Each of these systems is governed by its own retirement board. These boards fall into the following categories:
State Board: The official board of all state employees. There are also some smaller non-state units that are members of this board.
Teachers’ Board: All public school teachers, with the exception of Boston, are members of this board. Boston teachers are members of the Boston Board.
County/Regional Boards: These boards administer retirement for county employees and smaller towns and units within the county that do not have their own boards. For counties which have been abolished, there are regional retirement boards performing the same functions.
Municipal Boards: These boards are the retirement administrators for individual cities and larger towns within the Commonwealth.
Other Boards: Seven other boards: Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, MassPort Authority, Blue Hills Regional School Employees, Greater Lawrence Sanitary District, Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District and Massachusetts Water Resources Authority[MWRA] are included under Chapter 32.

Retirement Board Make-Up

All retirement boards, with the current exception of the Teachers’ and MWRA, consist of five members:
Ex Officio Member: A member by virtue of office, most commonly a city auditor or town accountant or, in the case of a county, the county treasurer.
Appointed Member: Chosen by the appointing authority for the governmental unit, such as mayor/city council, the board of selectmen, or the county commissioners.
Two Elected Members: Each of whom is either an employee or retiree within the system who is elected by the employees-retirees.
Fifth Member: Chosen by the other four members and cannot be an employee, retiree or official of the governmental unit. In the case of a county board, a treasurer from one of the participating towns or units must be elected by the treasurers and is known as the council (advisory council) member.
The State Board: Two are elected by the active and retired employees and another is chosen by the State Treasurer. These three, plus the state treasurer, who is an ex officio member, select the fifth member who cannot be a state employee, retiree or official.
The Teachers’ Board: Two are elected by the active and retired teachers, and a retired teacher is appointed by the governor. The State Treasurer and State Auditor are members by statute. These five, plus the Commissioner of Education, who is an ex officio member, select the seventh member.
Regional Board (abolished county): First Member is chosen by the other four members for a 6 year term and serves as chairman. Second Member is a treasurer from one of the participating towns or units, elected by the treasurers for a 3 year term. Third and Fourth Members are elected by the active and retired employees for 3 year terms. Fifth Member, with a 5 year term, is chosen by the other four members and cannot be an employee, retiree or official of the governmental units in the Regional Retirement system.