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Lawrence officer offers to pay full cost to buy back pension service; committee advances petition
Summary
A Lawrence police officer asked the committee to approve a home-rule petition allowing up to two years of external service to be purchased toward municipal retirement credit and said he would personally pay the full actuarial amount; the committee voted to send the petition to the full council with a favorable recommendation.
A Lawrence police officer seeking to buy back up to two years of service credit told the Ordinance & Government Relations Committee on April 28 that he is willing to cover the full actuarial cost to secure municipal retirement credit.
"The portion of cost that I would pay would be $9,960 and then the city would be $7,200," said Officer Ael Kano, who presented the home-rule petition and related actuarial figures. Kano said he would pay the full $17,200 so the city would not incur costs.
Kano said the request concerns up to two years of prior service with the MBTA (Marramac Valley Transit Authority) and similar agencies and that the timeframe for completing the administrative process could affect how much service can ultimately be credited. "I'm willing to pay the full amount," he said.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about scope, eligibility and timing. The committee moved and approved a referral of the home-rule petition to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation.
What happens next: The petition will be considered by the full council; if approved, the city would adopt local authorization enabling purchase of service credit subject to actuarial calculation and any state or pension-board requirements.
