The Berkshire County Retirement System administers the pension system for the public employees of 46 towns, districts, and authorities throughout Berkshire County. Adams, North Adams and Pittsfield have their own retirement systems and are not part of Berkshire County Retirement.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts public employees are not covered

under Social Security. Instead public employees are mandated to be

covered by a Contributory Retirement System or an OBRA plan.  The

Berkshire County Retirement Board governs our retirement system

under Chapter 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws, which establishes

benefits, contribution requirements and accounting and funding

structure for all systems.

 

Our goal is to provide our more than 2,000 active and retired Berkshire

County Retirement System members with:

• professional and courteous service

• secure retirement benefits lawfully earned through public service

• pensions that are paid promptly and accurately every month

• a retirement program that is compliant and conforms to established policy
  procedures of the Board and MGL Chapter 32

• a pension trust fund that is managed effectively for the stability of the retirement system

 

The Berkshire County Retirement System was established in 1937 under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 32.  We are one of 105 Contributory Retirement Systems in Massachusetts that are overseen by the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC), which was created by Chapter 306 of the Acts of 1996.