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Teachers’ retirement system seeks penalties for delinquent reporting and study of creditable-service purchases
Summary
The Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System asked the Joint Committee on Public Service to approve a bill imposing monetary penalties on employers who fail to timely report pension data and to establish a commission to study the costs and impacts of service-credit purchase rules.
Officials from the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System (MTRS) told the Joint Committee on Public Service that late or incomplete employer reporting creates delays and harms members’ retirement planning, and urged passage of House Bill 31 to establish monetary penalties for delinquent reporting.
Jonathan Osimo, executive director of the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System, said the proposed changes would amend Chapter 32 sections 18 and 22 and create monetary penalties to incentivize school districts and other employers to meet reporting requirements. “Delayed employee reporting adversely affects our ability to process retirements, refunds, and account transfers in a timely manner,” Osimo said, pointing to over 400 public school districts whose compliance varies.
Osimo also described House Bill 27, which would establish a special commission to study retirement-credit purchases allowed under Chapter 32. He said the commission would evaluate 19 different purchase types, the methods used to calculate costs, and options for aligning purchase prices with the actuarial liability created by the added credit.
Committee members asked a clarifying question about the commission’s membership; a senator noted it included a representative of the state teachers’ retirement system and a state employee union member, and Osimo said he would be open to adding a local retirement board administrator or union representative from a local system.
No committee vote on either bill is recorded in the provided transcript.
