Massachusetts House Reaffirms Commitment to Providing Longest-Serving Educators with Equity and Dignity in Retirement (July 30, 2025)
By a vote of 158-to-0, the Massachusetts House of Representatives today passed critical legislation to bring more equity and dignity to the retirement of some of the state’s longest-serving public school teachers.
Filed by House Assistant Majority Leader Alice Peisch and Representative Rob Consalvo, An Act relative to benefits for teachers would allow teachers hired before January 1, 2001 a one-time opportunity to buy into the Teachers Alternative Retirement Plan (TARP), also known as Retirement Plus, after thousands of eligible teachers were not able to successfully enroll in the program over twenty years ago.
“From teachers on maternity leave to teachers dropped from the program with no notification, the roll-out of Retirement Plus continues to impact the lives of teachers across the state nearly a quarter-century later,” said American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang. “We are grateful to Assistant Leader Peisch for her commitment to providing educators the equitable and secure retirement they deserve. We look forward to the Senate taking action this session so that this issue and the educators impacted by it can get the debate in that chamber that they deserve.”
In 2001, the state introduced a new alternative retirement system for teachers, school nurses, and related service providers who were members of the teachers’ retirement system or the Boston retirement system. Those enrolled pay a higher contribution to their pension, equal to 11 percent of their salary. In exchange, they are able to retire a little earlier.
At the time, incumbent teachers who wanted to enroll in the program had to elect to do so between January 1, 2001 and June 30, 2001. Unfortunately, the six-month enrollment window was plagued with multiple issues and, in the end, thousands of qualified members were left out.
This legislation would provide a one-time window to educators hired before July 1, 2001 to opt into the enhanced retirement benefits that current employees automatically receive. These educators would need to pay the difference between what they’ve paid in deductions since 2001 and what they would have paid if they had been correctly enrolled at the time.
Not only is this an important fix to support some of our state’s longest-serving teachers, it could result in substantial savings to local school districts by allowing these educators – many of whom have taught for over a quarter-century - to retire and be replaced by new teachers at significantly lower salaries. At a time when school districts are facing significant federal education cuts and are already struggling financially to keep up with soaring costs and increased needs of their students, this factor should not be overlooked.
This would be an important follow-up to legislation signed into law in 2022 giving those who transferred into the Teachers Retirement System after July 1, 2001 with prior non-teaching service in other retirement systems the ability to opt-in to Retirement Plus. That same law made the enrollment automatic for all newly hired teachers.
“When the 2022 law passed, the AFT Massachusetts worked diligently with the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement Board to alert all of our qualified members about the enrollment window and the process” continued Tang. “We are more than ready to undertake the same kind of education campaign necessary if this legislation is signed into law.”
Additionally, this bill would also allow teachers vested in the retirement system who move on to work within the state’s Executive Office of Education or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to retain their status as teacher, with those employment years counting toward their credible service.
The Senate version of this bill, S.1884, filed by Senator Liz Miranda is currently in the Joint Committee on Public Service awaiting action.