Membership:
March 30, 2011:
Any individual who is permanently employed twenty (20) of more hours per week by the Town of Stoneham or any of its departments, the Stoneham Housing Authority or the Stoneham Retirement Board shall become a member of the Stoneham Retirement System (“System”). In addition to the foregoing, any employee or elected official must earn at least $5,000 per year in regular compensation to be eligible for membership in the System.
Installment Plan
Any member who wishes to purchase past service rendered may do so through the Board’s installment plan which requires that the member remit at least $10 per week for a period not to exceed 5 years. Any amount owed by the member must be paid in full at the completion of the installment plan.
March 23, 2005:
Any individual who is permanently employed by the Town of Stoneham or is permanently employed by any member unit of the Stoneham Retirement System for at least 20 hours per week shall immediately become a member of the Stoneham Retirement System. Individuals who are employed in a temporary capacity by any member unit of the Stoneham Retirement System for at least 20 hours per week for 6 consecutive months shall become members of the Stoneham Retirement System upon completion of said period.
March 23, 1995:
Membership in the Stoneham Contributory Retirement System shall consist of all employees of the Town who are eligible under the General Laws Chapter 32 pertaining to such membership; including part-time and temporary employees when employment is definitely for a period of more than seven (7) days and who work a scheduled minimum of thirty (30) hours per week; school personnel (cafeteria workers, teacher aides, and the ten (10) month school secretaries) however, who work full time for the school year (10 months ) are all given one year of creditable service for each school year that they work, but excluding evening school instructors, employees of the recreational programs under the Park Department, school employees who contract as coaches in school sports programs, teachers employed during summer months and teachers aides under a college co-op plan, police matrons , library pages,. traffic directors, Unicorn part-time temporary personnel including: (golf course/arena laborers, rink guards, cashiers) part-time cafeteria workers, and student engineers under a college co-op plan; and the retirement deduction for employees who are members, shall be made from the date of employment. The Superannuation Retirement Benefits of those members in the Stoneham Contributory Retirement System who only work part time for their entire working career, the creditable service will be calculated at their actual salary at the part time rate.
Creditable Service:
December 10, 2019:
This supplemental regulation's purpose is to codify and consolidate the Stoneham Retirement Board's("Board") creditable service regulations, as amended, into one comprehensive regulation. Accordingly, creditable service for Stoneham Retirement System("System'') members shall be calculated as follows:
- All System members who were members-in-service on February 11,2004 will receive full-time creditable service for all membership service rendered prior to February 11,2004, and for any nonmembership service rendered and purchased prior to February 11,2004. All System members who were members-in-service as of February 11,2004, and who continuously remain members-in-service until retire mentor withdrawal of funds, shall continue to receive full-time creditable service for all membership service rendered.
- All System members who became System members after February11, 2004, including School Department employees who work the entire calendar year, shall receive creditable service as follows:
Members who work consistently full time or work consistently less than 35 hours per week during their entire time as a member of the Stoneham Retirement System will receive full time credit for this service.
Any member who renders both full-time and part-time (less than 35 hours) service shall have the part time service prorated based on the full-time equivalent of the part-time position,i.e.,30, 35, 37.5 or 40 hours per week. If there is no full-time equivalent of the position,35 hours issued.
If there is no full-time equivalent of the position, 35 hours issued. - All School Department System members whose full-time employment requires them to work from on or about September 1stto on or about June 30 th, including but not limited to cafeteria workers, clerical and secretarial staff, teacher's assistants and teaching professionals such as therapists, said employees shall receive creditable service based on 10 months being the equivalent of one year of creditable service.
- Under no circumstances shall any member be able to receive more than a year's crediting any one calendar year.
January 16, 2019:
The Stoneham Retirement Board ("Board") hereby incorporates by reference and amends its April 29, 2008 creditable service regulation as follows, effective with this regulation's approval. All Stoneham Retirement System ("System") members who were members-in-service as defined in M.G.L. c. 32, § 3 on February 11, 2004 shall receive full creditable service for each month and each year of System membership service rendered and credited, and all such service shall be deemed to be full-time service through this regulation's effective date. All System members who became members on or after February 11, 2004, including any member who had prior refunded service, shall receive creditable service consistent with the Board's September 22, 2004 regulation.
