Retirement board could credit Ricketts for past MBTA police service

The state board of retirement would count Omar H. Ricketts’s service as an MBTA police officer toward his retirement allowance. The credit is for Ricketts’s service as an MBTA police officer while he was with the Taunton police department. Ricketts must pay the amount that would have been deducted from his compensation for the period, with interest. The board sets whether he pays in one sum or installments. The service period covered is February 14, 1994, through March 30, 2008.

Upon request, the state board of retirement would transfer Ricketts’s payments and accrued interest to his retirement system and accept liability for the credited service. The transfer would go to the Massachusetts contributory retirement system of which Ricketts is a member when he retires or dies. The transfer applies when Ricketts retires under the listed laws or a special act, or dies before retirement. The board would not accept liability if he retires for accidental disability, or if his surviving spouse or dependents receive accidental death or line-of-duty death benefits. The transfer applies upon Ricketts’s retirement or, if he dies first, upon his death.