Frequently Asked Questions

If you return to employment with an employer that does participate in the Retirement System from which you retired, the following information applies after October 1, 2005: A six-month period during which no service (except as an unpaid bona fide volunteer at a school) is rendered to an employer in the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) must immediately precede a return to employment. A return to work earlier than six months will revoke your retirement benefit retroactively to your retirement date and all benefits paid to you must be repaid to the Retirement System. Establishing a pre-existing agreement for post-retirement employment with an employer in TSERS is prohibited and could cause retroactive revocation of retirement benefits, as well.

If you are reemployed by, or otherwise engaged to perform services for, a TSERS-covered employer after six months from your retirement date in a position not eligible for participation in TSERS, you will be subject to earnings restrictions of 50% of your gross 12-month pre-retirement salary (excluding termination payments) or $28,860.00 (2010 amount), whichever is higher. The dollar figure is adjusted annually according to the Consumer Price Index, which is a national measure of increase in the cost of living from one year to the next. These earnings restrictions apply for the 12 months immediately following retirement and for each calendar year following the year of retirement.

If you exceed your earnings limitations, your retirement benefit will be suspended the first day of the month following the month in which you exceed the limit for the remainder of the calendar year. Your retirement payment will start again on January 1 of the year after your benefit is stopped. If your earnings exceed the allowable amount in the month of December, your benefit will not be suspended.

Reemployment which causes suspension of your retirement allowance will also cause the suspension of your health coverage under the retiree group of the State Health Plan. Before accepting such reemployment, you should ask the new employer if you will qualify for continued coverage under the active group of the State Health Plan, and if you will qualify for the state’s contribution toward your coverage. Upon restoration of your retirement allowance, your health coverage under the retiree group will be reinstated the first of the month following the month your retirement allowance is restored.

You may return to work for a TSERS-covered employer in a permanent full-time position after a six-month break, but your retirement benefit will be suspended and you must enroll in TSERS as an active employee. If you return to service and contribute for at least three additional years, your service from your first and second periods of employment will be combined at the time of your second retirement, and you can change the retirement payment plan and/or beneficiary you selected at the time of your original retirement. If you return to service for less than three years, your first retirement benefit will be reinstated and you will have a choice of either receiving a lump sum refund of contributions or another (generally smaller) monthly benefit from your second period of employment.

Reemployment Exception for Nursing Instructors.  If you are a Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) retiree who retired on or before June 1, 2009 with a reduced or unreduced benefit, or if you retire on or after July 1, 2009 with an unreduced benefit, and you wish to return to work as a nursing instructor exempt from the earnings limitations, you may do so provided you meet all of the following conditions: