Lawrence Retirement Board

MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS

All monthly meetings are held in our conference room located at our office at 354 Merrimack Street, ENTRY C, Suite 302, Lawrence, MA.

Our August board meeting will be held on Monday, August 23rd, 2010, at 8:30 a.m.

MONTHLY REFUND PAYMENTS

For employees that leave their employment for the City of Lawrence, and file the proper forms with the Lawrence Retirement Board. Refunds are processed. Processing may take thirty (30) to ninety (90) days per statute. Generally speaking, however, once approved at a board meeting, refund checks are processed as soon as all applicable forms are returned from appropriate department heads. After which payments will be mailed. A courtesy call for a check pick-up can be made if duly noted on the top of the withdrawal form.

ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF YOUR ANNUITY SAVINGS FUND

Statements showing your current balance (contributions and interest) are mailed on an annual basis and will be available on this site.  Your balance as of December of the previous year, current contributions and current interest will also be displayed.  Remember that the percentage of interest added to your account annually is set by Massachusetts Legislation.  Also, because this is a defined benefit plan, your retirement allowance is not based on your contributions, interest or stock market changes.  Your retirement allowance is based on your age at retirement, your highest annual three year average and your total creditable service.

TAX FORMS 1099-R

1099-R forms for the year 2009, will be mailed out prior to the deadline date of January 31st, 2010. All retirees will recieve a form 1099-R except Accidental Death Widows. Anyone who recieved a refund in the calendar year 2009 will also recieve a form 1099-R. We encourage you to update this office with any address change that may occur between now and January 31st, 2010. If you do not recieve a form 1099-R, please do not hesitate to contact this office for a duplicate.

IRS Publication 575 deals with municipal pensions and their taxable amounts. For any tax questions, please refer to this publication.

PLEASE NOTE: We are pleased to announce that we have calculated the taxable amount of your pension starting on the 2004 1099-R forms for Retirees. In the past we have left this amount undetermined and it was up to the individual retiree to utilize publication 575 for their taxable amount. The calculated amounts were figured based on the formulation for the Simplified General Rule (see IRS publication 575). For any questions or concerns about your 1099-R, please contact the office at (978)620-3570.

Accidental Disibility Veterans.......... If you applied for and are receiving veterans benefits as of 2006, please note that the earnings are considered TAXABLE. Your 1099-R will reflect this amount.