Updated October 22, 2026. Quick answer: Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 32, section 3, subdivision (4), a member who taught or supervised in public schools in another state may pay in an amount equal to the deductions that would have been withheld, plus buyback interest, and receive the same credit as Massachusetts public school service. The credit is capped at ten years, and no credit is allowed for service that earns a pension from another state.
What this covers
The statute calls this “Credit for Teachers for Out-of-State Service”. It applies to members of the teachers’ retirement system and of other contributory systems who teach, not only to members of one system. For the system most teachers belong to, see Massachusetts MTRS retirement decisions; for the wider choices, see public pension retirement decisions.
What the statute says
Each row is the statute’s own wording.
| Question | What section 3, subdivision (4) says |
|---|---|
| Who | “Any member in service, or any member inactive on authorized leave of absence of the teachers’ retirement system, or any member in service, or any member inactive on authorized leave of absence of any other contributory retirement system who is employed in a teaching position or as a principal, supervisor or president in a school or college” |
| What service | “who had rendered service in any other state for any previous period as a teacher, principal, supervisor or superintendent in the public day schools or other day school under exclusive public control and supervision” |
| How to pay | “may, before the date any retirement allowance becomes effective for him, pay into the annuity savings fund of the system in one sum, or in instalments, upon such terms and conditions as the board may prescribe, an amount equal to that which would have been withheld as regular deductions from his regular compensation for such previous period, or most recent portion thereof, as he may elect” |
| Interest | “In addition to the payment of such sum or instalments thereof, such member shall also pay into the annuity savings fund an amount of interest such that at the completion of such payments the value of his accumulated payments, together with buyback interest thereon, actually made on account of such previous out-of-state service, shall equal the value of his accumulated buyback deductions which would have resulted if regular deductions had been made when regular compensation for such service was actually received.” |
| What you get | “Upon the completion of such payments, such member shall receive the same credit for such period of his previous out-of-state service, or portion thereof elected, as would have been allowed if such service had been rendered by him in a public school of the commonwealth.” |
Limits and refunds
The same subdivision sets these limits.
| Limit | What section 3, subdivision (4) says |
|---|---|
| The cap | “Payment shall not be made and no credit shall be allowed for service in other states in excess of the total Massachusetts service to which the member would be entitled to receive credit if he remained in service to age sixty-five, with a maximum credit for service in other states not to exceed ten years” |
| Another state’s pension | “provided, that no credit shall be allowed and no payment shall be accepted for any service for which the member shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance from any other state.” |
| Refund of the excess | “credit shall be allowed only for the most recent service rendered in other states equal to such Massachusetts service, and the amount paid for additional service shall be refunded with accumulated interest” |
| Overseas and Puerto Rico | “shall be deemed to include service rendered in an overseas dependent school conducted under the supervision of the department of defense of the government of the United States, and service rendered in the public schools of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; provided, that any credit to be allowed shall not exceed five years of the maximum credit of ten years allowable for service in other states as provided in this section.” |
Nonpublic school teaching, a separate provision
Section 3, subdivision (4A) has a parallel rule, “Credit for Teachers for Nonpublic School Service”. It reaches a member “who was previously engaged in teaching pupils or as an administrator in a nonpublic school prior to January first, nineteen hundred and seventy-three”, and it has its own cap: “with a maximum credit for service in nonpublic schools not to exceed ten years”. Read the full subdivision for its conditions before relying on it.
What the statute does not say
It prints no price for current service; the cost depends on your pay history, the board’s terms and the buyback interest, which section 1 of the chapter defines as “one-half of actuarial assumed interest”. The one rate the subdivision prints is three per cent, for interest on service rendered before July 1, 1914. Ask the board for a written figure first, then compare with whether buying service credit is worth it and the pension buyback calculator.
Edition
This page reads Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title IV, Chapter 32, Section 3 (Membership), as malegislature.gov served them on 2026-10-22. It is statute text, not the retirement board’s member guide: the board’s forms, its installment terms and its buyback interest rate are outside it, so confirm them with the board.
Common mistakes
- Counting on more than ten years. The statute caps it: “not to exceed ten years”
- Buying years that already earn a pension elsewhere. The statute says “no credit shall be allowed and no payment shall be accepted for any service for which the member shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance from any other state.”
- Assuming the payment is always kept. The statute says the extra payment “shall be refunded with accumulated interest” when Massachusetts service is shorter than the out-of-state service bought. The comparison is made on the date the allowance becomes effective or the member attains age sixty-five, whichever first occurs, and the refund is made only when the allowance becomes due to the member or to the beneficiary under option (d) of section twelve. The statute also refunds, with accumulated interest and no retirement credit, any payment accepted for service for which the member is entitled to an allowance from another state.
Related: Massachusetts MTRS retirement decisions, public pension retirement decisions, and whether buying service credit is worth it.
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Answer againSources
- Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title IV, Chapter 32, Section 3 (Membership): malegislature.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions: www.irs.gov
Read from the statute text linked above on October 22, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a pension system or a qualified professional is the right place to confirm anything consequential.