Bridgewater Pension Costs to Rise 9.5% Until 2032

Other Committee 2026-08-18 Part 2 · Meeting of August 18, 2026

Bridgewater told to expect 9.5% annual pension increases through 2032. Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O'Brien and Commissioner Sandra Wright briefed the Finance Committee on the Plymouth County Retirement Association's finances, citing a total unfunded pension liability of $38,885,978 as of January 1, 2024, and a fiscal 2027 assessment of $7,113,743. O'Brien said the system's full-funding target has slipped from 2031 to 2032 due to updated mortality tables and payroll assumptions, but pledged the town will save "more than $5 million a year" once fully funded.

He said the county's retirement fund, the fifth-largest in Massachusetts, has outperformed the state's PRIT fund and posted a since-inception annualized return of 8.59 percent. On health insurance, O'Brien said the town's Mayflower Municipal Health Group held its rate increase to 10 percent this year, "about half of what everybody else is paying," while national increases ran 17 to 20 percent. The committee also reviewed the town's OPEB trust, which has grown to $78 million in assets across 37 member communities.

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Source: the Other Committee 2026-08-18 Part 2 meeting of August 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.