Pension Adjustment Legislation for Lt. Thomas Romeo Signed into Law

Legislation requested by the Town of North Reading to correct an error in the calculation of pension benefits for retired North Reading Police Lt. Thomas Romeo has been signed into law.

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr (R-Gloucester) worked to secure the passage of the home rule petition following its initial local approval at the October 2023 Fall Town Meeting. House Bill 4437, An Act correcting the membership date of a certain police officer in the town of North Reading relative to their membership in the Middlesex County Retirement System, was signed into law on May 14 as Chapter 98 of the Acts of 2024.

“The passage of this legislation reverses an error that was inadvertently made by the Middlesex County Retirement Board when Lt. Romeo was reviewing his retirement options, a mistake that resulted in a reduction in his pension benefits,” said Representative Jones. “This corrective legislation will make Lt. Romeo whole again by providing him with the full pension benefits he earned and is entitled to for his 38 years of dedicated service to the North Reading Police Department.”

“Thankfully we have been able to bring this issue to closure for Lieutenant Romeo and his family, so that they can receive the fair and proper benefits he has earned through his dedicated service on the North Reading Police Department,” said Senator Tarr.

Jones and Tarr filed the home rule petition on October 18, 2023, shortly after its unanimous passage at Fall Town Meeting. The bill was enacted by the Massachusetts House of Representatives on May 6 and by the Massachusetts Senate on May 9.

Lt. Romeo began his local law enforcement career on January 10, 1985, and was appointed to a full-time position with the North Reading Police Department on April 13, 1988. In 1990, he bought back the time he had previously served as a Reserve/Special Police Officer. He retired on January 20, 2023, after he was ruled to be totally and permanently incapacitated from performing his essential duties as a police officer.

House Bill 4437 authorizes Lt. Romeo’s pension to be amended and recalculated based on his true membership start date with the Middlesex County Retirement System of January 10, 1985. It also exempts him from the 75 percent pension limitation imposed by Section 7(2)(a)(ii) of Chapter 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws so he can receive the full retirement benefits he is due.