Refunds
Things to consider before you withdraw your retirement funds:
When you have attained ten years of creditable service, you will be vested in the system and will be eligible for a monthly retirement allowance depending on your age and group. If this is the case you are advised to review any potential benefit you may be entitled to by contacting the Retirement Office. By withdrawing your funds, you forfeit any future rights to a retirement benefit.
If you think it is a possibility that you will become re-employed by a Massachusetts municipality, you may wish to not withdraw your funds, so that upon re-employment, the service you have attained can transfer to the new retirement system.
Benefits
If your membership began prior to April 2, 2012, and you withdraw your funds, you will lose all rights to the benefit structure you were originally under. You will enter as a new member under the new rules. Below is a summary of these changes.
Notice
Notice to members (hired before April 2, 2012) seeking to withdraw from the system:
Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2011 changed the benefit structure for members hired on or after April 2, 2012. Members who withdraw from the system and reenter after this date will join the retirement system under these new laws. Because you have requested an application to withdraw your funds, you should review the following differences to your current retirement plan, in the event you wish to reenter the system at a later date:
- Increased minimum retirement age
- New age factors for calculating retirement allowances
- Unavailability of the G.L. c. 32, § 10 termination allowance
- Applicability of G.L. c. 32, § 105 to elected officials
- Five-year average annual rate of regular compensation for calculating allowances rather than a three-year average
- Proration of benefits earned for service in different group classifications
- New contribution rates