Last Updated: October 2007
This publication describes possible impacts to your retirement benefit if you return to work for an employer covered by the Washington State Teachers’ Retirement System. The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) has prepared this brochure to help you find answers to many of the questions regarding returning to work after retirement.
It is important to understand when you become a retiree because you must first retire before you can be covered under the return to work laws. You become a retiree when you:
Taking these actions will establish your effective retirement date – the first day of the month following the month in which you meet the conditions for retirement.
Keep in mind that you must be separated from employment for at least 30 days after your effective retirement date (see “Returning to work less than 30 days after your effective retirement date” on page 2) before you can return to work for a DRS-covered employer. Once you have been retired for at least 30 days, additional rules apply based on the date you retired, if you wish to return to work for a public education institution (K-12, community colleges, universities) and continue to receive your retirement benefit.
If you retired on or after July 22, 2007, and you plan to work more than 867 hours, and up to a maximum of 1,500 hours in a fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), without impacting your retirement benefit:
If you retired prior to July 22, 2007, and you plan to work more than 867 hours, and up to a maximum of 1,500 hours in a fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), without impacting your retirement benefit:
Note: You may continue to work once you have exceeded any of the hourly limits listed above or on page 1 that apply to your retirement date. However, if you do so, your retirement benefit will be suspended. It will resume following your last day of employment or at the beginning of the next fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), whichever comes first.
When you return to work, you must let your employer know that you are a retiree from TRS. It is your employer’s responsibility to report any “return to work” hours to DRS.
Returning to work 30 days after your effective retirement date
If you retired on or after July 22, 2007, you will continue to receive your retirement benefit if you separate from sevice for at least 30 days after you retire, and you work 867 hours or less in a fiscal year for a public educational facility.
If you retired prior to July 22, 2007, and you were separated from service for at least 30 days before you returned to work, you may work up to 1,500 hours in a fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) for a public educational facility provided you have not reached the 1,900 hour cumulative lifetime limit.
Returning to work 45 days after your effective retirement date
If you retired on or after July 22, 2007, and you separate from service for at least 45 days after retirement, you may work up to 1,500 hours in a fiscal year and still receive your retirement benefit provided your employer has met the hiring requirements and you have not reached the 1,900 hour cumulative lifetime limit.
Returning to work less than 30 days after your effective retirement date
If you return to work for a TRS-covered employer less than 30 days after your effective retirement date, your benefit will be reduced by 5.5 percent for every seven hours worked in a month up to a maximum of 140 hours. If the reduction is more than your benefit, the excess is taken from the next month’s benefit payment. The reduction continues until you stop working for a full 30 days.
Note: If you terminate employment and apply for retirement, but return to work for a TRS-covered employer before your effective retirement date, your retirement is nullified, you return to active membership, resume paying contributions and return all retiree benefit payments to DRS.
Any hours you work beyond 867 and up to 1,500 in a fiscal year count toward the cumulative lifetime limit of 1,900 hours. Once you reach the 1,900 hour lifetime limit, you may work only 867 hours per fiscal year and still receive your retirement benefit.
DRS will notify you in writing when you near your hourly limit for a fiscal year, and when you near your 1,900 hour cumulative lifetime limit. When you exceed your hourly limit, DRS will notify your employer. You may also track the number of hours you have worked within Online Account Services.
Note: Your retirement benefit will be suspended once you exceed your hourly limit. It will resume following your last day of employment or at the beginning of the next fiscal year, whichever comes first.
No. Once you have been retired for at least 30 days, you are eligible to work for a state agency with no retire/rehire limitations.
Employment outside the state of Washington, or as an independent contractor, is not affected by retire/rehire rules.
If you retired on or after July 22, 2007, and you return to work for multiple employers, and you wish to work more than 867 hours in a fiscal year, each of your employers must have a written policy and demonstrate a “justifiable need” to rehire you.
If you retired prior to July 22, 2007, you may work up to 1,500 hours per fiscal year without your employer(s) having a written policy or documenting a “justifiable need” to rehire you, but any hours you work beyond 867, up to 1,500 hours, in a fiscal year count toward your 1,900 hour cumulative lifetime limit.
As a retiree, your employment status and rights differ from those of an active, tenured teacher. The duration of a “return to work contract” is limited to one year; however, a contract may be renewed each year at the discretion of your employer.
You are not required to return to TRS membership, but you may elect to do so if you are a TRS Plan 1 retiree and you are employed in a full-time TRS-covered position for a public school.
Your return to active TRS membership may impact your future retirement benefit. You must contact DRS for a benefit estimate before returning to membership.
If you retired with less than 15 years of service credit, you may become a contributing member of the Public Employees’, School Employees’, or the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ retirement systems. However, your TRS benefit may be suspended pending termination of your employment.
If you retired because of a disability, your right to receive a benefit is subject to the same conditions as service retirees. However, DRS may require a disability retiree to have a medical examination at any time. If a medical examination shows that you have recovered from your disability, your disability retirement benefits will stop and you will be restored to TRS membership.
Yes. Contributing to a deferred compensation plan has no impact on your retirement benefit. Only the hours that you work affect your monthly retirement benefit. If you have questions, contact the Deferred Compensation Program at 1-888-327-5596. For TDD, call 1-877-847-6041.
Your health care coverage may be impacted if you return to work. For more information, contact the Health Care Authority (HCA) at 1-800-200-1004.
For answers to your re-employment questions, contact DRS. When contacting DRS in writing, please include the following information:
The actual rules governing working after retirement are contained in state retirement law. This publication is a summary, written in non-legal terms. It is not a complete description of the law. If there are conflicts between what is written in this publication, and what is contained in the law, the applicable law will govern.