PERAC Memo #13 - 2022: 2021 Salary Verification Request

PERAC MEMO # 13/2022 M E M O R A N D U M TO: All Retirement Boards FROM: John W. Parsons, Esq., Executive Director RE: 2021 Salary Verification Request DATE: June 2, 2022 As you know, G.L. c. 32, § 91A provides for an adjustment of a disability retiree’s allowance if the earnings of the retiree, when added to his or her retirement allowance, exceeds the amount of regular compensation which would have been payable to such retiree if he or she had continued in service in the grade held at time of retirement, plus $15,000. PERAC has sent, through PROSPER, a task titled “Salary Verification”, which is found on the Task Overview, under the PROSPER Task tab. At this time, we are asking your board to obtain the annual current salary, as well as retirement allowance figures in order to make this determination for the retirees listed.
Once figures are obtained you will be required to respond to the PROSPER task. In order to do this, you must click on each retiree, or export the list to a CSV file, and enter the 2021 annual pension, annuity and current salary amounts, as well as the dependency and workers compensation offset amount, if applicable. Please remember that the Veterans and COLA amounts should be included in the annual pension amount, and the annual Current Salary should include all incentives, such as Education, Longevity, Shift Differential, and Holidays.
Once all the figures are entered, click on the submit button, and PROSPER will do the calculation to determine if the retiree is within their allowable earnings. If, after you hit submit and learn that the figures are incorrect, you must contact Sandra King to make any changes.
If the retiree has exceeded their allowable earnings PERAC will send the retiree an Excess Earnings letter. If the retiree did not exceed their allowable earnings you will see their status change to OK in PROSPER.
Once PERAC generates the excess letter, your board will receive a task through PROSPER notifying you of the excess. The boards will also need to provide notice to the retiree that they PERAC Auditor SUZANNE M. BUMP | KATHLEEN M. FALLON | KATE FITZPATRICK | JAMES M. MACHADO | RICHARD MACKINNON, JR. | JENNIFER F. SULLIVAN JOHN W. PARSONS, ESQ., Executive Director FIVE MIDDLESEX AVENUE, SUITE 304 | SOMERVILLE, MA 02145 PH 617 666 4446 | FAX 617 628 4002 | TTY 617 591 8917 | WWW.MASS.GOV/PERAC COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS | PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION PHILIP Y. BROWN, ESQ., Chairman

M E M O R A N D U M - Page Two TO: All Retirement Boards FROM: John W. Parsons, Esq., Executive Director RE: 2021 Salary Verification Request DATE: June 2, 2022

have exceeded their allowable earnings. If a refund is due to the retirement system, the retiree's allowance will be suspended until the amount owed is recovered, starting with the next monthly pension benefit. If a hearing is requested by said member(s), the process should be completed so that refunds would commence with the next pension benefit. All documents needed for hearings are now viewable to the boards through PROSPER.

Your board must reply to the PROSPER task of the action taken with regard to the member having excess earnings. The options to respond can be seen below. You will also be given the option to upload a copy of the notification that your board will send your member.

Thank you for your cooperation regarding this process. If you have questions or need any assistance in entering the figures into PROSPER, please contact Sandra King at Sandra.e.king@mass.gov.

/cjc P:/admin/perac memos/Memo #13/2022.docx