Membership:
July 25, 2007
Upon becoming a member of the Lawrence Retirement System, any member may purchase any past service rendered as a part-time, provisional, temporary, temporary provisional, seasonal or intermittent employee, provided that the member remits to the Lawrence Retirement Board the appropriate amount of contributions that would have been withheld, together with regular interest, had he or she been a member of the System at the time the service was rendered. It shall be the sole responsibility of the member to obtain and provide to the Board verification of this past service rendered, including but not limited to W-2 Forms and payroll records verified by the payroll coordinator for the employer or any other employee who has the similar duties of the payroll coordinator indicating the amount of compensation received and amount of hours worked for each calendar year in which service is sought to be purchased. In the event that any or all of such original documentation is unavailable, the Board may exercise its discretion pursuant to M.G.L. c. 32, § 20(5)(c)(l), on a case by case basis, to accept alternative documentation to verify said service and compensation.
April 25, 2005
Effective April 25, 2005, any individual who is permanently employed for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week by the City of Lawrence, the Lawrence Public Schools or any member unit of the Lawrence Retirement System (“System”), shall immediately become a member of the System. Police Department crossing guards do not meet the required 20 hour minimum, and are no longer eligible for city benefits, therefore shall not be eligible for membership in the Lawrence Retirement System.
May 21, 2003
Any individual who is permanently employed for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week by the City of Lawrence, Lawrence Public Schools or any member unit of the Lawrence Retirement System (“System”), shall immediately become a member of the System. So-called “permanent” and/or “long-term” substitute teachers shall not be considered permanent employees and shall not be eligible for new membership in the Lawrence Retirement System. Individuals who are appointed, rather than elected by a direct vote of the people, to boards, commissions and similar entities in the City of Lawrence shall not be eligible to join the system.
Creditable Service:
May 1, 2013
Members of the Lawrence Retirement System shall receive creditable service, in whole month increments, consistent with this regulation in the following manner:
- For a member in service who is employed in a full-time capacity, he/she will receive one (1) month of creditable service for each full month for which the employee receives regular compensation and remits the appropriate contributions to the Lawrence Retirement System, with said service not to exceed one (1) year of creditable service in any calendar year.
- For a member in service who is employed in a part-time capacity throughout his/her entire career, he/she will receive one (1) month of creditable service for each full month for which the employee receives regular compensation and remits the appropriate contributions to the Lawrence Retirement System, with said service not to exceed one (1) year of creditable service in any calendar year.
- For a member who has rendered membership service in the Lawrence Retirement System in both a full-time and part-time capacity, the member shall receive full credit for all full-time service and prorated credit for part-time service based on the full-time equivalency of 35 hours per week.
- In the case of School Department employees whose full-time employment requires them to work from on or about September 1st to on or about June 30th, including but not limited to cafeteria workers, clerical and secretarial staff, teacher’s assistant and teaching professionals, such as therapists, said employees shall receive one month of creditable service for each full month the employee is receiving regular compensation, with ten (10) months being the equivalent of one (1) year of creditable service. School Department employees who are employed in a part-time
July 25, 2007
For members who purchase such past service rendered as a part-time, provisional, temporary, temporary provisional, seasonal or intermittent employee, creditable service shall be calculated based on 1040 hours of compensated employment in the aggregate being the equivalent of one (1) year of creditable service. Members shall be credited with full months and full years of past service rendered and purchased.
July 25, 2007
Any member who received remuneration or payment in the form of cash for services rendered will not be considered an employee and will be precluded from purchasing any such past service rendered. The Board does not permit the purchase of past service rendered as a coach, assistant coach, referee, sports time keeping, life guard, substitute teachers, crossing guards, appointed officials or any other position which is paid via 1099 Form rather than a W-2 form.]
Regular Compensation:
Miscellaneous:
August 30, 2024
CREDIT CARD USE
SECTION I. PURPOSE:
The purpose of this regulation is to establish guidelines and procedures for the use of Board issued credit cards for purchases of goods and services, as well as for Board approved educational travel and costs associated therewith.
SECTION II. AUTHORITY:
The Board is adopting this regulation consistent with 840 CMR 15.05.
SECTION III. OBJECTIVES:
The primary objective of the credit card regulation is to establish guidelines for the Board to purchase goods and/or services as necessary to administer the retirement system and/or for Board member and staff travel related expenses incurred while attending educational conferences and/or seminars. Specifically:
- To facilitate a streamlined method of purchasing items thereby reducing paperwork and processing time;
- To eliminate the need for several “store” issued credit cards and to consolidate purchases on one credit card;
- To provide a method of purchasing items via the Internet, thereby taking advantage of more competitive pricing for certain goods; and
- To eliminate the need for Board staff to utilize their own personal funds and/or credit cards to procure goods and/or services for the Board and the retirement system’s effective and efficient operation.
