AN
ACT Relating to postretirement employment for teachers' retirement system,
public employees' retirement system, and school employees' retirement system
retirees; amending RCW 28A.405.900, 41.32.570, 41.40.037, 41.32.802, 41.32.860,
41.32.862, 41.35.060, 41.40.037, and 41.40.750; creating new sections;
providing effective dates; providing expiration dates; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. (1)
The department of retirement systems, the office of the superintendent of
public instruction, the department of personnel, and the health care authority
shall jointly develop publications for use during the 2001‑03 biennium to
explain options for, and implications of, postretirement employment for members
and retirees of the teachers' retirement system plan 1 and the public
employees' retirement system plan 1.
(2)
The publications shall address such issues as: (a) Health insurance coverage
upon reemployment; (b) health benefit options upon termination of
postretirement employment; (c) sick leave, annual leave, and other compensation
practices; (d) options for, and implications of, reentry into active retirement
system membership; (e) hiring procedures for retirees; and (f) collective
bargaining rights and responsibilities.
Sec.
2. RCW
28A.405.900 and 1990 c 33 s 404 are each amended to read as follows:
Certificated
employees subject to the provisions of RCW 28A.310.250, 28A.405.010
through 28A.405.240, 28A.405.400 through 28A.405.410, 28A.415.250, and
28A.405.900 shall not include those certificated employees hired to replace
certificated employees who have been granted sabbatical, regular, or other
leave by school districts, and shall not include retirees hired for
postretirement employment under the provisions of this act.
It
is not the intention of the legislature that this section apply to any
regularly hired certificated employee or that the legal or constitutional rights
of such employee be limited, abridged, or abrogated.
Sec.
3. RCW
41.32.570 and 1999 c 387 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a)
If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month
after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will
be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during
that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree
remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
(b)
The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a
maximum of one hundred forty hours per month. Any monthly benefit reduction
over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible
to receive in subsequent months.
(2)
Any retired teacher or retired administrator who enters service in any public
educational institution in Washington state and who has satisfied the break in
employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section shall cease to receive
pension payments while engaged in such service((: PROVIDED, That service
may be rendered up to five hundred twenty-five hours per school year without
reduction of pension.
(3)
In addition to the five hundred twenty-five hours of service permitted under
subsection (2) of this section, a retired teacher or retired administrator may
also serve only as a substitute teacher for up to an additional three hundred
fifteen hours per school year without reduction of pension if:
(a)
A school district, which is not a member of a multidistrict substitute
cooperative, determines that it has exhausted or can reasonably anticipate that
it will exhaust its list of qualified and available substitutes and the school
board of the district adopts a resolution to make its substitute teachers who
are retired teachers or retired administrators eligible for the extended
service once the list of qualified and available substitutes has been
exhausted. The resolution by the school district shall state that the services
of retired teachers and retired administrators are necessary to address the
shortage of qualified and available substitutes. The resolution shall be valid
only for the school year in which it is adopted. The district shall forward a
copy of the resolution with a list of retired teachers and retired
administrators who have been employed as substitute teachers to the department
and may notify the retired teachers and retired administrators included on the
list of their right to take advantage of the provisions of this subsection; or
(b)
A multidistrict substitute cooperative determines that the school districts
have exhausted or can reasonably anticipate that they will exhaust their list
of qualified and available substitutes and each of the school boards adopts a
resolution to make their substitute teachers who are retired teachers or
retired administrators eligible for the extended service once the list of
qualified and available substitutes has been exhausted. The resolutions by
each of the school districts shall state that the services of retired teachers
and retired administrators are necessary to address the shortage of qualified
and available substitutes. The resolutions shall be valid only for the school
year in which they are adopted. The cooperative shall forward a copy of the
resolutions with a list of retired teachers and retired administrators who have
been employed as substitute teachers to the department and may notify the
retired teachers and retired administrators included on the list of their right
to take advantage of the provisions of this subsection.
(4)
In addition to the five hundred twenty-five hours of service permitted under
subsection (2) of this section, a retired administrator or retired teacher may
also serve as a substitute administrator up to an additional one hundred five
hours per school year without reduction of pension if a school district board
of directors adopts a resolution declaring that the services of a retired
administrator or retired teacher are necessary because it cannot find a
replacement administrator to fill a vacancy. The resolution shall be valid
only for the school year in which it is adopted. The district shall forward a
copy of the resolution with the name of the retired administrator or retired
teacher who has been employed as a substitute administrator to the department.
