The bill amends various sections of the General Laws related to the Teachers’ Retirement system, affecting the procedure for service retirement and the conditions under which a member may retire and receive a service retirement allowance. It specifies different eligibility criteria based on time periods before and after certain dates, such as July 1, 2005, October 1, 2009, and July 1, 2012. The bill introduces a proportional formula to adjust the minimum retirement age for certain teachers and modifies the early retirement reduction rates, decreasing the cumulative annual reduction from 9% to 3% and the monthly reduction from 0.75% to 0.25% for the first year preceding retirement.

The bill also revises the retirement allowance calculations, changing the calculation from the average highest five consecutive years of compensation to the average highest three consecutive years for members retiring on or after October 1, 2009. It increases the percentage of the teacher’s average compensation used to determine the retirement allowance for service on and after July 1, 2012. A new definition section is introduced, clarifying terms such as "average compensation," "accumulated contributions," and "active member." Additionally, the bill outlines the eligibility for retirement based on age and years of service, vesting requirements, and limitations on purchasing service credits. It imposes an obligation on members to disclose other retirement system memberships and defines penalties for non-cooperation or false statements. The bill includes insertions regarding the retirement allowance and the definition of "domestic partner," while deletions include the previous lower percentage allowances for retirement calculations.

Statutes affected:
6413: 36-8-1