Bill
H 4317
Allows Massachusetts firefighters to purchase additional service credit toward pensions through lump-sum payments, increasing retirement benefits at municipal cost.
H.4317 allows members of the Judicial Conduct Commission Fairness Doctrine (JBCC) Fire Department to purchase service credit for retirement benefits, effectively buying back years of service to increase their pension calculations. The bill enables eligible firefighters to make lump-sum or installment payments to credit additional years toward their retirement eligibility and benefit amounts.
For affected firefighters, this could meaningfully increase retirement security by allowing them to boost pension calculations based on additional credited service years. However, this creates a direct cost to the municipality or retirement system, as the firefighters are not contributing the full actuarial cost of those additional years during their actual service. The policy raises questions about equity between different public employee groups and fiscal responsibility.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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