(5)
In addition to the five hundred twenty-five hours of service permitted under
subsection (2) of this section and the one hundred five hours permitted under
subsection (4) of this section, a retired principal may also serve as a
substitute principal up to an additional two hundred ten hours per school year
without a reduction of pension if a school district board of directors adopts a
resolution declaring that the services of a retired principal are necessary
because it cannot find a replacement principal to fill a vacancy. The
resolution shall be valid only for the school year in which it is adopted. The
district shall forward a copy of the resolution with the name of the retired
principal who has been employed as a substitute principal to the department.
(6)
Subsection (2) of this section shall apply to all persons governed by the
provisions of plan 1, regardless of the date of their retirement, but shall
apply only to benefits payable after June 11, 1986.
(7)
Subsection (3) of this section shall apply to all persons governed by the
provisions of plan 1, regardless of the date of their retirement, but shall
only apply to benefits payable after September 1, 1994)),
after the retiree has rendered service for more than one thousand five hundred
hours in a school year. When a retired teacher or administrator renders
service beyond eight hundred sixty-seven hours, the department shall collect
from the employer the applicable employer retirement contributions for the
entire duration of the member's employment during that fiscal year.
(3)
The department shall collect and provide the state actuary with information
relevant to the use of this section for the joint committee on pension policy.
(4)
The legislature reserves the right to amend or repeal this section in the
future and no member or beneficiary has a contractual right to be employed for
more than five hundred twenty-five hours per year without a reduction of his or
her pension.
Sec.
4. RCW
41.40.037 and 1997 c 254 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a)
If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month
after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will
be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during
that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree
remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
(b)
The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a
maximum of one hundred sixty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one
hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to
receive in subsequent months.
(2)(a)
A retiree from plan 1 who has satisfied the break in employment requirement
of subsection (1) of this section and who enters employment with an employer
may continue to receive pension payments while engaged in such service for up
to one thousand five hundred hours of service in a calendar year without a
reduction of pension. When a plan 1 member renders service beyond eight
hundred sixty-seven hours, the department shall collect from the employer the
applicable employer retirement contributions for the entire duration of the
member's employment during that calendar year.
(b)
A retiree from plan 2 or plan 3 who has satisfied the break in employment
requirement of subsection (1) of this section((,)) may work up to ((five
months per)) eight hundred sixty-seven hours in a calendar year in
an eligible position, as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.40.010,
or as a fire fighter or law enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030,
without suspension of his or her benefit.
(3)
If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.40.023(12), he or
she terminates his or her retirement status and becomes a member. Retirement
benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual
shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall
have the right to again retire if eligible in accordance with RCW 41.40.180.
However, if the right to retire is exercised to become effective before the
member has rendered two uninterrupted years of service, the retirement formula
and survivor options the member had at the time of the member's previous
retirement shall be reinstated.
(4)
The department shall collect and provide the state actuary with information
relevant to the use of this section for the joint committee on pension policy.
(5)
The legislature reserves the right to amend or repeal this section in the
future and no member or beneficiary has a contractual right to be employed for
more than five months in a calendar year without a reduction of his or her
pension.
*NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5.
Sections 2 and 3 of this act expire June 30,
2004.
*Sec. 5 was vetoed. See message at end of chapter.
*NEW
SECTION. Sec. 6.
Section 4 of this act expires December 31, 2004.
*Sec. 6 was vetoed. See message at end of chapter.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 7. The
office of the state actuary shall review the actuarial impact of the temporary
expansion of the postretirement employment limitations provided by sections 3
and 4 of this act. No later than July 1, 2003, the state actuary shall prepare
a report for the joint committee on pension policy regarding the fiscal and
policy impacts of this act. The joint committee shall solicit information from
the superintendent of public instruction, the department of personnel, the office
of financial management, the department of retirement systems, and the health
care authority regarding the program impacts of this act and shall report to
the legislative fiscal committees no later than October 1, 2003, on any
proposed changes or improvements to this act. If the state actuary determines
the expansion of postretirement options under sections 3 and 4 of this act has
resulted in increased costs for the state retirement funds, the joint committee
report shall include a proposal for a process to charge those employers who
employ retirees pursuant to an extension of sections 3 and 4 of this act for
the costs incurred by the retirement funds under the extension.
Sec.
8. RCW
41.32.802 and 1997 c 254 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a)
If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month
after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will
be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during
that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree
remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
(b)
The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a
maximum of one hundred forty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one
hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to
receive in subsequent months.