SECTION IV. SCOPE:
The Board will oversee the issuance of the credit cards in accordance with this regulation, and only the Executive Director/Director/Administrator shall be authorized to use the card consistent with this regulation. The overall credit limit for the Board shall not exceed $25,000. Each good and service purchase shall be preceded by a competitive procurement process by which the Board or the Executive Director/Director/Administrator seeks bids/pricing from reputable and established vendors who are in the business of providing the good or service. The process undertaken to procure a good or service that is not otherwise covered by M.G.L. c. 32, § 23B shall be memorialized and become part of the permanent file that is maintained consistent with this regulation, as must any documentation the vendor submits as part of the procurement process.
SECTION V. CREDIT CARD USE:
The credit card is to be used for Board and retirement system purchases only. Use of the credit card for personal purchases or expenses with the intention of reimbursing the Board is strictly prohibited. Cash advances through bank tellers or automated teller machines, obtaining bank or traveler’s checks or electronic cash transfers are strictly prohibited.
The Executive Director/Director/Administrator shall be responsible for purchases within established credit limits and shall maintain a file that is solely for the use of retaining receipts (electronic, paper or otherwise) for each purchase or credit card use. The receipts must be provided to the Board within 10 business days of the monthly statement date. If a receipt for the purchase of a good or service or pertaining to education/travel is not provided, the authorized user must reimburse the Board for the cost of the good, service or education-related expense. The Board shall be responsible for ensuring that any purchases with a Board credit card are consistent with this regulation. The Board shall review the credit card statement monthly at its regularly scheduled meeting to ensure that all credit card use is consistent with this regulation. Purchases for a good or service that exceeds $1,000 requires prior Board approval, or if the purchase is time sensitive, the Chair’s or Vice Chair’s prior approval.
If a return or exchange is required, the Executive Director/Director/Administrator shall verify that proper credit was received from the vendor and submit the appropriate paperwork to the Board for its review at a regularly scheduled monthly meeting. In no case shall the Executive Director/Director/Administrator accept cash in exchange for a returned item.
It is the responsibility of the Executive Director/Director/Administrator to notify the Board, the financial institution that issued the card and the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (“PERAC”) immediately if there is any suspected fraudulent activity on the credit card. It is essential that time frames and documentation requirements established by the credit card issuer be followed to protect the Board’s rights in a dispute.
The credit card bill shall be paid in full and on or before the due date so as not to incur any interest charges.
SECTION VI: COMPLIANCE/CANCELLATION OF CREDIT CARD:
Continued or repeated non-conformance to this regulation will result in the cancellation of the credit card account and such other actions as appropriate.
SECTION VII: EFFECTIVE DATE:
This regulation shall become effective upon PERAC approval.
April 16, 2024
Electronic Signature
Electronic Signatures are permitted for forms/documents pertaining to the Lawrence Retirement Board ("Board") and Lawrence Retirement System ("System"), with the exception of the following:
- Application for Voluntary Superannuation Retirement
- Application for Withdrawal of Accumulated Total Deductions (Refund Form)
- Biennial Affidavits
- Member's Application for Disability Retirement
- Option Selection Form
- Physician's Statement Pertaining to a Member's Application for Disability Retirement
Electronic signatures will be accepted through email, fax, and the System member units internal data sharing files via a scanned document. Digital signatures will only be accepted on forms that originate from within the Board and/or PERAC prescribed forms. Upon completion, the forms will be recorded, maintained and secured in accordance with the Board's internal controls.
In accordance with the provisions of 840 CMR 28.00 et seq., the Board will institute and maintain appropriate security procedures for the execution of forms by way of electronic signatures, as authorized herein to verify that an electronic signature, digital signature, record or performance is that of the specific person executing the forms or for detecting changes or errors in the information in an electronic or digital record.
Nothing contained herein compels the use of electronic signatures if a member or beneficiary wishes to use a "wet signature" in lieu of an electronic signature for execution of the forms set forth herein.
October 25, 2016
Correction of Errors
In all cases in which a benefit calculation error occurs that results in an underpayment or non-payment of a pension or benefit to a member or beneficiary, or in the event of any overpayment as the result of an error to a member or beneficiary, the Board shall, consistent with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 32, § 20(5)(c) pay to or collect from the member or beneficiary, as the case may be, the actuarial equivalent of the benefit paid or received in error. Pursuant to the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Herrick v. Essex Regional Retirement Board, 465 Mass. 801 (2013) and PERAC Memorandum #32/2013, the Board has determined that the actuarial equivalent requires that the interest to be applied will be calculated for each calendar year based on the 10-year Treasury rate in effect on January 1st of each year.