The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Section 1. Any person retired on an accidental disability who is receiving a noncontributory retirement allowance and who is a veteran as defined in section 1of chapter 32, shall receive an additional yearly retirement allowance of $15 for each year of creditable service or fraction thereof, but the total amount of this additional yearly retirement allowance shall not exceed $300. This paragraph shall only take effect upon its acceptance by the majority vote of the board of a system, subject to the approval of the legislative body. For purposes of this paragraph, legislative body shall mean in the case of a city the city council in accordance with its charter, in the case of a town the town meeting, in the case of a county the county retirement board advisory council, in the case of a district the district members, in the case of an authority the governing body and in the case of a regional retirement system, the regional retirement board advisory council.
SECTION 2. An additional yearly retirement allowance which would have been payable under section 1 of this act, if that provision had been in effect and for which a member in service would have been eligible at the time of the member's retirement, shall be paid retroactively to the date of each such veteran's retirement. A veteran shall be eligible for payment of a retroactive additional yearly retirement allowance under this section only upon filing an application no later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, in a form that the appropriate retirement board, as defined in chapter 32 of the General Laws, shall prescribe. Payment under this section shall be made in a lump sum or in installments and shall be made in full within 1 year of the receipt of a completed and satisfactory application by the board. No payment shall be made under this act with respect to a person who is deceased. The appropriate retirement board shall provide reasonable notice to eligible retirees about the application process prescribed by this section. This section shall only take effect upon its acceptance by the majority vote of the board of a system, subject to the approval of the legislative body. For purposes of this paragraph, legislative body shall mean, in the case of a city, the city council in accordance with its charter, in the case of a town, the town meeting, in the case of a county, the county retirement board advisory council, in the case of a district, the district members, in the case of an authority, the governing body and in the case of a regional retirement system, the regional retirement board advisory council.