Retirement Refunds / Withdrawals
Refunds
Members of the Worcester Regional Retirement System (WRRS) who terminate their employment are eligible to apply for a refund of their account. You are not eligible to withdraw any portion of your funds if you are actively employed by any unit of the WRRS, or on an authorized leave of absence, or collecting Workers’ Compensation benefits. Also, if you are a member of another Massachusetts retirement system due to employment with another city or town, or with the Commonwealth, your funds must be transferred to your new retirement system.
If you are eligible to withdraw your funds, keep in mind that you have two options for receiving the money. You may choose to take the balance in a refund directly to you, or you may choose to make a direct rollover to another eligible retirement plan.
Special Considerations before Withdrawing Your Funds
If you have over ten years of creditable service, you are considered vested and may now or in the future be eligible for a monthly retirement allowance. If this is the case you are strongly advised to review any potential benefit you may be entitled to by requesting a retirement estimate from our office.
By withdrawing your funds, you forfeit any right to a retirement allowance.
If you think it is a possibility that you will become re-employed by a Massachusetts municipality, you may wish to consider leaving your funds in our system, so that upon re-employment, you will maintain the current level of creditable service and annuity balance that you have earned.
IMPORTANT
If you membership began prior to 04/02/2012 and you withdraw your funds, you will lose all rights to the pre 04/02/2012 benefit structure upon return. In other words, if you ever return to public sector work you will enter as a new member under the new rules. Below is a summary of these changes.
NOTICE TO MEMBERS (HIRED BEFORE 04/02/2012) SEEKING TO WITHDRAW FROM THE SYSTEM:
Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2011 changed the benefit structure for members hired on or after April 2, 2012. Members who withdraw from the system and re-enter after this date will join the Retirement System under these new laws. Because you have requested an application to withdraw your funds, you should review the following differences to your current retirement plan, in the event you wish to re-enter the System at a later date:
- Increased minimum retirement age; from 50 to 60;
- New age factors for calculating retirement allowances; from 65 to 67 for Group 1
- Unavailability of the G.L. c.32, §10 termination allowance;
- Applicability of G.L. c.32, § 105 to elected officials;
- Five-year average annual rate of regular compensation for calculating allowances rather than a three year average;
- Proration of benefits earned for service in different Group classifications;
- New contribution rates.
If you believe you may re-enter the System at a later date and/or if you have any questions, we urge you to contact the Retirement Office to discuss these changes. Members who leave their funds in the retirement system are entitles to preserve their membership date and would not be effected by the changes listed above.