Mass. educator unions demand fair fix to decades-long issue with RetirementPlus program

Local leaders representing member-educators in 219 Massachusetts school districts delivered a powerful message to state lawmakers: Fix the RetirementPlus injustice now.

Union leaders representing the Massachusetts Teachers Association, AFT Massachusetts, Boston Teachers Union and hundreds of local education associations delivered a joint letter to legislative budget conference committee members to fix a longstanding inequity that has locked thousands of veteran educators out of enhanced retirement benefits.

These public school teachers dedicated their careers to Massachusetts students but fell victim to an often confusing rollout when RetirementPlus was launched in 2001, and now union leaders are calling on lawmakers to include a critical fix in the final FY2026 budget.

This past spring, the state House of Representatives took decisive action, including budget language that would provide educators with this one-time opportunity to buy back into the program.

“There is now a clear path forward for fixing this decades-old problem for teachers hired before July 1, 2001, and we are reaching out to you today to ask that you please include a fair fix for this RetirementPlus problem in the final version of the FY26 state budget,” the joint letter to the conference committee states.

We are asking for a fair fix in the FY26 state budget.

MTA, AFT & BTU leadership and 219 affiliates

“Every day, veteran teachers ask us the same question: When will this be fixed?" said MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy. "These are educators who've dedicated their careers to Massachusetts students but now face working extra years because of the state's enrollment failures from over two decades ago. Our teachers deserve justice, and the Legislature has the power to deliver it now.”

“After years of advocacy, we are energized to see movement to fully address the issues around the original rollout of RetirementPlus, which continue to impact teachers nearly a quarter of a century later," said American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang. "We urge the conferees to include the language from the House budget to provide some of our state's longest-serving teachers with the equitable and secure retirement they deserve.”

Background

• The RetirementPlus fix has achieved remarkable legislative momentum, with 90 House representatives and 28 senators co-sponsoring H.2932/S.1884 and four additional senators supporting the budget amendment (32 total cosponsors) – majority support in both branches—that ranks among the highest co-sponsorship levels in the current legislative session.
• Massachusetts teachers enrolled in RetirementPlus receive enhanced retirement calculations with an additional 2% on their first $30,000 of earnings. To qualify for benefits, teachers must:
• Complete at least 30 years of creditable service.
• Serve as a teacher for at least 20 of those years.
• Contribute 11% of their annual salary to the retirement system.
• When Massachusetts launched RetirementPlus in 2001, the state allowed enhanced retirement benefits for teachers willing to contribute 11% of their total salary instead of the standard rate. The program automatically enrolled most teachers hired after July 1, 2001, but required teachers hired before that date to navigate a confusing six-month enrollment window.
• In 2022, a law was passed allowing teachers hired on or after July 1, 2001 who had prior creditable service in another contributory retirement system to have a new opportunity to join RetirementPlus.
• Today all newly hired teachers are automatically enrolled in RetirementPlus.
• Administrative chaos excluded thousands of dedicated Massachusetts educators through no fault of their own, including:
• Missing enrollment forms that never reached teachers.
• Misleading communications convinced teachers they had enrolled when they hadn't.
• Many teachers on paternal leave missed enrollment opportunities entirely.
• Paycheck deductions showing “9+2%” caused some school HR offices to tell teachers that they were enrolled in RetirementPlus.
  
  
• An August 2023 ruling by the state Division of Administrative Law Appeals slammed the door shut, declaring that teachers from 2001 cannot join RetirementPlus after missing the original deadline, “even in sympathy-provoking cases, and even if the teacher received no notice.” This unfortunate but clear statement from DALA makes passing legislation the only way to rectify this unfair process.

• The proposed fix would provide a one-time window for these teachers to buy into the RetirementPlus program and secure the enhanced retirement benefits they should have received decades ago.

• If approved by lawmakers, Massachusetts teachers electing to enroll would pay the difference between what they have paid in deductions since 2001 and what they would have paid if they had opted in at the time. This “make-up amount” could be paid through a payment plan or in one lump-sum and would be paid to their retirement system prior to retirement.

Read letter Calling for RetirementPlus Fix Read more about RetirementPlus

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