Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Thousands of teachers in Massachusetts appear poised to get a second chance at opting into a retirement program rolled out 25 years ago that many say was botched.
The Massachusetts Senate is scheduled to take up a bill on Thursday that the House has already passed, the RetirementPlus legislation that allows longtime public school teachers to buy into the enhanced savings program if they missed out when the program was initially launched 25 years ago.
Senate President Karen Spilka said thousands of teachers were left out of the offer simply by not checking a box on a form. "We found that thousands missed checking the box that would allow them to retire early," Spilka said.
She added there were other problems with the process that prevented teachers from retiring early, but this legislation is an opportunity to right that wrong. "Those teachers who buy into the program, who buy into this pension system, to do it, and in return, will be able to retire at 80 percent of their salary, up to five years early."
If approved, the bill would benefit current teachers, not teachers who have already retired.
About 6,500 to 8,500 teachers could gain enhanced benefits if they buy into the program.
MTA statement on Senate action on Retirement Plus
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy issued the following statement on the state Senate taking up a bill that gives eligible teachers a second chance to enroll in Retirement Plus:
“We are pleased that the state Senate approved a fix for the unfair denial of our members’ access to the RetirementPlus program. Educators have been advocating for decades to give dedicated veteran teachers who missed the program’s initial enrollment period the opportunity to join this enhanced retirement benefit. Thousands of educators will be able to take advantage of this overdue opportunity. However, asking those eligible to enroll to pay 7 percent of compounded interest on their catch-up contributions stands to make this opportunity prohibitively expensive for too many. We look forward to working with the Legislature to make the final version of this bill affordable for all affected teachers so there truly is a fair fix for RetirementPlus.”