Changes To Massachusetts Pensions Would Raise Retirement Age

A proposed reform of the Massachusetts pension system would prevent retired state employees from collecting their benefits until they are 57 and would require state police troopers to retire at 65, the  State House News Service  reports.

The bill passed the state House Ways and Means Committee Monday and will now go before the full House. The minimum retirement age from state employees would increase from 55 to 57. Anyone who retired before 60 would have to accept a reduced pension, the news agency reports.

State Rep. John Scibak, who sponsored the bill, estimated it would save the pension system $6.4 billion. The system's current unfunded liabilities are about $20 billion, the Statehouse News Service reports.