CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5538

Chapter 99, Laws of 2023

68TH LEGISLATURE

2023 REGULAR SESSION

POSTRETIREMENT EMPLOYMENT—NURSING POSITIONS

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 14, 2023

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5538

BySenate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Cleveland, Dhingra, and C. Wilson)

AN ACT Relating to postretirement employment in nursing positions for a state agency; amending RCW 41.37.050 and 41.40.037; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 41.37.050 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 47 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) If a retiree enters employment in an eligible position with an employer as defined in this chapter 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) If a retiree enters employment in an eligible position with an employer as defined in chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW 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.

(c) The benefit reduction provided in (a) and (b) 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 who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section may work up to 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 law enforcement officer or firefighter as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, without suspension of his or her benefit.

(3) If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under this chapter, 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 this chapter. 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 select committee on pension policy.

Sec. 2. RCW 41.40.037 and 2022 c 110 s 5 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, plan 2, or plan 3 who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section may work up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, or as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, without suspension of his or her benefit.

(b) Between March 23, 2022, and July 1, 2025, a retiree, including a retiree who has retired under the alternate early retirement provisions of RCW 41.40.630(3)(b) or 41.40.820(3)(b), who reenters employment more than 100 days after his or her accrual date, and who enters service in a school district in a nonadministrative position shall continue to receive pension payments while engaged in such service, until the retiree has rendered service for more than 1,040 hours in a calendar year.

(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 select 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.

--- END ---