Relates to establishing the "340B prescription drug anti-discrimination act"

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Addabbo and 22 co-sponsors

Allows education administrators to buy back credit for prior Massachusetts special education supervision in state-funded non-public schools, increasing retirement benefits.

DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

Overview / Purpose

S.1913 would amend Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 32, §4(1P) to allow certain education administrators to establish prior service performed supervising special education in non-public schools (when those pupils’ tuition was financed in part or in full by the Commonwealth) as creditable service for retirement. The mechanism is a member-funded “buyback” into the annuity savings fund to obtain that credit.

Key provisions

Amends subsection 1P of section 4 of chapter 32 of the General Laws.

Eligibility: Any member of a contributory retirement system who

is currently engaged in an educational administrator position, and
previously supervised the provision of special education services and ensured IEP services were delivered in any non‑public school in Massachusetts, where pupil tuition was paid in whole or in part by the Commonwealth.

Buyback requirement: Before the member’s retirement allowance becomes effective, the member may establish such prior service as creditable service by depositing into the annuity savings fund (in one sum or in installments, per board rules) an amount equal to:

5% of the compensation received by the member during the period of such prior service, plus
buyback interest accrued to the date of deposit for the period (or most recent portion) selected by the member.

Board authority: The retirement board may prescribe terms and conditions for installment payments.

Who is affected

Primary: Members of Massachusetts contributory public retirement systems who are education administrators now and who previously supervised special education in non-public schools whose tuition was state‑funded.

Secondary: Local and state retirement boards (administration of buybacks), actuaries, and potentially the state pension system (depending on the volume of buybacks).

Fiscal and administrative impact

Direct employer/state cost: The bill requires members to make deposits equal to 5% of prior compensation plus interest — no explicit employer payment is mandated in the text. Because creditable service increases future pension payments, the Commonwealth’s actuarial liabilities could grow if many members purchase service at the employee‑only rate; the net fiscal effect depends on participation and actuarial assumptions.

Administrative: Retirement boards would need to implement procedures and rules for deposits, installments, interest calculation, and verification of eligible prior service.

Procedural status (selected actions)

Filed / presented in the Senate: January 14, 2025 (Sen. John C. Velis listed as sponsor in the docket).

Reported and committed to finance (status noted).

Hearing scheduled: September 15, 2025 (1:00–5:00 PM, room A‑1) per available schedule.

Additional committee referrals and favorable report entries appear in the legislative history; final enactment would require committee approvals and passage by the Legislature and the Governor’s signature.

Notes / inconsistencies

The bill text and docket describe a Massachusetts state pension amendment about education administrators (sponsor: John C. Velis). Other document fields in the provided material (title referencing a “340B prescription drug anti-discrimination act” and federal senators listed as sponsors) appear inconsistent with the bill text and likely reflect clerical or metadata errors. This summary is based on the statutory amendment text contained in the docket.

Bill