PERAC Memo #15 - 2023: 91A Prosper Tasks

91A Prosper Tasks

Summary

This memo alerts retirement boards to 91A tasks appearing in PROSPER for disability retirees who have failed to file the 2022 Annual Statement of Earned Income or whose reported earnings may require an allowance adjustment under G.L. c. 32, § 91A. Boards must provide written notice and an opportunity for a hearing to non-compliant members; PROSPER will continue sending task alerts every 30 days until a response is entered, and the board must document its action through PROSPER. The memo also previews upcoming Salary Verification tasks in PROSPER and outlines the process for entering 2022 pension and salary data to determine whether disability retirees have exceeded their allowable earnings.

Full Text

PERAC MEMO #15/2023 M E M O R A N D U M TO: All Retirement Boards FROM: John W. Parsons, Esq., Executive Director RE: 91A Prosper Tasks DATE: June 28, 2023 By now you should have noticed that you may have a 91A task in PROSPER if your board has a disability retiree who has failed to meet the filing requirements of the 2022 Annual Statement of Earned Income (91A form), pursuant to G.L. c. 32 § 91A, or if your board has a member that has reported earnings in an amount that may require an adjustment to their disability retirement benefit.
PERAC has already mailed a letter along with another 91A form to be completed by the retiree if they have not complied with the filing requirements for submitting the 2022 91A form.
It is now the responsibility of the retirement board to provide such member with written notice and an opportunity to be heard by the retirement board. In the event of termination of benefits following such hearing, the member shall have the right to appeal such action to the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board (“CRAB”).
PROSPER will prompt you to take Termination Action and will keep sending you task alerts every 30 days if no response is indicated. Once a member complies or if their status changes you will be able to view the update in PROSPER, but you will not receive a notification.
Also, you will soon start to receive tasks titled Salary Verification which will be visible in PROSPER under the Task tab. At this time, we are asking your board to obtain the annual 2022 current salary, as well as retirement allowance figures.
Once figures are obtained you will be required to respond to the PROSPER task. To do this, you must click on each retiree, or export the list to a CSV file, and enter the 2022 annual pension, annuity and current salary amounts, as well as the dependency and workers compensation offset amount, if applicable. The Veterans and COLA amounts should be included in the annual pension amount. Once you are finished with the exported file, you should save it so it may be uploaded back into Prosper.
PERAC Auditor DIANA DIZOGLIO | KATHLEEN M. FALLON | KATE FITZPATRICK | JAMES J. GUIDO | RICHARD MACKINNON, JR. | JENNIFER F. SULLIVAN, ESQ. 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., Chair

M E M O R A N D U M - Page Two TO: All Retirement Boards FROM: John W. Parsons, Esq., Executive Director DATE: June 27, 2023

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. Once PERAC generates the Excess Earnings 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 have exceeded their allowable earnings. If a refund is due to the retirement system, the retiree's allowance may be suspended until the amount owed is recovered, or until the member enters into a payment plan with the board. 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 about the member having excess earnings. 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.

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