Membership:
September 26, 2013:
With the exception of on-call fire and police employees, employees and elected officials of all member units of the Northampton Retirement Board who earn less than $5,000 per year are ineligible for membership.
March 30, 2006:
This policy supersedes and replaces all previous membership policies of this board.
All permanent employees of the city working a minimum of 20 hours per week shall become members of the Northampton Retirement System.
All permanent school employees who work more than 20 hours per week and who are not eligible for membership in the Teachers Retirement System shall become members of the Northampton Retirement System.
Elected officials may join the system and have 90 days from the date of assuming office to elect to do so.
All on-call fire and police employees shall become members of the Retirement System, with creditable service to be determined at the time the employees become permanent employees.
Those employees who are temporary or intermittent and later become permanent shall join the Retirement System, and will have the option of buying back their previous temporary service.
Members of the System who drop below the minimum requirements for membership will remain members of the System and will continue to make contributions.
All members who work at least 20 hours per week will be considered full-time for purposes of calculating creditable service.
Those members who are working less than 20 hours per week, and those members buying back previous service of less than 20 hours per week, will have service calculated as a percentage of the 20-hour full-time rate, e.g. 10 hours will be considered halftime, and 5 hours will be considered one-fourth time.
School employees who work the entire school year and return the following September will be granted a full-year of creditable service. Employees who leave at the end of the school year will: be granted credit through their date of resignation.
Creditable Service:
September 25, 2014:
No liability will be accepted for members of other Systems for any period in which the member was not eligible for membership in the Northampton Retirement System unless the service was purchased prior to the cessation of active membership with the Northampton Retirement System.
March 30, 2006:
This policy supersedes and replaces all previous creditable service policies of this board.
Active members may buyback service previous to membership and may buyback previous service that was refunded to them.
No liability will be accepted for employees of other Systems who were never active members of the Northampton Retirement System.
Prior service that was at least 20 hours per week will be considered full-time. Service less than 20 hours will be prorated as a percentage of the 20-hour minimum.
Military buybacks are calculated at an annualized 35-hour salary based on the rate listed on the membership form, and as verified by the deductions received. When no salary information is given, salary will be estimated using the first full 12 months of deductions.
Where information is sufficient to prove that the employee was employed by Northampton, every effort will be made to make an accurate estimate of the creditable service and of the salaries earned. The Retirement Board is the final arbiter of service granted in cases where full employment records are not available.
All buybacks must be completed prior to retirement and no creditable service will be granted until the buyback is complete.
Once a buyback is begun, it must be completed within 3 years. For buybacks greater than $4,000, members can take up to 4 years to complete it. Payback schedules longer than 4 years require board approval.
Regular Compensation:
December 20, 1984:
Retirement deductions are to be taken only on the funds paid to [members on National Guard duty] on the funds paid to them by the federal government. (National Guardsmen receive from the City for their summer tours, the difference between pay from the city and what the federal government allows. They do not lose any time in creditable service for the weeks they must spend with the Guard).
It is the policy of the system that any members who have another salaried position within the city must have deductions withheld from both salaries for retirement purposes. This does not apply to persons employed intermittently by the recreation department or persons paid as election workers. It applies to employees such as the Planning Department secretary who is also secretary to the Planning Board and is paid an additional bi-yearly sum for attending monthly evening meetings and taking minutes.
Miscellaneous:
August 10, 2022
Election Regulation Addendum
Approved by the Northampton Retirement Board at its regular meeting of July 28, 2022:
Candidates who provide a biography of no more than 250 words prior to the predetermined deadline on the Election Schedule will qualify to have it included with the ballots. Recommended topics are: (1) experience, (2) knowledge of retirement board functions, and (3) personal interest in serving. The Board will not otherwise assist in the physical or electronic distribution of campaign materials, or provide addresses of any members, active, inactive or retired.
