(2) Annuity and Pension Fund.

A. Deposits by Members. Each member shall deposit in this fund from his salary or wages, as often as the same are payable, not less than one per cent and not more than five per cent of the amount of his wages or salary, as determined by the board of retirement under the provisions of section four (5): provided, however, that employees who receive more than $30 weekly in salary or wages shall not be assessed for contribution to this fund on the excess above that amount.

B. Contributions of the Commonwealth. (a) Each month the commonwealth shall contribute such amount as the board of retirement may determine to be necessary to pay current pensions for subsequent service, under § 6 (2) C (a).

(b) Each year the commonwealth shall contribute such amount as is necessary to guarantee regular interest and make good any deficiency in the annuity fund, as of the preceding thirty-first day of December. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 5, as last am. by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 104.]1

(c) Each month the commonwealth shall contribute such amount as the board of retirement may determine to be necessary to pay current pensions for prior service under § 6 (2) C (b).

(d) Each month the commonwealth shall contribute such amount as the board of retirement may determine to be necessary to ensure the minimum payments provided for in § 6, E.

Members of the teachers' retirement association, established by Acts, 1913, c. 832, who enter the service of the commonwealth, shall have the full amount of their contributions, with interest thereon as determined by the teachers' retirement board, transferred by the treasurer of the commonwealth to the retirement fund established by Acts, 1911, c. 532, as amended, and these amounts shall thereby become a part of their deposits.

(3) Provisions for Payments.

All amounts payable by members of the association under paragraph (2) A of this section shall be deducted by the commonwealth from the amounts payable to them as salary or wages, as often as the same are payable, and shall immediately be credited to the retirement fund by the state treasurer. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 5, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1915, c. 198, § 2.]

DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

702. Administering the funds. The state treasurer shall administer the funds of the pension system in accordance with the following plan:

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(2) Annuity and Pension Funds.

A. Refunds. - (a) Should a member of the association cease to be an employee of the commonwealth for any cause other than death, or to enter the service of the public schools as defined by Acts, 1913, c. 832, § 1, ¶ 5, before becoming entitled to a pension, there shall be refunded to him all the money paid in by him under § 5, (2) A, with

1 In effect February 1, 1920. See Gen. Acts, 1919, c. 5.

such interest as shall have been earned thereon. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 6, as last am. by Acts, 1914, c. 582, and by Gen. Acts, 1915, c. 197, § 3.]

B. Annuities from employees' deposits.1. . . (b) A life annuity, payable monthly, with the provision that in the event of the death of the annuitant before receiving payments equal to the sum, at the date of his retirement, of his deposits under section five, (2) A, with such interest as shall have been earned thereon, the difference shall be paid to his legal representatives, provided that this form of annuity shall not be paid unless the amount of his accumulations will provide an annuity of one hundred dollars or more. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 6, and by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 105.]

C. Pensions derived from contributions by the commonwealth.1 - (a) Pensions based upon subsequent service. Any member entitled to an annuity under paragraph (2) B of this section shall receive in addition thereto a pension for life payable monthly equivalent to that annuity to which he would be entitled if his annuity were figured under (2) B (a) of this section, to be paid out of the fund contributed by the commonwealth under the provisions of section five, (2) B (a). For the purpose of computing the pension for subsequent service of any member who has left a position in the service of the commonwealth for which a non-contributory pension is provided to take a position subject to this act, he shall be credited with regular accumulated contributions to the annuity fund during his period of service in said former position since June 1, 1912. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 6, ¶ (2) C (a), and by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 106.]

(b) [paragraph 4.] . . . If the accumulated contributions of any employee retired under the provisions of this act exceed the amount required to provide an annuity equal to one fourth of the average annual rate of1 wages or salary of such employee during the last ten years prior to his retirement, the excess above that amount shall be paid to such employee in a lump sum with the first monthly payment on the account of his retiring allowance. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 6, ¶ (2) C′ (b), as am. by Acts, 1912, c. 363, § 4, and by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 107.]

E. Minimum and maximum payments. In no case shall the total monthly payment to a member be at a rate less than two hundred dollars per year, or at a rate more than one half the average annual rate of salary or wages of such member during the ten years prior to his retirement.1 [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 6, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 108.]

