SB 701

Under current law, certain people who receive a retirement or disability

annuity from the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and who are hired by an

employer that participates in the WRS must suspend that annuity and may not

receive a WRS annuity payment until the person is no longer in a WRS-covered

position. This suspension applies to a person who 1) has reached his or her normal

retirement date; 2) is appointed to a position with a WRS-participating employer or

provides employee services as a contractor to a WRS-participating employer; and 3)

is expected to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment

by the Department of Employee Trust Funds.

This bill creates an exception to this suspension if 1) the person retired from

WRS-covered employment as a teacher; 2) at least 30 days have elapsed from the

date the person left WRS-covered employment with a school district; 3) the person

is hired as a teacher; 4) at the time the person initially retires from a school district,

the person does not have an agreement with any school district to return to

employment as a teacher or a contractor providing employee services as a teacher;

and 5) the person elects to not become a participating employee at the time the person

is rehired or enters into a contract after retirement. In other words, the bill allows

a WRS teacher annuitant who is either hired as a teacher or provides employee

services as a teacher with a school district that is a participating employer to return

to work as a teacher and elect to not become a participating employee for purposes

of the WRS and instead continue to receive his or her annuity.