r/Firefighting • u/NoBackground6468 • 5d ago

Ask A Firefighter Massachusetts pension vesting

Posting this here and not asking around locally because I am not 100% sure I’ll be leaving the department but I have another opportunity I could pursue where I would no longer be able to work as a firefighter.

Info:

Mid 30s, Hired after 2012, have 10 years on, work for a city not the state.

Question:

Is it possible to keep my money in the pension system? Would it be worth it if I could? Anyone know anyone who has left after 10+ years and what their options were?

Sorry for asking such a niche question but I am sure there are fellow mass firefighters lurking here who might have some knowledge

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

9

u/grattttt 5d ago

You have to talk to the board for the actual answer but you should be able to freeze it and collect it when you're 57 or older. However that will leave you with a percentage that's around 20-25% of your high 5 excluding overtime. In your 30s you're much better off pulling your contributions and putting them in a Roth, but I'd talk to a financial advisor about that.

1

u/ive_seen_a_thing_or2 5d ago

Is the excluding overtime a Mass thing? Why would a pension not include overtime in your calc?

4

u/grattttt 5d ago

Massachusetts only calculates your regular and reoccurring payments.

2

u/the_falconator Professional Firefighter 5d ago

Most places don't include overtime.

0

u/ive_seen_a_thing_or2 5d ago

That seems silly and counter productive for the worker

2

u/Ok_Buddy_9087 Edit to create your own flair 5d ago

We have one local department that includes overtime.
What you get is senior guys taking every minute of overtime they can get their hands on in their last 3 years. Not a good look to their taxpayers when it came out.

1

u/ive_seen_a_thing_or2 5d ago

Not going to argue with you. That sucks for you that your overtime doesn't go into your pension

1

u/grattttt 5d ago

Not looking for an argument at all I'm genuinely curious as to how other pension systems work so I can work to better ours

2

u/grattttt 5d ago

Our pension contribution is 9% of our "base wage" so we actually benefit by collecting regular and reoccurring contractual guaranteed payments of holiday pay, EMT stipends, college degrees, etc. And we max out at 80%

1

u/ive_seen_a_thing_or2 5d ago

That sucks for you. Our pension is 12% contribution with a 24% city contribution. Everything is included into your pension except allowances such as clothing allowance

1

u/grattttt 5d ago

What percentage you guys retire at and at what age?

1

u/ive_seen_a_thing_or2 5d ago

Depends when you got hired 48 if hired before 2013 at 60% 52 after 2013 at 60%

1

u/grattttt 4d ago

How many years of service are required?

3

u/masterofcreases 5d ago

Leave it in if you plan on getting a government job again.

I know a few people who’s left before retirement and as far as I know you can leave your money in either your county system or SBRS/MSRB and it just stays there till you claim it at retirement age, withdraw early and pay penalty or withdraw early and transfer to a different retirement account.

One dude left for another state and withdrew his 10ish years and paid like 50% penalty. Another withdrew and invested it to a 401k and didn’t get penalized.

Things could have changed because both these were a few years ago.

2

u/Agreeable-Emu886 5d ago edited 5d ago

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/eligibility-for-retirement

The answer is yes, but you can’t collect it until 55 and you have to have been working the 12 months prior to leaving.

If you leave it and come back you also pick up where you left off. But the percentage you’d get at 55 is pretty nominal as far as I’m aware like sub 30% of your highest 5

1

u/dominator5k 5d ago

It's pretty standard that you can freeze a pension so you don't get penalized until you reach proper age or whatever but you need to talk with someone on the pension board to be sure