An Act authorizing the grant of creditable service to Thomas Brooks

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Mark Cusack

The bill would credit Thomas Brooks with years of MBTA police service for retirement calculations, requiring prior repayment of missed deductions.

Hearing scheduled for 07/14/2026 from 11:00 AM-04:00 PM in A-1

Overview

This bill, H 5498 from the 194th Massachusetts General Court, would grant a specific creditable service acknowledgment to Thomas Brooks for retirement purposes. It authorizes the Boston Retirement Board to recognize a period of past service as creditable service for determining his superannuation retirement allowance, subject to a pre-retirement repayment requirement.

Purpose and intent

The primary aim is to credit Thomas Brooks with additional service time (May 1999 to March 2002, inclusive) for the purpose of calculating his retirement allowance.

The service in question occurred while Brooks was employed as a police officer with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police Department (MBTA PD).

Key provisions

Addendum of creditable service: The Boston Retirement Board would credit Brooks with the service period from May 1999 through March 2002 for calculating his superannuation under the state retirement framework (specifically, paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of section 5 of chapter 32 of the General Laws).

Eligibility and conditions: The credit is granted “notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary,” meaning this provision would supersede other conflicting rules.

Pre-retirement funding requirement: Before any retirement allowance becomes effective, Brooks must repay into the city’s annuity savings fund an amount equal to the regular deductions that would have been withheld from his compensation during the May 1999–March 2002 period. This repayment can be made in a single sum or installments, under terms and conditions set by the retirement board.

Who would be affected

Thomas Brooks: The individual beneficiary of the creditable service.

City of Boston retirement system and its Retirement Board: Responsible for implementing the creditable service designation and approving repayment terms.

Potential indirect beneficiaries: If Brooks’ retirement allowance increases as a result of the added creditable service, his ongoing pension payments would be affected.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Legislative history:

Filed: August 18, 2025.
Referred initially to House Rules (August 21, 2025).
In 2026, the Senate concurred (June 11, 2026) and the bill passed through the standard committee processes (Report, Joint Rules, Public Service).

Effective implementation:

The credit would apply “notwithstanding” contrary laws or regulations, indicating a direct, overriding authority for the Boston Retirement Board to grant the credit if the bill becomes law.
Repayment of the deducted amounts would occur prior to the start of any retirement allowance, with terms determined by the retirement board.

Potential impact

Financial: The bill could increase Thomas Brooks’ retirement benefit by recognizing additional years of service, balanced by a one-time or installment repayment into the annuity savings fund to reflect the missed deductions during the service period.

Administrative: Requires action by the City of Boston Retirement Board to adjust credits and oversee the repayment arrangement.

Policy implication: Creates a targeted exception to the general pension rules for a specific former employee, rather than a broad, systemic reform.

If you’d like, I can provide a plain-language Q&A version for constituents or a side-by-side comparison with typical creditable-service adjustments.