Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues unanimously passed legislation to allow longtime public school teachers the opportunity to buy into an enhanced savings program if they missed out when the program was first launched a quarter century ago. DiDomenico was lead cosponsor of this legislation and had been working tirelessly to push this critical measure forward for years alongside countless teachers across his district.
An estimated 6,500 to 8,500 current teachers in Massachusetts have been unable to participate in the RetirementPlus pension program because they missed the window to opt into the plan in 2001.
“I was proud to be lead cosponsor of this legislation and I am thrilled to see us get one step closer to fixing this issue for thousands of teachers in my district and across the Commonwealth,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico. “Due to administrative confusion when the RetirementPlus program launched, many teachers lost out on their opportunity to join this essential program. Thanks to this legislative fix we passed through the Senate, up to 8,500 eligible teachers will have a one-time window until June 30, 2027, to buy into the program and secure the enhanced retirement benefits they deserve and should have received decades ago.”
The bill—S.3109, An Act relative to benefits for teachers—would provide another one-time opportunity to that group of longtime educators and give them until mid-2027 to choose whether they would like to join RetirementPlus.
Teachers who join RetirementPlus through this new opportunity would pay into the program as if they had joined at the outset, which would include interest payments, to ensure both fiscal stability and fairness for teachers and retirees who have been participating throughout the past 25 years.
“With today’s vote, the Senate is reaffirming its support for some of our state’s most dedicated teachers and the schools and communities they serve. This bill provides teachers who have been working in our schools for decades the chance to enroll in a retirement system many of them were unfairly shut out of 25 years ago, the same system new teachers are automatically enrolled in. These are teachers who were dropped from the system when they changed districts, teachers who were told they were enrolled only to find out years later that was not the case, and teachers who were not provided the necessary resources to enroll in the first place, including ASL interpreters to explain the new system and the enrollment process for deaf and hard of hearing teachers in the Boston Public Schools. We are grateful to the Senate President for her leadership and the Senate’s commitment to ensuring our public educators receive the dignified and secure retirement they’ve earned.” – AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang
The Senate passed the bill on a 39-0 roll call vote and sent it to the House of Representatives for further review.