New Sen. Tipping law improves retirement benefits for nurses at Dorothea Dix and Riverview

AUGUSTA – On Thursday, April 16, a bill from Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, was signed into law. LD 579, “An Act to Include Certain Nurses Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement,” adds certain state mental health workers at Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center and Riverview Psychiatric Center to the 1998 Special Retirement Plan.

“As the Senate chair of the Labor Committee and a member of the Government Oversight Committee, I have heard from, and worked with, these workers and know what they are going through,” said Sen. Tipping. “They described injuries on the job, burnout and dangerously low staffing levels. Between these conditions and the high stress of their occupation, they deserve to be able to retire with dignity at a reasonable age. It’s also critical for recruiting and retaining these workers at state mental health institutions.”

The 1998 Special Retirement Plan currently covers workers in a variety of fields, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, pilots, liquor inspectors and emergency response workers. Sen. Tipping’s new law adds nurses who perform essential, demanding support work at Dorthea Dix and Riverview to the plan. Once it takes effect, these workers can retire at the age of 55 after 10 years of service in this field, or 25 years of service in another covered field.

In testimony in support of the bill, Gabriel Hamlin,a workerat Riverview Psychiatric Center, told the Legislature’s Labor Committee: “I have witnessed with my own eyes numerous assaults; some that have ended nurses and direct care workers careers due to severe injuries sustained while on duty. The individuals that my coworkers and I serve, fellow Maine citizens just reading or hearing their stories of trauma that they have survived and being part of their recovery is a taxing toll on anyone serving them.”

The provisions of LD 579 will be implemented on October 1, 2026.

###