AB 352

Under current law, a participant in the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS)

who has attained the age of 55, or a protective occupation participant who has

attained age 50, is entitled to receive a WRS annuity if, among other requirements,

the participant is separated from covered employment under the WRS until the

latest of the following: the annuity effective date; the date 30 days after the

application is received by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (DETF); or the

date 30 days after separation from all covered employment. The bill provides that

the participant must be separated from covered employment under the WRS for at

least 180 days.

2011 Wisconsin Act 32

increased the number of hours that an employee must

work in order to become a participating employee in the WRS, from one-third of what

is considered full-time employment to two-thirds of what is considered full-time

employment, as determined by DETF by rule. This change in law applied to those

employees who were first hired by a WRS employer on or after July 1, 2011. This bill

reduces that eligibility requirement to 660 hours for a teacher or educational support

personnel employee, and 1,000 hours for all other employees. The bill further

provides that this change in law does not affect employees who were participating

employees at any time before July 1, 2011. As a result, these individuals are subject

to the one-third employment requirement for WRS participation purposes.

In addition, under current law, when a WRS participant terminates covered

employment and becomes an annuitant he or she may return to covered employment

and either terminate the annuity and again become a participating employee or,

instead, continue to receive the annuity, as well as wages from covered employment.

If a participant continues to receive the annuity, he or she may not be a participating

employee in the WRS and, in the case of state employment, is not eligible for group

insurance benefits provided to participating employees, and may not use any of his

or her employment service as a rehired annuitant for any WRS purposes. If the

participant terminates the annuity, he or she returns to participating employee

status and is eligible for all group insurance benefits provided other participating

employees, as well as is able to accumulate additional years of creditable service

under the WRS for the additional period of covered employment.

This bill provides that, beginning on the bill's effective date, if a participant in

the WRS, who is receiving an annuity, or a disability annuitant who has attained his

or her normal retirement date, is appointed to a position in covered employment in

which he or she is expected to work at least one-half time, the participant's annuity

must be terminated and no annuity payment is payable until after the participant

terminates covered employment.

The bill also provides that, if a participant receiving a retirement annuity, or

a disability annuitant who has attained his or her normal retirement date, enters