AUGUSTA — Senator Dave Miramant, D-Camden, introduced Monday a bill to fix problems in the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MEPERS) Disability Retirement Program.

The bill, LD 1644, “An Act To Improve the Disability Retirement Program of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System,” received a public hearing before the Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee.

“The problems with the MEPERS Disability Retirement Program are very concerning and systemic,” said Sen. Miramant. “This is my second time proposing legislation to improve MEPERS disability retirement. Some of the reforms we have suggested have begun to be implemented, but the work is not done. We require state employees to lose Social Security and enroll in MEPERS, yet we are letting them down when they need help. We must ensure that this never happens again and that workers are able to access the benefits they are promised.”

In 2018, Sen. Miramant received an email from a constituent raising concerns about her experience with the Disability Retirement System. Through additional conversations, he discovered that the application process was confusing and opaque.

Furthermore, applicants are not allowed to speak or have their medical professional questioned, or assessments incorporated into the application process. Some applicants wait months and rack up legal fees as they await decisions and appeals. The process is lengthy and inaccessible.

Under LD 1644, there will be a clearer and more streamlined process for Maine state employees to apply for disability retirement benefits, per a news release. 

In an approach to fix systemic issues, LD 1644 removes the medical board, ensures that the system’s hearing officers are not MEPERS Board of Trustees members, establishes a medical review process incorporating the applicants’ health care providers, and provides reimbursement for legal fees for those eligible.

The bill faces further work in the Labor and Housing Committee.