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Labor and Personnel Fitzpatrick nominated to pension study panel
Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick has been nominated to serve as the MMA representative on the state’s new Special Commission on Retirement.
The special commission is charged with conducting a comprehensive study of the state’s pension system, something the MMA has long been calling for.
Rather than raise the base for the cost-of-living allowance by 33 percent, from $12,000 to $16,000, as had been proposed, the Legislature ultimately decided to establish the study commission.
The MMA opposed the COLA base increase because it would have dramatically increased costs for cities and towns without a new revenue stream to pay for it.
The MMA has argued that the pension system has a number of deficiencies, such as contribution rates, the lack of portability, long vesting periods, a disability system that is still open to abuse, and a COLA system that needs to be updated. The MMA argues that a piecemeal approach to the problem has caused more problems than it has solved over the years.
Fitzpatrick was a long-time member and past chair of the MMA’s Policy Committee on Personnel and Labor Relations and has served on the Needham Retirement Board for the past several years.
Labor and Personnel Fitzpatrick nominated to pension study panel
Fitzpatrick nominated to pension study panel
Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick has been nominated to serve as the MMA representative on the state’s new Special Commission on Retirement.
The special commission is charged with conducting a comprehensive study of the state’s pension system, something the MMA has long been calling for.
Rather than raise the base for the cost-of-living allowance by 33 percent, from $12,000 to $16,000, as had been proposed, the Legislature ultimately decided to establish the study commission.
The MMA opposed the COLA base increase because it would have dramatically increased costs for cities and towns without a new revenue stream to pay for it.
The MMA has argued that the pension system has a number of deficiencies, such as contribution rates, the lack of portability, long vesting periods, a disability system that is still open to abuse, and a COLA system that needs to be updated. The MMA argues that a piecemeal approach to the problem has caused more problems than it has solved over the years.
Fitzpatrick was a long-time member and past chair of the MMA’s Policy Committee on Personnel and Labor Relations and has served on the Needham Retirement Board for the past several years.
Written by MMA Legislative Director David Baier