The Election Officer reserves the right to reject biography submissions that do not follow the described format or are inflammatory, offensive or derogatory. Rejected biographies may be resubmitted following revision. The Election Officer reserves the right to accept revisions after the deadline within operational time constraints. Per regulation 840 CMR 7.02 of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, “any person aggrieved by a determination of an Election officer may appeal to the Board.”
May 16, 2017
Election Policy
This policy, which serves to supplement PERAC regulations 840 CMR 7.00, supersedes and replaces all previous election policies of this board.
Elections will conducted entirely by mail. Candidates will be listed on the official ballot in the order determined by a random drawing, conducted by the election officer. If the incumbent elected member is nominated, he or she has the right to be identified as such on the official ballot.
Candidates will not be given a mailing list of active members, inactive members or retirees. Candidates may provide material in postage-paid envelopes or postcards for mailing to active members, and/or inactive members, and/or retirees.
Notice of elections shall be mailed to each retired member and the last known address of each inactive member. Notice shall also be given via email to all city employees with city email addresses. In addition, the notice shall be distributed for public posting at each unit, including each city department and each library.
Ballots shall be mailed to all active, inactive and retired members of the system at their last known address at least 21 days prior to the election date. Ballots must be accompanied with a return envelope that must include a space where the voter must sign his or her name and provide an address. Members will be responsible for return postage. All ballots must be received by the close of business on election day.
Returned ballots shall remain sealed until election day. Inside ballot envelopes shall be separated from outside envelopes on the day of the election, prior to tabulation.
Ballots shall be tabulated only by persons designated by the board under the direction of the Election Officer. The board shall notify each candidate of the time and location of the tabulation of the ballots and shall permit all candidates, or their representatives, to be present at the tabulation. At least two individuals shall be responsible for counting the ballots.
The board shall notify each candidate, in writing, within seven days after the election. Additionally, the election results will be posted to the board's official website, emailed to all city departments and units, and noted in the next available retirement check/notice of-deposit mailing.
PERAC regulations 840 CMR 7.00
March 30, 2006:
Retirement Payroll
Retirement checks are mailed on the next-to-last business day of the month and are dated the last business day of the month.
With each change in board membership or staff, a notice will be sent to the treasurer including the eligible signatures for signing warrants, and stating that the treasurer is authorized to release funds upon receipt of a warrant signed by any two of the board members listed, or alternatively signed by the retirement administrator and any one of the board members listed.
When the monthly board meeting falls after the date of the warrants to pay direct deposits and to mail retirement checks, the retirement administrator is authorized to sign the payroll warrant. When the board meeting schedule may lead to late fees or other problems, the retirement administrator is authorized to sign an accounts payable warrant. Any such warrant must be signed by one board member. Any such warrant so signed will be presented at the next meeting for board approval.
Retirement checks which are lost in the mail will be replaced after 5 days, provided the retiree agrees to return the original check if received. If the retiree should later cash the original check, the overpayment will be deducted from his/her next retirement check, and all future requests for replacement checks will require stop payment of the original check and a waiting period for the treasurer to assure the check has not been cashed before a replacement check can be issued, and the retiree will be charged a stop-payment fee equal to the rate charged by the Board's bank.
New Retirements
New retirees will be paid beginning the work-day following their last paid day of employment or on their requested date of retirement, whichever comes last. Partial months of retirement will be prorated based on a 30-day month (e.g. if a person retires on the 15th of the month and is paid for the 15th, their retirement pay will start on the 16th and will be equal to one-half month's pay).
Accounts Payable
When the board meeting schedule leads to late-payment fees or other problems, bills may be paid prior to the warrant and marked as pre-released on the warrant. Currently, this policy would apply only to the bottled water bill, the newspaper subscription, and to hotel reservations.
Payroll Certification
Retirees and survivors are not required to have their signatures notarized. Those signing the payroll certification form under power of attorney will be required to have the form notarized.
Pursuant to our authority, this rule, and a list of all retirement boards which have submitted supplementary rules, shall be kept on file within the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission and shall be available upon request. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact this office.
December 20, 1984:
Public Records:
Financial records, actual account amounts and medical records of members and former members are not public records.