705. Proceeding in cases of violation of law. If, in the judgment of the insurance commissioner, the commonwealth or the board of retirement has violated or neglected to comply with any of the provisions of this act, or of the rules and regulations established by the board of retirement hereunder, he shall give notice thereof to the governor of the commonwealth and to the board of retirement, and thereafter if such violation or neglect on the part of the board of retirement continues shall forthwith present the facts to the attorney-general for his action. [Acts, 1911, c. 532, § 9, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 109.]

705A. Payment of amounts due to estates of deceased members under various acts regulated.1 Should there be due to the estate of a deceased member of any of the several retirement associations established by Acts, 1910, c. 619, by Acts, 1911, c. 532, and c. 634, and by Acts, 1913, c. 832, any sum of money payable

1 In effect February 1, 1920. See Gen. Acts, 1919, c. 5.

from the funds of the association, the same shall be paid to his executor or administrator appointed within three months after the death of such deceased member; but if there is no executor or administrator, said sum may, in the discretion of the respective retirement board, not exceeding one hundred dollars in any one case, be paid to the person or persons appearing in the judgment of said board to be entitled thereto, and such payment shall be a bar to recovery by any other person. [Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, § 134.]

EMPLOYEES IN THE PRISON SERVICE OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

707A. Retirement system for persons employed in the prison service of the Commonwealth. -The board of prison commissioners or its lawful successor, may, with the approval of the governor and council, retire from active service and place upon a pension roll any officer of the state prison, of the Massachusetts reformatory, of the prison camp and hospital, of the state farm, of the reformatory for women, or of any jail or house of correction, or any person employed to instruct the prisoners in any prison or reformatory, as provided in R. L., c. 225, § 44, or any other employee of the state prison, the Massachusetts reformatory or the prison camp and hospital who began employment as such officer or instructor or employee on or before June 7, 1911, who has attained the age of sixty-five years or over and who has been employed in prison service in Massachusetts, with a good record, for not less than twenty years; or who, without fault of his own, has become permanently disabled by injuries sustained in the performance of his duty; or who has performed faithful prison service for not less than thirty years: provided, however, that no officer of the state farm shall so be retired except upon the recommendation of the trustees of that institution; and provided, further, that no officer of any jail or house of correction shall so be retired except upon the recommendation of the sheriff and county commissioners of the county, except in the county of Suffolk, where the recommendation as to the officers of the jail shall be made by the sheriff and the mayor of the city of Boston, and, as to the officers of the house of correction, by the penal institutions commissioner and the mayor of the city of Boston, and provided, that no such officer, instructor or employee shall be retired unless he began employment as such officer, instructor or employee on or before June 7, 1911. [Acts, 1908, c. 601, as last am. by Gen. Acts, 1916, c. 273.]

VETERANS.

707B. Retirement act for veterans in the employ of the commonwealth amended. A veteran of the civil war in the service of the commonwealth, if incapacitated for active duty, shall be retired from active service, with the consent of the governor, at one half the rate of compensation paid to him when in active service, to be paid out of the treasury of the commonwealth: provided, that no veteran shall be entitled to be retired under the provisions of this act unless he shall have been in the service of the commonwealth at least ten years. But if, in the opinion of the governor and council, any veteran of the civil war, after five years, in said service is incapacitated to such a degree as to render his retirement necessary for the good of the service, he may so be retired. A veteran retired under the provisions of this act, whose term of service was for a fixed number of years, shall be entitled to the benefits of the act without reappointment. [Acts, 1907, c. 458, § 1, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1915, c. 95.]

RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS. 1

707C. (a) Definitions of words and phrases. The following words and phrases as used in this act, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:

(2) "Annuities" shall mean payments for life derived from contributions from teachers. "Annuities-certain" shall mean payments for a definite number of years only, derived from contributions from teachers, and the number of years during which the payments shall be made shall be determined by the retirement board. [Acts, 1913, c. 832, § 1, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1917, c. 233, § 1.]

(6) "Regular interest" shall mean interest at the rate determined by the retirement board and shall be substantially that which is actually earned, which shall be compounded annually on the last day of December of each year.

[Acts, 1913, c. 832, § 1, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1916, c. 257, § 1.]

