Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: A Norfolk County Retirement System member who joined before April 2, 2012 retires under Option A, B or C, and the choice cannot be changed once the retirement is effective. Option B pays approximately 1% to 5% less than Option A and leaves any unspent contributions to beneficiaries. Option C pays approximately 7 to 15% less and continues two-thirds of the allowance to one named person for life. A member who makes no choice is retired under Option B. Taking a refund ends membership, and 20% of the taxable part is withheld unless it is rolled over.
What this page covers and what it does not
The Norfolk County Retirement System (NCRS) is a Massachusetts county retirement board in Norwood. This page works from three pages of its website, its Group 1 retirement chart, the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) retirement guide that NCRS posts, and a PERAC option form, refund application and tax notice that NCRS also posts, all read on October 8, 2026. The figures cover members who joined before April 2, 2012: the guide posted is the edition written “for Public Employees Who Became Members Prior to April 2, 2012”. The pages read do not reproduce PERAC’s separate guide for later joiners, so nothing here describes them. Only the Group 1 chart was archived, so the worked examples are Group 1. Disability retirement and death before retirement are not covered. Neighboring systems are on Boston Retirement System retirement decisions and Massachusetts state retirement decisions.
When a pension can start
For members who joined before April 2, 2012, the NCRS superannuation page says “You must be age 55 with at least 10 years of creditable service to retire, or have in excess of 20 years of creditable service with any age”. The guide separates members by when they joined and by group.
| Who | Service requirement | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| Joined before January 1, 1978 (Groups 1, 2 and 4) | No minimum service | 55 |
| Joined on or after January 1, 1978, Group 1 or Group 2 | At least ten years of creditable service | 55 |
| Group 4 | Guide: no minimum vesting requirement. NCRS creditable service page: ten years | 55 |
| Any of these groups with twenty years of creditable service | Generally eligible | Any age |
For Group 1 or 2 members who joined on or after January 1, 1978, the guide says “If such a member terminates their employment prior to completing ten years of creditable service, eligibility for benefits is limited to a refund of accumulated deductions”.
How the allowance is calculated
The guide’s formula multiplies “Your Benefit Rate” by “Your Highest Three Year Average Annual Rate of Regular Compensation” and by “Your Creditable Service”. The rate depends on age and group: “Your age (as of your last birthday) at retirement and your group classification determine your benefit rate”. Only regular compensation counts, and the guide lists “overtime” and “bonuses, other than cost of living bonuses” among the payments that are not regular compensation.
| Age at retirement | Group 1 rate | Group 2 rate | Group 4 rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 or over | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 62 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 60 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 55 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
| Age | 10 years of service | 20 years of service | 30 years of service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 15.0 | 30.0 | 45.0 |
| 60 | 20.0 | 40.0 | 60.0 |
| 65 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 75.0 |
A computed example from assumed inputs, not an NCRS figure: a Group 1 member retires at 60 with 20 years of creditable service and an assumed $60,000 three-year average. At the printed rate of 2.0 for age 60, applied for each of 20 years to the $60,000 average, the allowance is a computed $24,000 a year, or a computed $2,000 a month before any option reduction. The chart agrees: 40.0 percent of $60,000 is a computed $24,000. At 55 the rate is 1.5, giving a computed $18,000 a year.
The allowance is capped: “The superannuation retirement allowance of any member may not exceed 80% of his or her three-year average annual rate of regular compensation”. At the top rate of 2.5, 2.5 times 32 years is a computed 80 percent. Veterans get an add-on: “you will receive $15 a year extra for every year or fraction thereof of creditable service, up to a maximum additional benefit of $300 a year”.
The election: Option A, B or C
| Option | What the member receives | What a survivor receives |
|---|---|---|
| Option A | The highest monthly allowance | No survivor benefit; no payout of the remaining annuity balance |
| Option B | Approximately 1% to 5% less than Option A per month | Any unexpended balance of the accumulated deductions goes to the beneficiaries; nothing if the account is used up |
| Option C | Approximately 7 to 15% less than Option A | Two-thirds of the allowance being paid at death continues for life to one named beneficiary |
Option A: “All allowance payments will cease upon your death and no benefits will be provided for your survivors”. Option B: the guide says the beneficiaries “will be paid the unexpended balance of your accumulated total deductions, if any, from the annuity reserve account”. The form warns “The longer you live, the less will be paid to your beneficiary(ies) upon your death”, and “If your account has been fully depleted, nothing will be paid to your named beneficiary(ies)”. The guide says “you may designate any person(s) or charity or institution as your beneficiary”, and “if you choose Option B you may change your beneficiary at any time after retirement”.