April 29, 2008:
Effective July 1, 2008, the Stoneham Retirement Board (“Board”) hereby incorporates by reference and amends its September 22, 2004 creditable service regulation as follows. Any member who is employed in a part-time capacity and has his or her hours temporarily increased from part-time to full-time will not have his or her part-time service prorated. Similarly, any member who is employed in a part-time capacity during his or her entire career with the Town of Stoneham and who either purchases past refunded service rendered in a full-time capacity or transfers into the Stoneham Retirement System with past full-time service rendered in another governmental unit and under the jurisdiction of another retirement board will continue to receive full credit for any part-time service rendered. A member who is employed in a part-time capacity and who purchases past refunded service rendered in a full-time capacity in the Town of Stoneham or a member unit of the Stoneham Retirement System shall have his or her part-time service prorated. The amount of creditable service granted for such prior refunded or full-time service rendered shall be determined by the retirement board which had jurisdiction over said service.
The existing provisions of the Board’s September 22, 2004 regulation not inconsistent with this amendment remain in full force and effect.
September 24, 2004:
Members of the Stoneham Retirement System who wish to purchase creditable service for past service rendered shall do so in the following manner:
- Members who previously rendered service and received a refund of said service, either from this Board or another retirement board under the jurisdiction of G.L. c. 32, are required to purchase the full amount of creditable service rendered, based on the amount withdrawn, together with regular interest. If said service was rendered under the jurisdiction of a retirement board other than this Board, it shall be the sole responsibility of the other retirement board to determine the amount of creditable service rendered, and what liability, if any, said board will accept pursuant to G.L. c. 32, § 3(8)(c). This Board will not accept liability for past refunded service rendered under the jurisdiction of another retirement board.
- Members who previously rendered service in the Town of Stoneham, and who were not eligible to participate in the Stoneham Retirement System, shall be eligible to purchase such past service rendered, in monthly increments, consistent with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 32, § 4(2)(b) and the Board's regulation regarding the calculation of creditable service, i.e. that a full week of creditable service will be based on the number of hours the position required, which are typically 30, 35, 37.5 or 40 hours per week.*
September 22, 2004:
Members of the Stoneham Retirement System who are employed in the Stoneham Public Schools shall receive creditable service for service rendered 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 year of creditable service for each full calendar year in which the employee is receiving regular compensation for said service.
- For a member in service who is employed in a part-time capacity through his/her entire career, he/she will receive one year of creditable service for each full calendar year in which the employee is receiving regular compensation for said service.
- For a member in service who has been employed in both a full-time and part-time capacity, the member will receive full-time credit for full-time service, and prorated service for part-time service based on the full-time equivalency of the weekly hours required for the position, which are typically 30, 35, 37.5 or 40 hours per week.*
- For a member who is employed in a part-time capacity throughout his/her entire career, but who either purchases past refunded service, or who has transferred into the Stoneham Retirement System service rendered in a full-time capacity, the member’s part-time position shall be prorated based on the full-time equivalency of the position. In the case of School Department employees whose full-time employment requires them to work for on or about September 1 to on or about June 30, 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 10 months being the equivalent of one year of creditable service. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board recognizes that certain employees, including but not limited to certain secretaries and custodians, are required to work the entire calendar year, and in such a situation, said employees will receive one year’s credit based on 12 months of employment, and partial year’s credit based on a 12 month year.
- Creditable service for 10 month employees shall be calculated based on the equivalent of 1202.5 hours per year, whereas creditable service for 12 month employees shall be based on the equivalent of 1,566, 1,827, 1,957.5 or 2,088 hours per year depending upon the annual hours required for the position.*
- Any member who purchases past part-time service rendered shall have said service prorated based on 30, 35, 37.5 or 40 hours being considered a full week of service.*
* Effective April 30, 2013, the Stoneham Retirement Board ("Board") hereby incorporates by reference and amends its September 22, 2004 and September 24, 2004 creditable service regulations.
Regular Compensation:
September 21, 2012:
For any individual who becomes a member of the Stoneham Retirement System (“System”) after the effective date of this regulation, creditable service rendered as a compensated elected official will be calculated pursuant to M.G.L. c. 32, § 4(2)(b) for each calendar year served and prorated for any portion thereof. as follows: Town Clerk and Selectman - full credit for actual time served; Individuals who were not eligible for membership in the System or who elected not to become members of the System but who become members of the system after the effective date of this regulation may receive creditable service for non-membership service consistent with this regulation upon remitting to the Board the contributions which would have been withheld from the regular compensation paid to the elected official at the time the service was rendered, together with buyback interest.
Miscellaneous:
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 Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston short-term daily deposit 90-day rate in effect on the date the error was discovered.