SB 793

Under current law, certain individuals 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 for grades kindergarten to 12 after July 2,

2013; 2) at least 30 days have elapsed from the date the person left WRS-covered

employment with a school district; 3) the person is rehired as a substitute 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; 5) the person

elects to not become a participating employee at the time the person is rehired or

enters into a contract after retirement; and 6) the person is hired between the

effective date of the bill and August 1, 2024. In other words, the bill allows a WRS

teacher annuitant to return to work as a substitute teacher with a participating

employer and elect to not become a participating employee for purposes of the WRS

and instead continue to receive his or her annuity between the effective date of the

bill and August 1, 2024.