2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions › Chapter 32 - Retirement Systems and Pensions › Section 91a - Adjusted Pension or Retirement Allowances

Section 91A. Every person pensioned or retired under any general or special law for disability, including accidental disability, shall in each year on or before April fifteenth subscribe, under the penalties of perjury, and file with the commission a statement, in such form as the commission shall prescribe, certifying the full amount of his earnings from earned income during the preceding year. Such pensioned or retired person shall annually submit to the commission all pertinent W–2 forms, 1099 forms, other requested tax forms and proof of income, and any other documentation requested by the commission; provided, however, that the commission may waive such filing by a member, if said member shall have been retired for more than 20 years, has not reported any earnings for the prior 10 years and signs an affidavit under the pains and penalties of perjury indicating that should the member realize any earned income in the future the member will forthwith notify the commission of that fact and again report under this section. Said forms and information shall be submitted on or before April fifteenth of each year. If such pensioned or retired person fails to submit such statement or such forms, and unless such person shall show good cause for such failure to submit such statements to the commission, the member's rights in and to the retirement allowance provided for in section six and seven shall terminate until the member has complied with his reporting requirements under this section. If such earnings exceed an amount which when added to the member's retirement allowance is greater than the amount of regular compensation which would have been payable to such member if such member had continued in service in the grade held by him at the time he was retired plus $15,000, said member shall refund the portion of his retirement allowance for such preceding year equal to such excess and until such refund is made, his pension or retirement allowance shall be held as security therefor. Prior to any termination or reduction of benefits pursuant to this section, the member shall be given a written notice and an opportunity to be heard by the retirement board and, upon such termination or reduction of benefits, shall have the right to appeal such action to the contributory retirement appeal board. A member shall not be entitled to recover a retirement allowance for any period during which the member's rights in and to his retirement allowance were terminated for failure to submit a statement to the commission under this section. After written notice and opportunity to be heard by the board, termination of a member's rights in and to a retirement allowance for failure to submit a statement to the commission shall be considered by the board to be effective as of the date that such statement was due to be submitted to the board. If a retirement allowance was paid to a member for any period during which such member's rights in and to a retirement allowance were terminated for failure to submit a statement to the commission, such member shall refund the portion of his retirement allowance attributable to such period.