Eligibility for participating employee status and the Wisconsin Retirement System and post-retirement employment of annuitants under the Wisconsin Retirement System

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 into a contract to provide employee services with a participating employer after the bill's effective date, and he or she is expected to work at least one-half time, the participant's retirement annuity must be terminated and no annuity payment is payable until after the participant no longer provides employee services under the contract.

Because this bill relates to public employee retirement or pensions, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.