Chapter 5: Special Conditions
Employing Retirees
Employer Responsibilities
Retirement Status Form
RCW 41.50.139 requires an employer to obtain a written form from all new employees indicating whether they have ever been retired from a Washington State retirement system. The information should be obtained each time an employee begins working for you. The Retirement Status Form can be used to document this information. After the form has been completed it should be filed in the employee's permanent record.
Reporting Retirees Returning to Work
If you hire a retiree, you must report the employment on the transmittal report, along with your active members. Retirees must be reported on the applicable system's transmittal report based on the position in which the retiree is working, not the system from which the employee is retired. You must indicate the employment begin date, and type code to indicate position status as defined in each Washington State retirement system. When the position status changes for a retiree (ineligible to eligible or vice-versa), you must submit an end date for the previous position, along with a begin date and position type code for the new position. When the retiree ends employment, you must report the end date, along with the appropriate type code.
Additional requirement for person who retired using the 2008 Early Reduction Factors (ERF)
A person who retired under the 2008 ERFs must be reported to DRS as a retiree returning to work if employed as an independent contractor or under a Personal Service Contract and are under 65 years of age.
See the section Reporting Retirees on the Transmittal for information on how to correctly report a retiree.
Employer Is Liable for Failure to Report
If you fail to report the employment of the retiree, you will be liable for any pension overpayments made to the retiree. In addition, if you report incorrect information that results in a retiree receiving a pension benefit in violation of the retirement rules, you are liable for any resulting overpayment.