Option C is the joint and last survivor option. The guide says “The monthly allowance you receive under Option C depends upon life expectancy factors for both you and your designated beneficiary”, and the form says “The younger your beneficiary, the smaller your retirement allowance will be”. Who can be named: “The eligible beneficiaries are limited to your spouse, your former spouse (provided he or she has not remarried at the time the Option C benefit becomes payable to you), your child, your parent, or your sibling”.
A computed example from an assumed $2,000 monthly Option A allowance, not an NCRS figure: Option B at 1% to 5% less would pay between a computed $1,900 and $1,980 a month. Option C at 7% to 15% less would pay between a computed $1,700 and $1,860 a month, and the beneficiary would receive two-thirds of that, between a computed $1,133.33 and $1,240.00 a month. The real reduction depends on the ages involved, so the board’s estimate decides. The general trade-off is at single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension.
What is irrevocable, the deadline and the spouse
The guide says “You must choose an option before the date your allowance becomes effective”. A change is allowed only until the retirement is in force: “You may change your Option selection before your retirement becomes effective by filing a new form”. After that, “You are not permitted under any circumstances to change your option selection after your retirement becomes effective”. Failing to choose is itself a choice: “If you refuse or fail to select an option before the date your retirement becomes effective, the law provides that you shall be retired under Option B”.
Option C has a safeguard if the beneficiary dies first (for applications filed on or after January 12, 1988): “you will thereafter be paid the full retirement allowance you would have received had you elected Option A at the time your retirement allowance became effective”. The limit is firm: “You cannot select a new Option C beneficiary or a different option”.
For a married member, “A married member’s Choice of Retirement Option Form at Retirement must be signed by the member’s spouse to acknowledge the spouse understands the option chosen”. The signature is an acknowledgement, not an approval: “Your signature is not consent or approval, only an acknowledgement of the Option chosen by your spouse”. For how a true consent rule differs, see spousal consent to waive a joint and survivor annuity. The form says “Your retirement board can provide you with a personalized estimate of each benefit”.
Lump sums: what the documents describe
In the documents read, a lump sum appears only as the Option B payout, the refund after leaving service and the rollover tax notice. The pages read do not describe a lump-sum retirement option, a partial lump sum or a deferred retirement option plan (DROP). The pension-or-cash decision for someone who has left is the refund decision below, framed generally at pension lump sum versus monthly annuity break-even.
Leaving before retirement: leave the money or take a refund
Someone who leaves can keep the account in place. The guide says “Your accumulated deductions will continue to earn interest after you resign”, but “The interest that may be paid to you, if you later seek a refund, is limited to that which accrues during the first two years following your resignation”. See pension refund versus leaving it.
| How the member left | Interest on the refund |
|---|---|
| Left voluntarily with at least ten years of creditable service | 100% of the regular interest |
| Left involuntarily | 100% of the regular interest, whatever the service |
| Left voluntarily with less than ten years of service | Interest at the annual rate of 3% |
The guide advises: “You should always seek counseling prior to withdrawing your funds”. The refund replaces the pension rather than borrowing against it: the form has the member confirm “In consideration of the return of my accumulated total deductions, my membership in the Retirement System shall terminate” and “In electing to receive this return of my accumulated total deductions I am also giving up any rights any beneficiary may have on my account in the Retirement System”.
What a returning member faces
On a return, the guide says “When you return to public service, you are not required to pay back any contributions that you withdrew”, yet “Your prior creditable service will count toward your retirement allowance only to the extent that you buy back the creditable service associated with the annuity savings fund deductions that were refunded to you”. For those who joined earlier and take their money out, the form warns that “you will be subject to changes in the law brought about by Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2011”, including “A new age factor table that will require you to work longer for the same or a similar benefit that you would receive under the previous law” and “An increase in the minimum retirement age from age 55 to 60 (Group 1 only)”. A member who leaves, takes a refund and returns loses the pre-2012 rules.
Who cannot take a refund
The most notable group: “All members who are receiving retirement allowances are ineligible to request a refund because their accumulated total deductions are being used on an ongoing basis to provide a portion of their retirement allowance”. Beyond retirees, the guide says a member may not request a refund if “you continue to be a member-in-service”, “you are on an official leave of absence”, “you have a Workers’ Compensation claim pending or if you are receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits for total incapacity”, “you have been charged with, or convicted of, misappropriation of funds or property of the governmental unit by which you were employed”, or “you are appealing a dismissal or you have otherwise expressed your intent to continue in public employment”. The guide adds that “the law says you shall receive your refund within 60 days after filing a written request on a prescribed form with your retirement board”.
How a refund is taxed and paid
On Massachusetts tax the guide says “No, the amount of your refund that represents your contributions and the interest on your account is not subject to Massachusetts income tax”. On federal tax the refund form states that “I understand that if I choose to directly receive the return of my accumulated total deductions, 20% of the taxable portion of such return will be withheld and paid to the Internal Revenue Service”. The tax notice explains the routes. A direct rollover: “Your payment will not be taxed in the current year and no income tax will be withheld”. Paid to the member instead: “You will receive only 80% of the taxable portion of the distribution”.