(2)
A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection
(1) of this section, may work up to ((five months)) eight hundred
sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined
in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.40.010, or as a fire fighter or law
enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, without suspension of his
or her benefit.
(3)
If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.32.044, he or she
terminates his or her retirement status and immediately becomes a member.
Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the
individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a
member shall have the right to again retire if eligible.
Sec.
9. RCW
41.32.860 and 1997 c 254 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Except under RCW 41.32.862, no retiree shall be eligible to receive such
retiree's monthly retirement allowance if he or she is employed in an eligible
position as defined in RCW 41.40.010 ((or)), 41.32.010, or
41.35.010, or as a law enforcement officer or fire fighter as defined in
RCW 41.26.030.
(2)
If a retiree's benefits have been suspended under this section, his or her
benefits shall be reinstated when the retiree terminates the employment that
caused the suspension of benefits. Upon reinstatement, the retiree's benefits
shall be actuarially recomputed pursuant to the rules adopted by the
department.
Sec.
10. RCW
41.32.862 and 1997 c 254 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a)
If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month
after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will
be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during
that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree
remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
(b)
The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a
maximum of one hundred forty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one
hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to
receive in subsequent months.
(2)
A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection
(1) of this section, may work up to ((five months)) eight hundred
sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined
in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.40.010, or as a fire fighter or law
enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, without suspension of his
or her benefit.
(3)
If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.32.044, he or she
terminates his or her retirement status and immediately becomes a member.
Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the
individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a
member shall have the right to again retire if eligible.
Sec.
11. RCW
41.35.060 and 1998 c 341 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a)
If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month
after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will
be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during
that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree
remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
(b)
The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum
of one hundred sixty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one hundred
percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in
subsequent months.
(2)
A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection
(1) of this section may work up to ((five months)) eight hundred
sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined
in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.40.010, or as a fire fighter or law
enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, without suspension of his
or her benefit.
(3)
If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.35.030, he or she
terminates his or her retirement status and becomes a member. Retirement
benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual
shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall
have the right to again retire if eligible in accordance with RCW 41.35.420 or
41.35.680. However, if the right to retire is exercised to become effective
before the member has rendered two uninterrupted years of service, the
retirement formula and survivor options the member had at the time of the
member's previous retirement shall be reinstated.
Sec.
12. RCW
41.40.037 and 1997 c 254 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a)
If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month
after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will
be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during
that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree
remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
(b)
The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a
maximum of one hundred sixty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one
hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to
receive in subsequent months.
(2)
A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection
(1) of this section, may work up to ((five months)) eight hundred
sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined
in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.40.010, or as a fire fighter or law
enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, without suspension of his
or her benefit.
(3)
If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.40.023(12), he or
she terminates his or her retirement status and becomes a member. Retirement
benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual
shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall
have the right to again retire if eligible in accordance with RCW 41.40.180.
However, if the right to retire is exercised to become effective before the
member has rendered two uninterrupted years of service, the retirement formula
and survivor options the member had at the time of the member's previous
retirement shall be reinstated.
Sec.
13. RCW
41.40.750 and 1998 c 341 s 113 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Effective September 1, 2000, the membership of all plan 2 members currently
employed in eligible positions in a school district or educational service
district and all plan 2 service credit for such members, is transferred to the
Washington school employees' retirement system plan 2. Plan 2 members who have
withdrawn their member contributions for prior plan 2 service may restore
contributions and service credit to the Washington school employees' retirement
system plan 2 as provided under RCW 41.40.740.
(2)(a)
The membership and previous service credit of a plan 2 member not employed in
an eligible position on September 1, 2000, will be transferred to the
Washington school employees' retirement system plan 2 when he or she becomes
employed in an eligible position. Plan 2 members not employed in an eligible
position on September 1, 2000, who have withdrawn their member contributions
for prior plan 2 service may restore contributions and service credit to the
Washington school employees' retirement system plan 2 as provided under RCW
41.40.740.
(b)
The membership and previous service credit of a plan 2 member last employed by
a school district or educational service district and retired prior to
September 1, 2000, will be transferred to the Washington school employees'
retirement system plan 2 if the member opts to reestablish membership.
(3)
Members who restore contributions and service credit under subsection (1) or
(2) of this section shall have their contributions and service credit
transferred to the Washington school employees' retirement system.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 14.
Except for section 12 of this act which takes effect December 31, 2004, this act
is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or
safety, or support of the state government and its existing public
institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2001.