707C. (b) Teachers' Retirement Association. A teachers' retirement association shall be organized among the teachers in the public schools as follows:

(2) All teachers, except those specified in paragraph (3) of this section, who shall have entered the service of the public schools before June 30, 1914, may at any time between July 1, 1914, and Sept. 30, 1914, upon application in writing to the commissioner of education, become members of the retirement association. Any teacher failing to do so may thereafter become a member of the retirement association before attaining the age of seventy by paying an amount equal to the total assessments, together with regular interest thereon, that he would have paid if he had joined the retirement association on Sept. 30, 1914. [Acts, 1913, c. 832, § 3, as affected by Acts, 1914, c. 494, and by Gen. Acts, 1919, c. 292, § 18. In effect Oct. 1, 1920. See § 22.]

707C. (c) State Teachers' Retirement Board; membership changed. - The teachers' retirement board shall hereafter consist of three members, — namely, the commissioner of education, a member of the retirement association to be elected for the term of three years by the association, and one other person whom the two members above designated shall annually choose. The board so constituted shall hereafter exercise the functions of the board under Acts, 1913, c. 832. [Gen. Acts, 1919, c. 350, § 61.]

707D. Creation of funds.2 —. (2) The annuity fund shall consist of assessments paid by members of the retirement association, and interest derived from investments of the annuity fund. Each member of the retirement association shall pay into the annuity fund, by deduction from his salary in the manner provided in section nine, paragraph five, of this act, such assessments upon his salary as may be determined by the retirement board. The rate of assessment shall be established by the retirement board on the first day of July of each year after a prior notice of at least three months, and shall at any given time be uniform for all members of the retirement

1 See Acts, 1913, c. 832.

2 In effect February 1, 1920. See Gen. Acts, 1919, c. 5.

association, and shall not be less than three per cent nor more than seven per cent of the member's salary: provided, however, that when the total sum of assessments on the salary of any member at the rate established by the retirement board would amount to more than one hundred dollars or less than thirty-five dollars for a full school year, such member shall in lieu of assessments at the regular rate be assessed at the rate of one hundred dollars a year or thirty-five dollars a year as the case may be, payable in equal instalments to be assessed for the number of months during which the schools of the community in which such member is employed are commonly in session. Any member of the retirement association who shall for thirty years have paid regular assessments to the annuity fund as provided herein, shall be exempt from further assessments; but such member may thereafter, if he so elects, continue to pay his assessments to the fund. No member, however, shall pay further assessments after the total sum of assessments paid by him shall at any time have amounted, with regular interest, to a sum sufficient to purchase an annuity of five hundred dollars at age sixty; and interest thereafter accruing shall be paid to the member at the time of his retirement.

[Acts, 1913, c. 832, § 5, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1918, c. 257, §§ 111, 112.]

(4) Members of the retirement association, established by Acts, 1911, c. 532, as amended, who enter the service of the public schools shall have the full amount of their contributions, together with such interest as shall have been earned thereon, transferred by the treasurer of the commonwealth to the annuity fund established by paragraph (2) of this section, and these amounts shall thereby become a part of their assessments. [Acts, 1913, c. 832, § 5, as am. by Gen. Acts, 1915, c. 197, § 1.]

707E. Payment of retirement allowances.1 (1) Any member of the retirement association may retire from service in the public schools on attaining the age of sixty years, or at any time thereafter. If in the opinion of the employing school committee any member of the retirement association who has attained said age is incapable of rendering satisfactory service as a teacher he may with the approval of the retirement board be retired by such committee.

(4) Any member of the retirement association receiving payments of an annuity as provided in paragraph (3) of this section, if not rendered ineligible therefor by section twelve of this act, shall receive with each quarterly payment of his annuity an amount from the pension fund as directed by the retirement board equal to the quarterly annuity payment to which he would be entitled if his annuity were figured under the provisions of paragraph (3) (a) of this section.

(5) Any teacher who shall have become a member of the retirement association under paragraph (2) of section three, and who shall have served fifteen years or more in the public schools of the commonwealth, not less than five of which shall immediately precede retirement, on retiring as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this section, shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance as follows: — (a) such annuity and pension as may be due under paragraphs (3) and (4) of this section; (b) an additional pension to such an amount that the sum of this additional pension and the pension provided in paragraph (4) of this section shall equal the pension to which he would have been entitled under this act if he had paid thirty assessments on

1 In effect February 1, 1920. See Gen. Acts, 1919, c. 5.