A computed example from an assumed $25,000 taxable refund paid to the member, not an NCRS figure: 20% of $25,000 is a computed $5,000 withheld for federal tax, leaving a computed $20,000 in cash before any further tax or penalty. See 20% withholding on a pension lump sum. State treatment is at Massachusetts retirement taxes and does Massachusetts tax pensions.
Buying service credit
The NCRS creditable service page says “In certain circumstances, active members can buy back creditable service to increase their total creditable service towards retirement”. After a refund, the guide says “Buybacks must include the amount withdrawn plus interest to the date of repayment”, and “If approved by the retirement board, buyback payments can be made on an installment basis”. The pages read do not state the interest rate, so the board has to quote it. The pension buyback calculator sets up the break-even once a price is in hand. For military service before joining, “veterans are allowed to purchase up to four years of creditable service corresponding to their military service”.
Cost-of-living adjustments
The guide says “No, Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) are not automatic”, and that “The retirement boards then can grant a COLA, but not over 3%”. The pages read do not state whether NCRS has granted a COLA, so the board should be asked.
What the IRS adds on tax
A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of NCRS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that if you roll it over yourself “you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. The NCRS refund application describes the same 20% withholding on a direct payment and offers a direct rollover as the alternative. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.
On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan” if the employee separated from service during or after the year they attained age 50 or 25 years of service under the plan, whichever is earlier. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.
Where the sources disagree
First, how fast Option B runs out. The guide says “it is generally the case that your deductions are used up within eight to twelve years of your retirement, depending upon your age at retirement”, while the form says “Please note that the contributions comprising the annuity account will be depleted within approximately twelve to fifteen years depending upon your age at retirement”. Both are posted by NCRS, so the board should say which it uses.
Second, Group 4 service. The guide says “There are no minimum vesting requirements for individuals in Group 4”, while the NCRS creditable service page says “For members, classified in Group 1, 2 or 4, with membership dates before April 2, 2012, you must have ten years of creditable service and be at least 55 years of age to retire”.
Third, the date. The NCRS chart page says “Charts apply to membership before April 1, 2012”, while every other document read uses April 2, 2012.
What this page could not settle
- The pages read do not state how much Option B or Option C reduces a particular member’s allowance; they give approximate ranges.
- The pages read do not describe a lump-sum retirement option, a partial lump sum or a DROP.
- The pages read do not state NCRS’s regular interest rate, its buyback interest rate, or whether it has granted a COLA.
- Only the Group 1 chart was archived; the Group 2 and Group 4 charts NCRS posts were not read.
- The PERAC guide for members on or after April 2, 2012 was not read.
- The guide is the 2012 revision; later changes to Chapter 32 and federal rules were not checked.
- Disability retirement, death before retirement, working after retirement and the Social Security interaction were not examined.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the option can be revisited after the retirement date; both the guide and the form say it cannot.
- Naming an Option C beneficiary and expecting to replace that person later; only the pop-up is available if the beneficiary dies first.
- Reading the spouse’s signature on the option form as consent; the form calls it an acknowledgement.
- Taking a refund without weighing that membership and the right to a pension end, and that a return after April 2, 2012 makes the member new.
- Expecting the full refund check; 20% of the taxable portion is withheld unless it is rolled over.
Related on this site: Boston Retirement System retirement decisions, Massachusetts state retirement decisions, Massachusetts retirement taxes, does Massachusetts tax pensions, pension refund versus leaving it, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, pension buyback calculator, 20% withholding on a pension lump sum and public pension retirement decisions by system.
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Answer againSources
- Norfolk County Retirement System, Superannuation (web page, read October 8, 2026): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/general/page/superannuation
- Norfolk County Retirement System, Creditable Service (web page, read October 8, 2026): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/general/page/creditable-service
- Norfolk County Retirement System, Retirement Chart (web page, read October 8, 2026): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/general/page/retirement-chart
- Norfolk County Retirement System, Retirement Chart Group 1 (membership before April 2, 2012): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/general/page/451/retchart_group_1.pdf
- PERAC, Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Guide for Members Prior to April 2, 2012 (revised 2012): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/general/page/681/retirement_guide.pdf
- PERAC, Choice of Option at Retirement (form last revised February 2020): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/general/page/881/choiceofoptionretirement_2020_fillable.pdf
- PERAC, Application for Withdrawal of Accumulated Total Deductions (form last revised February 2020): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/general/page/891/applicwithdrawaccdeductions2020_fillable_0.pdf
- PERAC, Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump Sum Distributions (distributions after January 1, 2002): https://www.norfolkcountyretirement.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/general/page/891/lump_sum_application_tax_form.pdf
- IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
- IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.