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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 19 FILED ON: 1/2/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 19
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act relative to pension forfeiture.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Paragraph (m) of subdivision 1 of section 5 of chapter 32 of the general
2laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended in line 76 by adding after the
3word "contrary", the following: "except as provided in section 15 of this chapter,".
4
5 SECTION 2. Section 10 of chapter 32 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2022
6Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the phrase "without moral turpitude on his part"
7in lines 6, 9, 84 and 126.
8
9 SECTION 3. Section 15 of chapter 32 of the general laws is hereby amended by striking
10everything after the title and inserting in place thereof the following new section 15.
11
12 Section 15. 2 of 9
13
14 (1) Initiation of Forfeiture Proceedings. Proceedings under this section may be initiated
15by the board or the commission. The board shall notify the member by certified mail when
16proceedings are initiated. If the member refuses the delivery of the mail, it shall be deemed to
17have been received. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, a hearing shall be held no less
18than ten days nor more than ninety days after the member has received notification. The board
19shall conduct the hearing pursuant to the provisions of 840 CMR 10.12. The board shall prepare
20and file with its clerk or secretary a certificate containing its findings and decision, copies of
21which shall be sent to the proper parties within fifteen days after completion of such hearing.
22
23 (2) Forfeiture of a retirement allowance upon conviction. Upon final conviction of a
24felony criminal offense involving violation of the laws applicable to a member's office or
25position or arising out of and in the course of their employment, a member shall be subject to the
26forfeiture provisions of this section. A retirement board, upon notification of such conviction of a
27member, must hold a hearing to determine whether the crimes for which a member was
28convicted involved the laws applicable to the member's office or position or if said criminal
29offenses were committed while the member was in the course of his or her employment, the total
30value of the member's potential retirement benefits, and the amount of said benefits which shall
31be forfeited. For the purposes of this section, 'criminal offense involving violation of the laws
32applicable to a member's office or position,' shall also include, but not be limited to, in the case
33of a member whose primary job responsibilities involve contact with children or any member of
34the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System or a teacher who is a member of the Boston 3 of 9
35Retirement System, a conviction for knowing purchase or possession of visual material of a child
36depicted in sexual conduct under section 29C of chapter 272 of the general laws, or a conviction
37of a sex offense involving a child as defined in section 178C of chapter 6 of the general laws
38whom the member has contact with as part of his or her official duties, or a conviction of any
39other sex offense or sexually violent offense, as those terms are defined in said section 178C, in
40which the victim was any person under the age of 18 whom the member had contact with as part
41of his or her official duties.
42
43 (3) Forfeiture amount. Any member with ten or more years of creditable service on the
44date of the offense who is subject to forfeiture under the foregoing paragraph (2) shall forfeit
45their retirement allowance as determined by the board. A member's allowance shall be reduced
46by either one-third, two-thirds, to a minimum allowance or their right to an allowance shall be
47forfeited entirely. Such minimum allowance shall be equal to the amount a member would
48receive in group 1 having ten years of creditable service and at the minimum age for a group 1
49employee; provided that in no event shall a member whose pension has been reduced to the
50minimum allowance be eligible for any retirement benefit prior to reaching the minimum age for
51a group 1 employee; and provided further that, except in cases of total forfeiture, a reduced
52retirement allowance shall not be reduced below the amount of the annual annuity portion. Such
53reduced allowance shall be payable for the life of the member; provided that, if the member
54retires having elected option (c) the beneficiary shall receive, upon the death of the member, the
55option (c) benefit as if forfeiture had not occurred, based on the age and actual creditable service
56at the time of the member's retirement, if the board determines that the beneficiary (i) had no role
57in the illegal conduct for which the member was convicted, (ii) did not have knowledge of the 4 of 9
58illegal conduct, and (iii) did not commit nor conspire to commit the murder or voluntary
59manslaughter of the member upon whom the retirement allowance is based. In the event the
60entire allowance is forfeited, the member shall not be entitled to receive a retirement allowance
61under the provisions of section one to 28, nor shall any beneficiary be entitled to receive a
62retirement allowance under such provisions on account of such member. Further, in the event of
63total forfeiture, unless otherwise prohibited by law, a member or beneficiary shall receive only a
64return of their accumulated total deductions; provided, however, that the rate of regular interest
65for the purpose of calculating accumulated total deductions shall be zero. Any retirement
66allowance received by a member up to the decision of total forfeiture by a board shall be offset
67against and reduce the accumulated total deductions otherwise due the member. In determining
68the amount of the forfeiture the board must consider and make findings of fact relative to the
69following factors:
70
71 the severity of the crime for which the member was convicted including the sentence
72imposed as well as the maximum sentence provided for by law;
73
74 (2) the amount of monetary loss suffered by the state, municipality, political subdivision,
75or by any other person as a result of the crime for which the member was convicted or the
76financial gain realized by the member;
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78 (3) the degree of public trust reposed in the member by virtue of the member's office or
79position and the degree to which it was violated;
80
81 (4) if the crime was part of a fraudulent scheme against the state or political subdivision,
82the role of the member in the fraudulent scheme;
83
84 (5) any recommendation by the prosecuting attorney or their office to the degree of
85forfeiture; provided further that, any decision by a board to entirely forfeit a member's benefit
86shall be consistent with the recommendation of the prosecuting attorney or their office; and
87
88 (6) any such other factors as, in the judgment of the board, justice may require.
