New Sen. Duson law to return withheld benefits to Maine retirees with disabilities takes effect

AUGUSTA — Today, a new law introduced by Senate Assistant Majority Leader Jill Duson, D-Portland, went into effect after being passed unanimously by the Legislature earlier this year. LD 1638, “An Act Regarding Disability Retirement Benefits Under the Maine Public Employees Retirement System,” directs the Maine Public Employee Retirement System to return state benefits paid for by employees before their disability retirement, who also collected Social Security Disability retirement benefits.

“Under this new law, Maine retirees with disabilities will finally be paid their benefits after years of being left behind by a system that is designed to support them once they’ve retired from the job,” said Sen. Duson. “The collaboration with affected constituents and residents, AFSCME Council 93, Professional Fire Fighters of Maine and MEPERS led to a bipartisan solution that will change the lives of 51 Maine retirees. LD 1638 is a reminder of the power of collaboration and engaging in the process. I look forward to following the implementation of this new law.”

In 1991, the Maine Legislature created the MainePERS Social Security disability offset as part of a large Worker’s Compensation reform bill. This offset reduced benefits to well below the defined disability benefit amount of 59% of Annual Final Compensation for a small group of MainePERS disabled retirees — those who worked in Social Security covered public service jobs fully paying into both Social Security and MainePERS.

As non-emergency legislation, LD 1638 took effect on September 24, 2025, 90 days after the First Special Session of the 132nd Legislature adjourned. Governor Janet Mills signed this bill into law on June 11, 2025.