(BOSTON–6/8/2026) The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation to allow longtime public school teachers the opportunity to buy into an enhanced savings program if they missed out when the program was first launched a quarter century ago.  

An estimated 6,500 to 8,500 current teachers in Massachusetts have been unable to participate in the RetirementPlus pension program because they missed the window to opt into the plan in 2001.  

The bill—S.3109, An Act relative to benefits for teachers—would provide another one-time opportunity to that group of longtime educators and give them until mid-2027 to choose whether they would like to join RetirementPlus.  

“Educators are the beating heart of our schools and communities. Due to an administrative error over two decades ago, many missed out on advanced retirement options. With the passage of this bill, the Massachusetts Senate took an important step to right that wrong, giving longtime teachers a new window to re-enter the RetirementPlus program with appropriate notice. After dedicating decades of service to helping students learn, grow, and flourish, public educators deserve to retire with the dignity, security, and peace of mind that reflects their contributions to the Commonwealth. I am thrilled we passed this bill in the Senate to deliver on this promise and am grateful to the teachers, educators, advocates, and constituents from throughout our district who have helped empower our charge to correct the RetirementPlus Program," said Senator Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough).   

Teachers who join RetirementPlus through this new opportunity would pay into the program as if they had joined at the outset, which would include interest payments, to ensure both fiscal stability and fairness for teachers and retirees who have been participating throughout the past 25 years.   

Full details of the legislation are available in a fact sheet in the Senate’s press room.  

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means reported the bill to the floor with a bipartisan 17-0 vote on June 3, 2026. A previous version of the bill was engrossed by the House of Representatives.  

The Senate passed the bill on a 39-0 roll call vote and sent it to the House of Representatives for further review.  

Statements of Support  

AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang  

“With today’s vote, the Senate is reaffirming its support for some of our state’s most dedicated teachers and the schools and communities they serve. This bill provides teachers who have been working in our schools for decades the chance to enroll in a retirement system many of them were unfairly shut out of 25 years ago, the same system new teachers are automatically enrolled in. These are teachers who were dropped from the system when they changed districts, teachers who were told they were enrolled only to find out years later that was not the case, and teachers who were not provided the necessary resources to enroll in the first place, including ASL interpreters to explain the new system and the enrollment process for deaf and hard of hearing teachers in the Boston Public Schools. We are grateful to the Senate President for her leadership and the Senate’s commitment to ensuring our public educators receive the dignified and secure retirement they’ve earned.”  

Boston Teachers Union President Erik Berg  

“The teachers who are represented by the Boston Teachers Union are grateful for the Senate’s passage of Retirement Plus. This important legislation will allow educators across the Commonwealth—who were left out 25 years ago—to retire on par with their colleagues after their years of tireless service to our state’s students. Final passage of this bill is particularly urgent at a time when Boston and many other districts are facing fiscal challenges, and we hope that it will allow some of the hundreds of educator positions facing cuts to be restored.”   

Ted Chambers, longtime Boston Public Schools teacher and Chairman of the Committee for a Fair Fix to R+  

“Today marks a major step forward for fairness for Massachusetts educators. We are deeply grateful to our allies at AFT Massachusetts for their advocacy and especially to Senator Liz Miranda for her determined leadership and tireless fight on behalf of educators unfairly excluded from Retirement Plus. We also thank Senate leadership for advancing this legislation to a vote and moving it to the conference committee process. After years of advocacy educators across Massachusetts can finally see a path toward correcting a long-standing inequity. We look forward to working with legislative leaders to secure a final bill that delivers the fair fix teachers have earned.”  

Amy Piacitelli, Boston Public Schools teacher since 1995  

“Since April of 2019, I've worked with a team of dedicated teachers and allies to push for legislation that would provide a fair fix for Retirement Plus. I am proud of the work we've done to raise awareness about this issue and am thankful to the Senate for taking steps today that get us closer to correcting an injustice that is now a quarter-century old. For me, a clerical error on my paychecks during the R+ rollout period led me to believe I was already enrolled, and that administrative mistake cost me an extra four years. I am thrilled that we are now a step closer to passing the bill and look forward to seeing it pass into law this session. I want to offer a huge thank you to the Senate for recognizing the contributions educators make to the Commonwealth, and for the steps they've taken today to get us closer to the fair fix we need.” 

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