Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H52

Introduced
1/23/25  

Caption

An annual report of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (under sections 21, 102 and 103 of Chapter 32 of the General Laws) relative to the percentum change in the average cost-of-living as shown by the United States consumer price index for the year 2025 compared with such index for the year 2024

Summary

House 52 is not a substantive policy bill so much as an annual report from the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) to the General Court. It informs the legislature of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) calculation for public employee retirees and beneficiaries under Chapter 32 and Chapter 17 of the Acts of 1997. The report states that the applicable Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) produced a 2.5% COLA for 2025, effective July 1, 2025. The bill also explains that retirement systems that have accepted Chapter 17 may grant this COLA under existing law, and that retirement boards may, with proper notice and at a duly called meeting, increase the percentage up to 3.0% under Chapter 32, Section 103(i). In practical terms, the measure serves as the annual statutory notice that helps determine the benefit increase available to eligible retirees and beneficiaries in Massachusetts public retirement systems.

Impact

H52 does not amend statutes or create new legal obligations; instead, it fulfills a reporting requirement under Chapter 32, Section 21(3)(f), and supports administration of existing public pension law. Its effect is to establish the 2025 COLA benchmark for eligible Massachusetts public retirees and beneficiaries, with a base increase of 2.5% and a possible local board increase up to 3.0% where authorized. The report therefore affects retirement systems, retirement boards, public employee retirees, and beneficiaries by guiding benefit adjustments for the upcoming fiscal year.

Sentiment

The available material suggests generally routine and noncontroversial treatment of the bill. Because the measure is an informational annual report tied to an established COLA formula, there is no recorded committee debate, vote split, or opposition in the provided history. The tone of the filing is administrative and supportive of implementing the existing retirement adjustment framework.

Contention

No specific points of contention appear in the provided record. The only potentially variable issue is the discretion given to retirement boards to raise the COLA from 2.5% to as much as 3.0% after proper notice, which could matter to local legislative bodies and retirement systems. Otherwise, the bill appears to be a standard annual notice with no documented disagreement.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

MA H6238

Effective January 1, 2025, an annual cost-of-living increase, based upon the yearly Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U), to the retirement allowance for all state employees and all beneficiaries to be reinstated.

MA H7391

Reinstates, for all teachers and state employees who retired after July 1, 2012, their annual cost of living adjustment for retirement plan year 2026.

MA S3100

Reinstates, for all teachers and state employees who retired after July 1, 2012, their annual cost of living adjustment for retirement plan year 2026.

MA S03414

Provides cost-of-living adjustments for certain public retirees, including an adjusted benefit in monthly installments that is equal to the percentage of the change in consumer price index according to the included schedule.

MA A05307

Provides cost-of-living adjustments for certain public retirees, including an adjusted benefit in monthly installments that is equal to the percentage of the change in consumer price index according to the included schedule.

MA H5832

Amends powers/duties of the office of the health insurance commissioner to increase total cost of care for services reimbursed under contracts after risk adjustment that exceeds the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers percentage increase.

MA S0681

Amends powers/duties of the office of the health insurance commissioner to increase total cost of care for services reimbursed under contracts after risk adjustment that exceeds the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers percentage increase.

MA S06732

Increases the rate paid by the state to a city for maintenance and repair of highways by the percentage change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA, as published by the United States department of labor bureau of labor statistics, over the prior five years.

MA A04612

Increases the rate paid by the state to a city for maintenance and repair of highways by the percentage change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA, as published by the United States department of labor bureau of labor statistics, over the prior five years.

MA H5525

Exempts teachers and state employees who have been retired for more than three (3) full calendar years, from having their retirement benefit adjustment reduced based upon the funded ratio of the employees' retirement system of Rhode Island.

Similar Bills

No similar bills found.