An Act To Ensure the Proportional Offset against Retirement Benefits of Workers' Compensation Awards
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0949
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: JOHNSON, GILBERT, JACKSON, PATRICK, CAMPBELL, MASTRACCIO
Amends: 39-A MRSA §221

Legislative Document 
No. 949 
S.P. 327 
In Senate, March 12, 2013 
An Act To Ensure the Proportional Offset against Retirement 
Benefits of Workers' Compensation Awards 
Reference to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator JOHNSON of Lincoln. 
Cosponsored by Representative GILBERT of Jay and 
Senators: JACKSON of Aroostook, PATRICK of Oxford, Representatives: CAMPBELL of 
Newfield, MASTRACCIO of Sanford. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  39-A MRSA §221, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 1995, c. 76, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  The employer's obligation to pay or cause to be paid weekly benefits other than 
benefits under section 212, subsection 2 or 3 is reduced by the following amounts: 
(1)  Fifty percent of the amount of the old-age insurance benefits received or 
being received under the United States Social Security Act.  For injuries 
occurring on or after October 1, 1995, such a reduction may not be made if the 
old-age insurance benefits had started prior to the date of injury or if the benefits 
are spouse's benefits; 
(2)  The after-tax amount of the payments received or being received under a 
self-insurance plan or a wage continuation plan or under a disability insurance 
policy provided by the same employer from whom benefits under section 212 or 
are received if the employee did not contribute directly to the plan or to the 
payment of premiums regarding the disability insurance policy. If the self-
insurance plans, wage continuation plans or disability insurance policies are 
entitled to repayment in the event of a workers' compensation benefit recovery, 
the insurance carrier shall satisfy the repayment out of funds the insurance carrier 
has received through the coordination of benefits provided for under this section; 
(3)  The proportional amount, based on the ratio of the employer's contributions 
to the total insurance premiums for the policy period involved, of the after-tax 
amount of the payments received or being received by the employee pursuant to a 
disability insurance policy provided by the same employer from whom benefits 
under section 212 or 213 are received, if the employee did contribute directly to 
the payment of premiums regarding the disability insurance policy; 
(4)  The after-tax amount of the pension or retirement payments received or being 
received pursuant to a plan or program established or maintained by the same 
employer from whom benefits under section 212 or 213 are received, if the 
employee did not contribute directly to the pension or retirement plan or 
program; 
(5)  The proportional amount, based on the ratio of the employer's contributions 
to the total contributions to the plan or program, of the after-tax amount of the 
pension or retirement payments received or being received by the employee 
pursuant to a plan or program established or maintained by the same employer 
from whom benefits under section 212 or 213 are received, if the employee did 
contribute regardless of whether the employee contributed directly to the pension 
or retirement plan or program; and 
(6)  For those employers who do not provide a pension plan, the proportional 
amount, based on the ratio of the employer's contributions to the total 
contributions made to a qualified profit sharing plan under the United States 
Internal Revenue Code, Section 401(a) or any successor to the United States 
Internal Revenue Code, Section 401(a) covering a profit sharing plan that 
provides for the payment of benefits only upon retirement, disability, death, or 
other separation of employment to the extent that benefits are vested under the 
plan. 
SUMMARY 
Current law allows workers' compensation awards to be offset by the full after-tax 
amount of a pension or retirement benefit received by an injured employee, for those 
employees that did not contribute directly to the pension or retirement plan or program.  
For employees that did contribute to their pension or retirement plan or program, their 
workers' compensation awards are offset only by the proportional amount that the 
employer contributed to their plan. 
This bill would allow for the same proportional offset of pension and retirement 
benefits, based on the employer's contributions to the pension or retirement program, to 
apply to workers' compensation awards regardless of whether or not the employee had 
contributed directly to the pension or retirement plan or program.