§ 14 — Effect of workers' compensation benefits

Section 14. (1)Retention of Rights of a Member in Service.— (a) Any employee who was a member in service at the time of sustaining an injury or undergoing a hazard on account of which he becomes entitled to payments under the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-two shall, during the period while he is receiving weekly payments for total incapacity under the provisions of sections sixty-nine to seventy-five, inclusive, of such chapter or of sections thirty-four, thirty-four A, thirty-four B, thirty-five A, thirty-five F or thirty-six of such chapter in the case of an employee of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District, the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School system, or the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District, or during any period determined, as set forth, in paragraph (c), represented by the allocation of the amount of any lump sum settlement payable directly to him under the provisions of section forty-eight of such chapter in lieu of such weekly payments and also, in either event, during a further period of thirty days, retain all the rights of a member in service while he is living, unless and until a retirement allowance becomes effective for him under the provisions of sections one to twenty-eight, inclusive. During such periods, however, no deductions for the annuity savings fund of the system shall be made from payments such members shall receive under the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-two nor shall he withdraw his accumulated total deductions therefrom.Any such member shall have credited to him as creditable service under the system the period during which he is receiving such weekly payments or lump sum settlement in lieu of such weekly payments. The board of each system shall keep an annual record of all such creditable service. At the time of his retirement there shall be transferred from the pension fund of the system of which he was a member at the time of the accident, to the annuity savings fund of the system of which he is then a member, the amount which said person would have paid into said fund had his employment in the service of the commonwealth or political subdivision thereof not been interrupted by his industrial accident with regular interest to the date of retirement, but in no event more than would be credited to him if regular deductions with interest were made on his full salary or wages; provided, that any sum so paid by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof shall be used only to provide an increased retirement allowance of the person on whose account such payment is made. Any period during which an employee is receiving weekly benefits for total incapacity under chapter one hundred fifty-two shall not be counted in computing such employee's sick leave for severance pay purposes; nor may an employee use sick leave accrued during the time of total incapacity during such total incapacity.(b) If such member attains the maximum age for his group during any such period he shall be retired for superannuation in the same manner as if he were actually in service; provided, that if prior to his attaining such maximum age there has been filed with the board an application for his retirement for accidental disability, his rights to such retirement, if any, shall not expire or be abridged by the attainment of such maximum age while action on such application is pending.(c) Whenever such member receives an amount of lump sum settlement payable directly to him under the provisions of section forty-eight of chapter one hundred and fifty-two in lieu of weekly payments, the period represented thereby shall, for the purpose of this section, be computed to begin on the date for which he last received regular compensation prior to such settlement, or on the date of the last compensation payment in case weekly payments had previously been made under the provisions of sections sixty-nine to seventy-five, inclusive, or section thirty-four, thirty-four A, thirty-four B, thirty-five A or thirty-six of such chapter, and to continue during a number of weeks equal to the quotient of the amount of such lump sum settlement divided by the amount of the maximum weekly compensation which would otherwise be payable to him under the provisions of such sections. Any fraction of a week resulting from such division shall be taken as a full week.(2)Workers' Compensation Benefits Offset.— (a) All sums of money payable under the provisions of sections thirty-one, thirty-four, thirty-four A, thirty-four B, thirty-five and thirty-five A of chapter one hundred and fifty-two directly to a retired member or to the legal representative or dependents of a deceased member on account of his death, including so much of the amount of any lump sum settlement payable under the provisions of such sections directly to any such person as is allocable to the period following the retirement or death of such member, but excluding any payments for or amounts allocable to any period prior to the date his retirement allowance became effective, shall be offset against and payable in lieu of any pension payable on his account under the provisions of section six, seven or nine by reason of the same injury, but not against his accumulated total deductions or any annuity derived therefrom. Whenever the amount of any such lump settlement is payable directly to a beneficiary, the period over which it is allocable for purposes of this section shall be determined by the actuary in a manner which is consistent with that set forth in paragraph (1)(c) of this section. If any such pension exceeds the compensation payable on account of such member under such provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-two when both are reduced to the same periodical basis, the excess only shall be paid as a pension so long as such compensation continues. If any such pension is less than or equal to such compensation, no pension shall be paid so long as such compensation continues to be equal to or greater than such pension.(b) In all cases where a member or a beneficiary receives delayed compensation payments or an amount of any lump sum settlement payable directly to him under the provisions of sections thirty-one, thirty-four, thirty-four A, thirty-four B, thirty-five or thirty-five A of chapter one hundred and fifty-two subsequent to his receipt of payments under any pension granted under the provisions of section six, seven or nine by reason of the same injury, no further pension payments shall be made unless and until such time as the total amounts which by then would have been payable as compensation and pension together as set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, if there had been no delay in making such compensation payments, shall exceed the total amounts of compensation and pension actually paid by them after due allowance in either case for the allocation of any such lump sum settlement.(c) If a member or a beneficiary entitled to a pension under the provisions of section six, seven or nine, and also having a right to compensation under the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-two by reason of the same injury or death of such member, as the case may be, neglects or fails to prosecute fully such right or to co-operate with the board in its prosecution thereof, as provided for by the provisions of section seventy-three of such chapter, the board may, during the period of such neglect or failure, suspend such member's or beneficiary's right to further payment under the provisions of section six, seven or nine. Under the circumstances set forth in the said section seventy-three, the duty of the board to prosecute shall be mandatory.