Committee hears bill to raise long-unchanged veterans pension bonus

Representative Dennis Gallagher asked the Joint Committee on Public Service to report favorably on legislation to increase a decades-old veterans pension bonus for public employees.

Gallagher said the current benefit “gives public service employees who are veterans $15 a month added to their pension up to $300 a year,” and that his bill would “increase that amount from $15 to $50 per year of service up to $1,000 a year.”

The change would raise the monthly bonus from $15 to an amount calculated at $50 per year of credible service, capped at a $1,000 annual maximum for members with 20 years’ service. The proposal was described as long-standing: witnesses said the bonus was set in the 1950s and has not been indexed to inflation.

Sean Duhamel, chief executive officer of the Mass Retirees Association, told the committee the proposal “seeks to increase this benefit” and that the policy has not been updated in decades. He said an actuarial review by the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission showed the added cost would be “in the actuary’s terms, de minimis or negligible,” and could be accommodated within existing funding schedules.

Committee members asked few questions during the presentation. Supporters urged that the change be viewed as a modest recognition for veterans who later serve as public employees.

No formal committee vote was taken during this hearing. Sponsors and advocates asked the committee to report the bill out favorably for further consideration this session.