Enrollment of New Members

Membership is mandatory for nearly all public employees who are regularly employed on a full-time basis and whose employment commences prior to attaining age 65.

Members should obtain a New Member Enrollment Form from our forms file or from their employer, complete the form, and return it with a birth certificate and a DD214 military form, if applicable, to their employer. The employer will file the form with the Retirement System. Members should make sure to list any prior membership in a public retirement system.

Members are classified by groups:

Group 1: Officials and general employees including clerical, administrative and technical workers, laborers, mechanics and all others not otherwise classified.

Group 2: Certain employees with hazardous occupations, such as ambulance attendants, licensed electricians and mental heath attendants.

Group 4: Public safety officers, officials and employees, such as police officers, firefighters and corrections officers.

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Members contribute a percentage of their regular compensation (not including overtime) to the Retirement System, in accordance with the following schedule:

Members whose membership commenced after 1/1/79 contribute an additional 2% of regular compensation in excess of $576.92 per week, i.e. $30,000 per year.

Members should check their paychecks to see that the proper amount is being deducted according to the above schedule.

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Membersī contributions earn interest in an amount established by the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, in consultation with the Commissioner of Banks, based upon a survey of the interest rates paid on individual savings account of at least ten financial institutions in the state.

The interest rate for 2005 is .6%.

Unless a member leaves the public retirement system and withdraws his/her contributions, the interest rate has little bearing on the memberīs ultimate benefit allowance, given that the pension plan is a defined benefit plan.

Upon resigning, being laid off or terminated from public service, a member may be entitled to the return of amounts contributed to the Retirement System, as follows:

Members can obtain an Application for Withdrawal of Accumulated Total Deductions from our forms file.

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Superannuation Retirement is:

• Based on age and service.
• A member must be age 55 with at least 10 years of creditable service to retire, or have in excess of 20 years of creditable service, regardless of age.
• The amount of the retirement allowance is determined by a formula utilizing a member?s average rate of compensation, a percent determined by the memberīs age and job classification at retirement, and the member?s creditable service.
• The retirement allowance cannot exceed 80% of the employee?s highest three-year rate of regular compensation.
• In Group 1, the maximum benefit of 80% of regular compensation is reached after reaching age 65 with 32 years of creditable service. For Group 1 benefit amounts, go to the Group 1 Retirement Percentage Chart.
• In Group 4, the maximum benefit of 80% of regular compensation is reached after reaching age 55 with 32 years of service. For Group 4 benefit amounts, go to the Group 4 Retirement Percentage Chart.

The process for applying for a superannuation retirement is as follows:

• It is recommended that you contact the Retirement System approximately two months before your retirement date to make an appointment to review your file and discuss the retirement process.
• If you are a member in service or on an authorized leave of absence, you can apply to the Retirement Board no earlier than four months before your intended date of retirement.
• A superannuation retirement allowance is exempt from state taxation.
• Members must file an Application for Voluntary Superannuation Retirement and a Choice of Retirement Option Form at Retirement.  Optional forms include an Authorization Agreeement for Automatic Deposits and a Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments. Please note that the Retirement System will not withhold federal taxes unless the withholding form is completed and submitted.
• The Board may ask you to submit birth certificates for you and your spouse, a marriage certificate and veteran discharge papers.
• Once the application is submitted, the Retirement Board must await final payroll information form the member?s employer, which can take up to six weeks from the date of retirement.
• After receiving final payroll figures, retirement allowance figures are calculated and forwarded to PERAC for approval.
• The initial retirement allowance payment may be up to eight weeks from the date of retirement.
• After the initial payment, allowance checks and direct deposits are due and payable on the last day of each month.

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When you apply for retirement, you may select one of three allowance payment options, as follows:

Option A: provides the highest payment to the retiree, with no payments after the retiree?s death to a survivor

Option B: provides a reduced payment (approx. 2% - 4% less than Option A), terminating at the death of the retiree, with the balance of the amount contributed to the system by the retiree paid to the retireeīs beneficiary or beneficiaries of record.

