‑term contractors to buy up to 10 years of retirement credit
Summary
MOSES (Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists) asked the committee to advance House Bill 2795 to let state employees who spent long periods as contracted workers buy back up to 10 years of creditable service toward state retirement, instead of the current four‑year limit.
The Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists (MOSES) told the Joint Committee on Public Service that long‑term contracted workers who later became state employees should be allowed to purchase more of their contractor years as creditable service for retirement.
Joe Duran, testifying for MOSES, described the practice of hiring contractors as institutionalized in some agencies since the 1990s and said some workers signed year‑after‑year contracts doing the same work as regular full‑time employees for decades. Under current law, Chapter 32, section 4(f), state employees who previously worked under contract may buy back up to four years of creditable service; MOSES asked the committee to allow up to 10 years under House Bill 2795.
“This small change would allow employees that worked for many years as contractor for the state to obtain a retirement that reflects those years of service,” Duran said. He noted many contracted workers later converted to regular positions but could not fully credit prior contract years under existing limits.
MOSES also asked for favorable consideration of related bills (e.g., allowing Peace Corps or AmeriCorps time to count). The testimony did not include a fiscal estimate; advocates asked the committee to report HB2795 favorably.
Ending: Proponents characterized the change as narrowly tailored, intended to reflect long periods of state service performed under contract prior to conversion to regular employment; no retirement board position or fiscal note was offered in the hearing record.
