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Mass Retirees

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Mass Retirees

Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts, representing over 52,000 retired public employees and survivors.

Founded in 1968, Mass Retirees is the largest organization of its type in Massachusetts. With its stature, the Association has created a remarkable history of legislative achievement. Most recently, it successfully enhanced the cost-of living formula for retired state employees and teachers, which followed on the heels of our landmark legislation allowing local retirement systems to do the same, while it also increased pensions for certain widows.

09/02/2026

Latest from the Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable: Most States Decline Federal Medicaid GLP-1 Pricing Model

Nine months after the Trump administration introduced a payment model allowing states to access discounted pricing on GLP-1 weight-loss medications through Medicaid, only one state, Indiana, has committed to participate. 29 state Medicaid programs have declined to participate. States who have declined participation cited cost concerns, budget constraints, and doubts regarding the model's long-term financial sustainability. Some of these states opted out of the federal program because they prefer to negotiate coverage and pricing directly with drugmakers.

Budgetary pressures have already prompted a number of states to scale back or discontinue GLP-1 coverage. Medicaid expenditures on GLP-1 medications rose substantially, from approximately $1 billion in 2019 to nearly $9 billion in 2024, a trend that may continue given the significant proportion of Medicaid enrollees with obesity who could be eligible for treatment if states expand their coverage of the medication to include weight loss indications. Seven states, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia, indicated they are still deciding whether to participate.

Blue and red states say accepting federal help to expand access to drugs like Wegovy for America's poorest patients is too much of a drain on their budgets.

09/01/2026

With reform of Social Security and Medicare likely to take place in the coming 5-6 years, there will undoubtedly be a growing chorus of opinions on steps Congress should take to ensure financial stability for both programs in the decades ahead. The report linked below is the latest Editorial on the topic from the Washington Post.

Starting with the upcoming November edition of our newsletter The Voice, we will begin to spell out the challenges facing the two important retirement programs, as well as the various options that exist for reform.

We understand that the link below might be pay-walled for some members.

Social Security and Medicare will be “insolvent” in the 2030s.

08/31/2026

After you leave the workplace and no longer collect a steady paycheck, you'll need money to cover essentials like food, housing, and health care. That's where Social Security comes in. This system was enacted in 1935 to keep workers from falling into poverty upon retirement. It was designed to provide basic retirement benefits for workers reaching age 65.

Workers who pay (or have paid) Federal Insurance Contributions Act (F**A) taxes for a certain period of time are covered by Social Security.

You can claim Social Security benefits any time after age 62—but drawing benefits that early could cost you in the long run.

Learn more about the basics of Social Security at the link below:

Ever wonder where your Social Security money comes from and how it’s paid out? 💵 Learn how the system works so you can better understand your retirement income.👇

08/29/2026

Within the September edition of our newsletter, The Voice, we report on the 2025 Investment Report by PERAC (Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission). The included table provides details from the Report, as well as other key factors not in the Report (for example, Assumed Rate of Return and COLA Base) that impact a decision by retirement systems to increase their COLA Base.

Please note that the column, entitled 41-Year Rate of Return, shows the rate of return for a period that refers back to the 1983 enactment of Chapter 661, the landmark omnibus pension funding and investing reform law that included the creation of “6A Pension Reserve Funds”.

See the full tables for all 104 public retirement systems at the link below:

Earlier in this Voice (page 1) we reported on the 2025 Investment Report by PERAC (Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission). The Table below provides details from the Report, as well as other key factors not in the Report (for example, Assumed Rate of Return and COLA Base) that impact a...

08/28/2026

Residents of Pennsylvania’s Dauphin County — home of the state capital, Harrisburg, and the chocolaty oasis of Hersheypark — were shocked with unwelcome news in December 2024. For the first time in two decades, the county’s leaders had not only voted to raise their property taxes, but did so by a whopping 22%.

What they may not have realized: That higher tax bill was needed to help offset the soaring health care costs of the county’s employees.

Read more at the link below:

Politicians are contemplating raising taxes and cutting benefits as the cost of health care for government workers surges.

08/27/2026

The AI infrastructure boom significantly boosts US GDP but reveals financial stress. Trillions in capital expenditures, including massive off-balance-sheet commitments, are outpacing monetization, causing negative free cash flow for some tech leaders.

Key risks include market concentration, opaque private market deals, and pressure for highly valued AI firms to IPO into less forgiving public markets. While AI adoption is rapid across consumers, businesses, and government, physical limits like energy demand and institutional concerns about job displacement and regulation present challenges. Investors are already exposed to AI's upside and downside, requiring careful monitoring of capital flows, monetization, and policy to navigate a potential market deflation that will distinguish winners from losers.

Read more at the link below:

Public pension AI exposure is rising as investment drives U.S. growth. Here is what investors must watch as valuations, infrastructure spending and financial risks climb.

08/26/2026

After five years of widespread volatility, state tax revenue showed signs of stabilization in 2025. Even so, total collections remained below their long-term trends nationally and in most states for the second consecutive year, meaning states generally have fewer resources available for tax cuts, public services, bolstering reserves, or other priorities.

The latest data suggests that revenue has settled into a post-COVID-19 pandemic pattern that is steadier than the sharp declines that followed the pandemic-era revenue wave, but still weaker than its long-term trajectory.

Nationally, total state tax revenue was 2.2% below its 15-year trend in the fourth quarter of 2025, after adjusting for inflation and smoothing for seasonal fluctuations. This marks a major shift from just a few years ago, when collections peaked at 15% above trend in 2022.

Read more at the link below:

08/25/2026

Since the founding of the Mass Retirees Association in 1968, the COLA has always been a core “bread & butter” issue. Added to the state’s retirement law in 1966, the COLA law has been amended 24 times – counting the new COLA Reform Law recently approved by Governor Maura Healey.

In order to understand the how and why of our state’s COLA law, we must look back over the past 60 years of COLA history and the milestones the our Association has helped achieve.

The original 1966 law contained a provision allowing for a reduction in pension benefits in the event of a negative Consumer Price Index. This strange measure was repealed by the legislature roughly 18 months later, likely due to the political fallout associated with a potential reduction in benefits should a negative CPI occur.

Prior to 1971, only retirees with a pension below $6,000 received a COLA. Changing the law to allow ALL public retirees to receive a COLA was the first major legislative accomplishment of our Association. This also marked the beginning of the COLA base, which has gradually increased in small increments over the decades since.

Read the full article at the link below:

08/19/2026

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that just 15% of private industry employees have access to a pension, also known as a defined benefit plan. Employers began moving away from these plans in the late 1970s when the 1978 Revenue Act began allowing employees greater control over their retirement savings by using pre-tax dollars for 401(k) contributions. Some employers saw this as a potential opportunity to reduce risk and long-term financial obligations, ultimately leading to a better bottom line. However, many employers are reconsidering that decision amid data showing how cost-effective pension plans are compared to 401(k) plans. If you’re in the market for a new job, this could be good news for you and the company you’ll work for.

Read more at the link below.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that just 15% of private industry employees have access to a pension, also known as a defined benefit

08/18/2026

Massachusetts hospitals and nursing homes are facing shortages of a range of entry-level health care workers. This can affect quality of care and also these institutions’ finances, if they have to hire temporary “traveling” labor.

Also, these are jobs that provide steady work and upward economic mobility. They generally require a two-year associate’s degree, which a Massachusetts resident can obtain either at a private college or tuition- and fee-free at a state community college.

Hospitals need workers, but colleges can’t accept enough students

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11 Beacon Street, Ste 309
Boston, MA
02108

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Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm

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http://www.massretirees.com/

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