HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4752
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, May 9, 2022.
The committee on Public Service to whom was referred the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 4529) of Mark J. Cusack, Walter F.
Timilty and John F. Keenan (with approval of the mayor and city council)
that the city known as the town of Braintree be authorized to provide for
the retirement of Richard Seibert, a police officer of said town, reports
recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4752) ought to
pass [Local Approval Received].
For the committee,
KENNETH I. GORDON.
 FILED ON: 4/29/2022
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4752
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
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An Act providing for the retirement of Richard Seibert, a police officer in the city known as the
town of Braintree.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Braintree
2 Retirement Board shall increase the accidental disability retirement allowance payable to
3 Richard Seibert, a retired police officer of the police department of the town of Braintree who, as
4 a result of injuries sustained while in the performance of his duties on June 4, 2021, is totally and
5 permanently incapacitated from performing the essential duties of a police officer.
6 (b) The annual amount of pension payable to Richard Seibert shall be equal to the regular
7 rate of compensation which would have been paid had he continued in service as a police officer
8 of the town of Braintree at the grade held by him at the time of his retirement until his death or
9 reaching mandatory retirement age, whichever comes first. All amounts paid under this act shall
10 be non-taxable to the extent allowable under state and federal law.
11 (c) Notwithstanding section 91A of chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other general
12 or special law to the contrary, Richard Seibert’s annual earnings, when added to his retirement
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13 allowance, may annually earn up to one-half the amount of his retirement allowance without
14 refund penalty.
15 (d) Upon attaining the mandatory retirement age for a police officer of the town of
16 Braintree, Richard Seibert shall receive a pension pursuant to section 7 of said chapter 32, a
17 yearly amount of pension equal to 80 per cent of the annual rate of the compensation he was
18 receiving on the day before he reaches the mandatory retirement age for a police officer in the
19 town of Braintree.
20 (e) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the benefits granted herein
21 shall be funded and administered by the Braintree Retirement Board, consistent with and subject
22 to chapter 32 of the General Laws.
23 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, Richard Seibert
24 shall be entitled to receive indemnification for all hospital, medical and related expenses that
25 have been or may be incurred after the date of his retirement as a result of the injuries sustained
26 by him while in the performance of his duties on June 4, 2021, in accordance with sections 100
27 and 100B of chapter 41 of the General Laws.
28 SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Braintree
29 Retirement Board shall forthwith pay to said Richard Seibert the amount credited to him as
30 accumulated total deductions in the annuity savings fund of the Braintree Retirement Board as of
31 the effective date of this act.
32 SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, if Richard
33 Seibert was married on the date of his injury then, upon his death, if he is still married to the
34 spouse he was married to on the date of injury then, should his spouse to whom he was married
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35 on the date of injury survive him, the retirement board of the town of Braintree shall pay to the
36 spouse an annuity in the amount of 75 per cent of the amount of the pension which otherwise
37 would have been payable to Richard Seibert until the spouse’s death. The pension benefits
38 provided for in this section and section 1 shall be subject to section 103 of chapter 32 of the
39 General Laws.
40 SECTION 5. In the event that both Richard Seibert and his spouse to whom he was
41 married on the date of injury die before their children reach the age of eighteen the payments that
42 would otherwise have been made to his spouse shall be payable, per stirpes, to each surviving
43 children under the age of 18; provided, however, that payments shall continue for the benefit of a
44 surviving child 18 years or older who, on or before the date of death of Richard Seibert or his
45 spouse to whom he was married on the date of injury, whichever is later, had been medically
46 determined to be permanently physically or mentally incapacitated from earning or for the
47 benefit of a child under the age of 22 who is enrolled as a full-time student as determined by the
48 criteria of the educational institution.
49 SECTION 6. The payments provided for in this act shall only be made when Richard
50 Seibert has been re-examined by a medical panel, pursuant to section 6 of chapter 32 of the
51 General Laws, in which a majority of the physicians have re-certified to the Braintree Retirement
52 Board that the member is mentally or physically incapacitated from further duty and that such
53 incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that the disability is such as might be the natural and
54 proximate result of the accident or hazard undergone on account of which retirement is claimed
55 SECTION 7. This act shall take effect as of 03/7/2022.
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