Interactive version for payroll administrators
Retirement Application, Part 2

What is this?
What is the process?
What format is this document in?
Frequently asked questions
Go to Retirement Application, Part 2 (4 pages, pdf)

November 5, 2008
UPDATE: New version of Part 2 released

In anticipation of the upcoming retirement season, we have again reviewed and revised our Retirement Application—both Part 1, which is completed by the member, and Part 2, which is completed by employers. Please note, however, the basic process remains the same: members are still to complete Part 1 and provide you with a printed copy of Part 2; you are still to complete Part 2 and return it to the member for sending to us.

For your reference, this new version of Part 2 is different from the “old” version as follows:

Section 3, Salary verification

The boxes for you to list the member’s four consecutive contract years when his or her salaries were the highest have been deleted. The space for you to include this information has been incorporated into the existing “salary history” chart, which has been expanded to accommodate four years’ worth of salary data. The instructions for this section have been updated to reflect that we are asking you to provide the salary information for the three consecutive contract years when the member’s salary was the highest, as well as for the contract year immediately before that period.

Section 5, Current deductions

The same information as before is to be supplied in this section (the member’s earnings and actual and/or projected future MTRS deductions for the four months prior to his or her separation from service from your district). In order to gain space for the expansion of Section 6, however, four rows have been deleted. The “old” version allowed two rows per month for reporting this information; the new version, one. If you used both lines per month in the past, please simply combine your totals on one line.

Section 6, Statement and signature of school department official(s)

There were two changes to this section:

• Statement expanded: The statement to which a school department official is certifying, under the penalties of perjury by his or her signature, has been expanded to read: “the salary reported at page 2, column G, Actual salary paid, does not include any amounts paid to the member based on the school district’s formal or informal knowledge of the member’s intent to retire, or for unused sick leave, early retirement incentives, bonus or severance payments….” For your reference, a similar statement requiring signature by the member has been added to Part 1, Section 3, to ensure that the member is aware of—and understands—what payments do and do not qualify as “regular compensation” toward his or her three-year salary average.
• Additional signature required in certain cases: Individual contracts are unique not only among districts, but also within districts, and may contain various and specialized clauses regarding additional compensation that may or may not qualify as “regular compensation” toward the applicant’s three-year salary average. Accordingly, if the applicant was employed under the terms of an individual contract, Part 2, Section 6 must also be signed by the superintendent of the school district. If the applicant is the superintendent, then the statement must be signed by the chairperson of the school committee.

If you have any questions about our new form, please be sure to contact us.

What is this?

• This is Part 2 of our retirement application.

• It is the service and salary history portion of the application that is to be completed by payroll administrators.

• It is four pages long, and, unlike the Part 2 that appears in the downloadable application that is accessible to members, is interactive, meaning that you can fill it in onscreen.

For your reference, the complete retirement application is available to members at: http://mass.gov/mtrs/2members/20active/intro.htm.

What format is this document in?

• This file is in portable document format (pdf), which is best accessed using Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or later, available for free from the Adobe website. Note: If you have an earlier version of Acrobat Reader, you may still be able to access the document, but if you have any problems, please check your version of Reader and upgrade if necessary.

• As you probably know, however, you will NOT be able to “save” the file with any data that you enter; once you close the document, the fields revert to blank or the default settings.
  
  Accordingly, please be sure to PRINT and PROOFREAD your document BEFORE you close it, as you cannot save your data.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have already completed and/or submitted the previous, four-page version of Part 2. Do I now need to complete this new version?

• No—if you have already completed the “old,” four-page version of Part 2, you do NOT need to complete this new version of Part 2.

If I have not yet completed Part 2 for an applicant, and he or she provides me with the “old,” four-page version, which version of Part 2 should I complete?

• In this case, please complete the new, four-page version of Part 2.

I have suggestions about how the new form can be improved. How do I communicate them to the MTRS?

• We will continue to improve and enhance the application to make it more effective. Your input is always welcome. Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to empsup@trb.state.ma.us.