PERAC Memo #31 - 2010: Refunds to Members Who Voluntarily Terminate Service With Less Than 10 Years of Creditable Service
Refunds to Members Who Voluntarily Terminate Service With Less Than 10 Years of Creditable Service
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This memo explains that effective July 1, 2010 (per Chapter 131 of the Acts of 2010), members who voluntarily terminate service with less than 10 years of creditable service and withdraw their contributions will have their refund interest calculated at a flat 3% rate for the entire period, replacing the prior tiered interest treatment for those with less than 5 or 10 years of service. This change applies only at the time of refund disbursement (not to interest credited while funds remain on deposit), does not affect involuntary withdrawals or members with 10+ years of service, and leaves buyback rules unchanged.
Boards should use the PERAC spreadsheet/examples provided (pending an updated withdrawal application form) to manually calculate affected refunds, continue processing disbursements via Refunds to Members #5757 with interest transferred from the Pension Reserve Fund to the Annuity Savings Fund, maintain thorough documentation for potential future reemployment situations, and carefully counsel and provide written notice to members applying for refunds about how this provision affects them.
Full Text
MEMORANDUM #31, 2010
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: All Retirement Boards
FROM: Joseph E. Connarton, Executive Director
RE: Refunds to Members Who Voluntarily Terminate Service With Less Than 10 Years of Creditable Service
DATE: July 26, 2010
We have been contacted by several boards and staff expressing concern over the recently enacted FY11 State Budget
(Chapter 131 of the Acts of 2010) section that impacts the calculation of interest for persons who became members
after January 1, 1984 and request a refund of their contributions to the system. Section 25 provides that effective July
1, 2010, the annual rate of interest that will be paid when a member voluntarily withdraws from service and seeks a
return of his or her contributions with less than 120 months (10 years) of creditable service will be 3%. The following
is an effort to address these concerns.
This provision applies only to members voluntarily withdrawing from service with less than 10 years of creditable
service, so the amount of interest credited to members’ accounts before withdrawal remains unchanged at regular
interest. The interest is calculated and applied only when the member withdraws his or her funds. Interest payable on
the contribution refunds for those involuntarily withdrawing from service or for those with more than 10 years of
creditable service will be set at regular interest. The 2 year limitation on the accrual of interest remains unchanged.
This is a fundamental change in the way the interest is calculated for refunds qualifying under this provision. A refund
in these circumstances will include interest at a rate of 3% for the entire period, meaning that the interest credited for
each year will be 3%. Previously, interest was awarded differently for those voluntarily leaving service with less than
5 or 10 years, and that provision in the law has now been superseded.
We are in the process of updating the PERAC form entitled Application for Withdrawal of Total Accumulated
Deductions that was most recently revised September, 2009. This form allows a member to receive a refund of the
total accumulated contributions in his or her Annuity Savings (retirement) account. During this interim transitional
period, we continue to encourage use of this form. Manual editing is acceptable and encouraged.
The attachment provides specific examples using a manual or application based spreadsheet that Board staff can
reference. We anticipate that the vendors and providers will be able to accommodate the changes associated with this
change over time. Our examples are based on an inspection of the normal membership file Annuity Savings Record
generally available on screen, print or manual records in most systems. You are encouraged to utilize this spreadsheet
until the refund portion of the membership module can be adjusted to reflect the changes included in this notice. We
do not anticipate any additional accounting tasks relative to this section. Refunds should continue to be disbursed
using Refunds to Members #5757. The interest related to these refunds should continue to be applied through the
membership module using the transfer process from the Pension Reserve Fund to the Annuity Savings Fund.
Board staff is encouraged to maintain a complete record and the associated documentation pertaining to both the
refund as well as the original statutory regular interest applied to member’s refunds under this section. These will be an essential reference in the event a member is reemployed with the same or another system subject to Chapter 32 and the provisions of this section. Boards should carefully counsel members applying for a refund to assure that they are aware of the requirements and benefits of this section. Boards should provide a copy of the requirements of this section to such membersThe current rules related to buybacks are unchanged by this provision. Interested individuals should carefully consider whether a refund is appropriate in their situation We trust the foregoing is of assistance. Any questions should be directed to the PERAC audit unit: James.Tivnan@MassMail.State.MA.US. Attachment