Your contributions are placed in an individual annuity savings fund, which earns annual interest at a rate comparable to that of a passbook savings account. The interest rate is determined by the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission and the Commissioner of Banks. This annual interest rate is independent of that earned on the Retirement System's investments.

No. The amount of money in your annuity account has no bearing on your future allowance. This is determined by a formula consisting only of your age, service, and three-year salary average.

For most employees, the date you were hired will be your membership date. (Technically, it's the date you first began making contributions from your regular compensation into the retirement system. If you have a period of employment in which you did not make retirement contributions, you may want to contact the Retirement Office to inquire about purchasing your prior employment as creditable service).

The amount each employee is required to contribute to the retirement system each year is set by statute. If you began employment on or after July 1, 1996, you must contribute nine percent of your regular compensation to the Retirement System. If you were hired any time between January 1, 1984 and July 1, 1996 your contribution rate is set at eight percent. Members who joined the system any time between 1975 and 1983 contribute seven percent. Those employees who became members prior to 1975 are contributing five percent. The law also mandates that for members whose employment commenced on or af...

Yes. Membership in the Greenfield Retirement System is required by law for all regularly employees who work at least 20 hours a week and earn over $5,000 per year. Employees regularly working for the following untis: City of Greenfield, Greenfield Public School System, Greenfield Housing Authority and the Franklin County Technical School.

No. Regular compensation is the portion of your salary that is subject to retirement contributions. Over time, bonus pay, severance pay, any payments made for unused sick time, and several other payments, are not considered regular compensation, are not subject to retirement and cannot be used towards your three-year average for the purpose of determining your retirement allowance.

Because the Greenfield Retirement Plan is a defined benefit plan, your benefits are determined by a formula and are not affected by the amount of money in your annuity account at the time of retirement. The factors used to determine your benefit are: your age at the time of retirement, your amount of creditable service, your group classification, and an average of your three highest years of regular compensation.

You are eligible to retire once you are 55 years old with at least 10 years of creditable service or at an age with 20 years of creditable service with a membership date prior to April 1, 2012. Employees who became members on or after April 2, 2012 can retire once they are 60 years old with at least 15 years of creditable service or at any age with 20 years of creditable service.

If you have retirement contributions from a previous retirement system still on account, those contributions can be transferred directly to our system and you will be entitled to maintain the same level of contributions you were paying in your previous employment. Under current regulations, if you refunded those contributions, you will become a new member of the Greenfield Retirement System and therefore; you will be subject to the new member contribution rate of 9%, plus 2% on earnings over $30,000. Once a member of the Greenfield Retirement System – you could then inquire about purchas...