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:
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.