An Act relative to survivor’s benefits for the spouses of retired state troopers

This bill (HD 3524) changes Massachusetts state retirement rules to provide survivor benefits for spouses of retired state troopers. If a retired trooper dies and leaves a spouse they were married to for at least one year and living with (or separated for justifiable reasons), the spouse will receive a monthly lifetime allowance equal to what the trooper would have received had they chosen a specific retirement option (option C) at retirement. The retirement board will withhold an amount from the first year's payments to cover the difference between what the trooper actually received and what they would have received under option C. This benefit replaces any other state retirement benefits the spouse might otherwise receive as a beneficiary.