Option C: provides a reduced payment (approx 10% - 20% less than Option A) during the retireeīs lifetime, with 2/3 of the allowance then payable to the memberīs beneficiary (must be spouse, child, parent, sister or brother).  If the beneficiary dies before the retiree, upon the death of the beneficiary the retiree will start receiving the benefit he/she would have received under Option A.

Once an Option is selected and the member has retired, the Option cannot be changed.

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Ordinary disability retirement is:

• Available for persons who are totally and permanently incapacitated from the performance of their duties as a result of illness or injury that is not job related.
• In most cases, members must have 10 years of creditable service.
• The amount of the retirement allowance is equal to the amount the member would have received at age 55 with the member?s current creditable service. There are different provisions for veterans.
• The ordinary disability allowance is exempt from state taxation.
• The process of applying for an ordinary disability allowance is considered by many to be complex.  Members should make an appointment with the Retirement System to discuss the process.

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Accidental Disability Retirement is:

• Available for members who are totally and permanently incapacitated from the performance of their duties as a result of illness or injury sustained in the actual performance of the memberīs duties.
• The amount of the retirement allowance is 72% of the memberīs regular compensation, plus an annuity based on the memberīs contributions to the system, plus benefits for dependent children, when applicable.
• The allowance is exempt from state taxation, and all but the annuity portion is exempt from federal taxation. Your tax professional should be consulted.
• Group 4 police officers are entitled to the Heart Presumption.
• Group 4 firefighters are entitled to the Heart, Lung and Cancer Presumptions.
• The process of applying for an accidental disability allowance is considered by many to be complex. Members should make an appointment with the Retirement System to discuss the process and requirements.

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A retired member may authorize the withholding of monthly premiums for continued coverage in a group health and life insurance program co-sponsored by the employer at the time of retirement.

While continuation of insurance coverage for retirees is an optional matter for the various governmental units in the Commonwealth, most cities and towns and counties have accepted the necessary provisions.

The Retirement System will withhold insurance premiums from a retireeīs check upon request of the employer.

Members considering retirement should check with their employers to ensure continuation of health insurance coverage. All questions of coverage and premiums should be addressed to the employer.

Members should also notify Social Security and their employers prior to retirement relative to the issue of Medicare coverage.

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Superannuation and Ordinary Disability retirement allowances are not subject to Massachusetts State Income Tax.

Since January of 1988, all members? contributions to the Retirement System are being made on a pre-tax basis; consequently, only members? contributions made prior to January 1988 will be eligible for a taxable exclusion.  Pre-tax contributions and all of the interest which your account has earned, since they have never been taxed, cannot be used to figure the yearly taxable portions of members? retirement allowances.

Members planning on retiring should consult with their accountant/tax preparer relative to pension taxation issues, and/or contact the IRS to ensure compliance with all federal requirements.

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Windfall Elimination Provision

If you have enough Social Security credits to be eligible for Social Security retirement or disability benefits, a modified benefit formula may be used to calculate your Social Security retirement or disability payment. This modified formula, which will apply if you are eligible to receive a retirement allowance from the Norfolk County Retirement System, will result in a lower Social Security benefit.  Your Norfolk County Retirement System allowance will not be affected by the Social Security modification.

The modified formula is not used in figuring Social Security survivor benefits.  It affects only workers who reach age 62 or become disabled after 1985 and first become eligible after 1985 for a monthly public retirement allowance. In other words, if you were eligible to receive your public retirement allowance prior to 1986, your Social Security benefit would not be affected.  The Norfolk County Retirement System will be happy to provide its members with the documentation necessary to prove their eligibility to Social Security.

The modified formula will be used in figuring your Social Security benefit beginning with the first month for which you receive both a Social Security retirement or disability and a public retirement allowance.

For more information on the Windfall Elimination Provision, you can obtain a fact sheet at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10045.pdf.

Government Pension Offset

If a member is receiving Social Security benefits based on his/her spouseīs social security, some or all of a memberīs Social Security spousal benefits may be offset once the member starts receiving a public retirement allowance.  This modification the Government Pension Offset will not apply to members who were eligible to receive their public retirement allowance before December 1982 and meet all the requirements for Social Security spousal benefits in effect in January 1977.

For more information on the Government Pension Offset, you can obtain a fact sheet at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10007.pdf.

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