89
90 Any member who has had their retirement allowance forfeited entirely or has had a
91portion of their retirement allowance forfeited under this paragraph shall be ineligible to become
92a member of a different retirement system and is also prohibited from increasing their allowance
93from the forfeited amount except by cost of living increases granted pursuant to sections 102 and
94103.
95
96 Any member who has had their retirement allowance forfeited entirely or has had a
97portion of their retirement allowance forfeited under this paragraph shall cease to be an active 6 of 9
98member of the retirement system and shall be ineligible for membership in any retirement
99system.
100
101 (4) Forfeiture for members having less than ten years of creditable service. Any member,
102having less than ten years of creditable service on the date the offense is committed, who upon
103conviction is subject to the provisions of this section shall forfeit all rights to a retirement
104allowance based upon any creditable service prior to and after the date of the offense and shall
105receive a return of his accumulated total deductions; provided, however, that the rate of regular
106interest for the purpose of calculating accumulated total deductions shall be zero. The member
107shall thereupon cease to be a member in the retirement system and shall be ineligible to become
108a member of any retirement system.
109
110 (5) Notification. If a current employer, last employer, the attorney general or a district
111attorney becomes aware of a final conviction of a member of a retirement system under
112circumstances which may require forfeiture of the member's rights to a pension, or retirement
113allowance pursuant to this chapter, section 59 of chapter 30 or section 25 of chapter 268A, they
114shall immediately notify the retirement board and the commission of such conviction.
115
116 (6) Repayment of allowance. If a member's final conviction of an offense results in a
117forfeiture of rights under this chapter, the member shall forfeit, and the board shall require the
118member to repay all benefits in excess of the allowable amount received after the date of the 7 of 9
119offense of which the member was convicted. Following a member's conviction and partial
120forfeiture, the member's retirement allowance will be reduced, upon such terms and conditions as
121the board may determine, until all excess payment amounts are recovered.
122
123 (7) Misreported Salary. In no event shall any member be entitled to receive a retirement
124allowance under this chapter, which is based upon a salary that was intentionally concealed from
125or intentionally misreported to the commonwealth, or any political subdivision, district or
126authority of the commonwealth. If a member intentionally concealed compensation from or
127intentionally misreported compensation to an entity to which the member was required to report
128the compensation, even if the reporting was not required for purposes of calculating the
129member's retirement allowance, the member's retirement allowance shall be based only upon the
130regular compensation actually reported to that entity or the amount reported to the board,
131whichever is lower. Unless otherwise prohibited by law, such member shall receive a return of
132any accumulated total deductions paid on amounts in excess of the compensation actually
133reported, but no interest shall be payable on the accumulated deductions returned to the member.
134 The board shall notify the commission of any proceedings commenced pursuant to this
135subdivision and shall provide any and all documents relating to said proceedings upon request of
136the commission. Notwithstanding the waiver provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of
137section 21 of chapter 32 of the general laws any calculations performed pursuant to this section
138will be submitted to the commission for approval.
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140 (8) Appeal of Forfeiture. Any person who is aggrieved by a decision made pursuant to
141this section regarding the forfeiture of all or any portion of a member's retirement allowance
142under this section may, within thirty days after the certification of the decision bring a petition in
143the superior court. This action shall be commenced in the superior court in which a member was
144convicted, or in Suffolk Superior Court, or in the Massachusetts Superior Court covering the
145geographic area in which a member resides. The court shall review all legal issues under a de
146novo standard, but may base its determination either on the administrative record below, or may,
147in its discretion, request additional evidence.
148
149 (9) Restitution. If a member has been found to have misappropriated funds or property of
150their employer, restitution may be made using all or a portion of the total deductions of the
151member on account with a retirement system. If restitution is made using the accumulated total
152deductions of the member on account with a retirement system then the annuity portion of any
153retirement allowance will be reduced when a retirement allowance becomes effective or when a
154retirement allowance is resumed, as the case may be. The pension portion of the retirement
155allowance shall remain unchanged from the allowance determined using the accumulated total
156deductions in the member's account prior to restitution.
157
158 SECTION 4. Subdivision 3 of section 16 of said chapter 32 is hereby amended in line 63
159by striking the phrase: "or any member who is aggrieved by any action taken or decision of a
160board or the public employee retirement administration commission rendered with reference to
161his dereliction of duty as set forth in section 15,". 9 of 9
162
163 SECTION 5. Subdivision 3 of section 16 of said chapter 32 is hereby amended in line
164113 by adding after the word "rendered": , except decisions made or actions taken pursuant to
165section 15 of this chapter,.
166
167 SECTION 6. Section 105 of said chapter 32 is hereby amended by adding the following
168paragraph;
169
170 (d) Any member having had their retirement allowance forfeited entirely or having had
171any portion of their retirement allowance forfeited pursuant to section 15 of this chapter shall be
172ineligible for reinstatement to service under the provisions of this section.
173
174 SECTION 7. Paragraph (b) of subdivision (2) of section (8) of chapter 32 is hereby
175amended by inserting in line 105 after the word "compensation": ; provided, however, that any
176member who has had their retirement allowance forfeited entirely or had any portion of their
177retirement allowance forfeited pursuant to section 15 shall not become an active member of the
178retirement system upon reinstatement but shall contribute to the deferred compensation fund
179established by section 64D of chapter 29.