(1) How soon can I return to work after I retire without impacting my TRS retirement benefit?

(a) You may begin working immediately after you retire without impacting your TRS retirement benefit if:

(i) You go to work for a private employer;

(ii) You are an independent contractor as defined in WAC 415-02-110; or

(iii) You are a TRS Plan 1 retiree, your only employment is as an elected official, and you end your TRS membership under RCW 41.32.263.

(b) If you retire and then return to work for a public employer except as provided in (a) of this subsection, sooner than 30 consecutive calendar days from your accrual date (effective retirement date), your retirement allowance will be reduced until you remain absent for at least 30 consecutive calendar days. See RCW 41.32.570 (TRS Plan 1), 41.32.802 (TRS Plan 2), or 41.32.862 (TRS Plan 3).

(c) If you retire and remain absent at least 30 consecutive calendar days from your accrual date, if you meet the definition of separation in WAC 415-02-115, you may return to work in any position for any employer whose retirement plan is administered by the department of retirement systems (DRS) or a public institution of higher education, without impacting your TRS retirement benefit until you reach your applicable annual hour limit.

(d) If you worked prior to retirement in an ineligible position and continue to work in the same ineligible position beyond retirement, this will not be considered a violation of the 30 consecutive days in (b) and (c) of this subsection assuming that separation from your employer as defined in WAC 415-02-115 was satisfied.

(e) Examples:

(i) Pat works for Evergreen School District and fully separates employment at the age of 60. Pat then moves to Spokane and begins employment with the Spokane Library District in a position that is not eligible for retirement benefits. This employment continues and the position remains ineligible for retirement benefits. At age 65 Pat is eligible to begin collecting the TRS retirement benefit earned while working at Evergreen School District, without terminating employment from Spokane Library District.

(ii) Skyler works for Odessa School District until age 65 in a retirement eligible position, then begins working part time for the same school in a position that is not eligible for retirement. Skyler is not eligible to begin receiving their retirement benefit because they have not yet separated from employment with the employer they participated in the retirement system with.

(iii) Parker works for Spokane Public Schools until age 63 at which point, they separate employment and have their name placed on the on-call substitute teacher list at a number of local school districts. Parker substitutes occasionally for the Deer Park, Mead, and Cheney schools. At age 65 they are eligible to begin collecting the TRS benefit that was earned while working at the Spokane Public Schools without terminating employment from the substitute positions.

(iv) Taylor works for two different employers over the same period of time. The position with employer one is a retirement eligible position and the position with employer two does not meet the requirements for retirement eligibility. Prior to age 65 Taylor separates from employment with employer one but continues to work for employer two in the ineligible position. When Taylor reaches age 65 they are eligible to begin receiving their retirement benefit because they have separated from employment with the employer they participated in the retirement system with.

(2) What is the annual hour limit?  All retirees including those retired under the alternate early retirement factors after separating from employment and being absent at least 30 consecutive calendar days as described in subsection (1)(c) of this section, your annual hour limit will be based on the position you return to.

(a) No limit. You may work as many hours as you want without affecting your retirement benefit if:

(i) You go to work for a private employer;

(ii) You are an independent contractor as defined in WAC 415-02-110; or

(iii) You are a TRS Plan 1 retiree, and:

(A) Your only employment is as an elected official, and you end your TRS membership under RCW 41.32.263; or

(B) You go to work for a nonpublic educational institution.

(iv) You are a TRS Plan 2 or Plan 3 member working as an on-call substitute teacher.

(b) Eight hundred sixty-seven-hour limit. You may work up to 867 hours in a year (July through June for TRS Plan 1, January through December for TRS Plan 2 and Plan 3) before your retirement benefit is suspended.

(c) One thousand forty-hour limit. From March 23, 2022, through June 30, 2025, you may work up to 1,040 hours in a year, (July through June for TRS Plan 1, January through December for TRS Plan 2 and Plan 3) in a position that is eligible for a DRS retirement plan, in:

(i) A nonadministrative position at a school district before your retirement allowance is suspended; or

(ii) An administrative position (as a district superintendent or an in-school administrator) before your retirement allowance is suspended if, you retired before January 1, 2022, and returned to a TRS position at a second-class school district.

(3) What hours count toward the limit?

(a) Counted toward the annual hour limit: All compensated hours that are worked in an eligible position, including the use of earned sick leave, vacation days, paid holidays, compensatory time, and cashouts of compensatory time.

(b) Not counted toward the annual hour limit: Cashouts of unused sick and vacation leave.

(4) What happens if I work more than the annual hour limit?

(a) If you work more than the annual hour limit, your retirement benefit will be suspended. The suspension will be effective the day after you exceed the hour limit. DRS will prorate your retirement benefit for the month in which you exceed the limit.

(b) Your retirement benefit will be restarted beginning the next year (July for TRS Plan 1, January for TRS Plan 2 or Plan 3) or the day after you terminate all eligible employment, whichever occurs first.

(c) DRS will recover any overpayments made to you for the month(s) in which you exceeded the hour limit and received a retirement benefit. See RCW 41.50.130.

(5) Can I return to TRS membership?

(a) You may choose to return to membership if you are employed by a public educational institution and are otherwise eligible. Membership will be prospective from the first day of the month following the month in which you request to return to membership. See RCW 41.32.044.

(b) If you reenter TRS membership and later choose to retire again, DRS will recalculate your retirement benefit under the applicable statutes and regulations. You will be subject to the return to work rules in place at the time of your reretirement.

(c) If you are a retiree from another retirement system administered by DRS, you may choose to enter TRS membership if you are eligible. See WAC 415-112-546. The option to enter membership is prospective from the first day of the month following the month in which you request membership. See RCW 41.04.270 and 41.35.030.

(6) What if I retired from TRS and another DRS retirement system?

If you return to work after retirement from TRS and another DRS retirement system, see WAC 415-113-300 to determine the effect of returning to work.

(7) Terms used.

(a) "Accrual date" - WAC 415-112-520; RCW 41.32.795, 41.32.855.

(b) "Eligible position" - RCW 41.32.010.

(c) "Employer" - RCW 41.32.010.

(d) "Nonadministrative position" - WAC 415-02-030.

(e) "Second-class school district" - RCW 28A.300.065.

(f) "Year."

(i) For TRS Plan 1, a "year" is July 1st through June 30th.

(ii) For TRS Plan 2 and Plan 3, a "year" is January 1st through December 31st.