Bill
S 1810
Sets a minimum monthly pension floor for ordinary disability retirees equal to the state supplemental security income amount for same marital status.
Status (from provided record)
- Introduced: May 20, 2025
- Current referral(s): Investigations and Government Operations (record also shows referral to Finance and Public Service and a hearing scheduled 06/02/2025)
- Docket/File: Senate No. 1810; filed 01/16/2025
Note on metadata: the supplied packet contains conflicting items (an initial title referring to unlawful discrimination based on delays in reporting sexual harassment and sponsor names that appear to be federal legislators). The bill text below and most legislative actions refer to a Massachusetts statutory amendment concerning ordinary disability retirements. Readers should verify the official source for final status and text.
Purpose
- To establish a minimum monthly payment floor for members who retire under the “ordinary disability” retirement provisions of chapter 32, section 6(2) of the Massachusetts General Laws. The floor is set at no less than the monthly payment received by a disabled individual of the same marital status under the state supplemental security income program.
Key provisions
- Amends subdivision (2) of section 6 of chapter 32 by adding paragraph (e).
- Requires that, upon a retirement system’s acceptance of this paragraph, payments to members retired under ordinary disability retirement must be at least equal to the state supplemental payment for a disabled individual with the same marital status.
- Adoption mechanics:
- A retirement system must accept the paragraph by a majority vote of its board.
- Acceptance is subject to approval by the local “legislative body,” defined by context (city council per charter; town meeting; county retirement board advisory council; regional/district/authority governing bodies as applicable).
- Acceptance is deemed effective when a certification of the required votes is filed with the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (the commission).
- The state teachers’ and state employees’ retirement systems are explicitly deemed to have accepted the paragraph (i.e., the floor applies automatically to those systems).
Who would be affected
- Public employees who retire under the ordinary disability provisions of Massachusetts municipal, county, regional, district, authority, state teachers’, and state employees’ retirement systems.
- Local retirement boards and municipal/town/county/regional governing bodies that must vote/approve adoption.
- Retirement system finances and municipal/county budgets (see fiscal considerations).
Procedural/timeline aspects
- Adoption for each local retirement system is optional and requires (1) a board majority vote and (2) approval by the applicable local legislative body; effectiveness is upon filing the certification with the commission.
- State teachers’ and employees’ systems are treated as having already accepted the change.
- Legislative status in the record shows introductions, referrals, and a hearing scheduled for 06/02/2025; confirm current committee actions with the official legislative website.
Potential fiscal and policy impacts
- Establishes a benefits floor that could increase monthly payments to some ordinary disability retirees whose current pensions fall below the state supplemental payment level.
- Could increase short- and long-term liabilities for retirement systems that adopt the provision (automatic impact for state teacher/employee systems).
- Local governments and retirement boards may face budgetary pressures if they adopt the change; actuarial and fiscal analyses would be needed to quantify cost.
Recommendation
- Verify the official bill text and current status on the Massachusetts Legislature website due to inconsistencies in the provided metadata. Consider requesting an actuarial estimate from affected retirement systems to assess fiscal impact before adoption.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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