161.605 Resumption of employment by retired member -- Continuation of
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/ky/161-605A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
retirement allowance -- Individuals who retire and are reemployed -- Part-
time, substitute teaching, and nonteaching employment -- Health insurance
coverage. Any member retired by reason of service may return to work in a position covered by the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System and continue to receive his or her retirement allowance under the following conditions:
(1)Any member who is retired with thirty
(30)or more years of service may return to
work in a full-time or a part-time position, or in a position providing substitute
teaching service, covered by the Teachers' Retirement System and earn up to a
maximum of seventy-five percent (75%) of the member's last annual compensation
measured on a daily rate to be determined by the board of trustees. For purposes of
determining whether the salary of a member returning to work is seventy-five
percent (75%) or less of the member's last annual compensation, all remuneration
paid and benefits provided to the member, on an actual dollar or fair market value
basis as determined by the retirement system, excluding employer-provided medical
insurance required under subsection
(4)of this section, shall be considered.
Members who were retired on or before June 30, 2002, shall be entitled to return to
work under the provisions of this section as if they had retired with thirty
(30)years
of service. Nonqualified service credit purchased under the provisions of KRS
161.5465 or elsewhere with any state-administered retirement system shall not be
used to meet the thirty
(30)year requirement set forth in this subsection. Out-of
state teaching service provided in public schools for kindergarten through grade
twelve
(12)may count toward the thirty
(30)year requirement set forth in this
subsection even if it is not purchased as service credit, if the member obtains from
his or her out-of-state employer certification of this service on forms prescribed by
the retirement system;
(2)Any member who is retired with less than thirty
(30)years of service after June 30,
2002, may return to work in a full-time or part-time position, or in a position
providing substitute teaching service, covered by the Teachers' Retirement System
and earn up to a maximum of sixty-five percent (65%) of the member's last annual
compensation measured on a daily rate to be determined by the board of trustees.
For purposes of determining whether the salary of a member returning to work is
sixty-five percent (65%) or less of the member's last annual compensation, all
remuneration paid and benefits provided to the member, on an actual dollar or fair
market value basis as determined by the retirement system, excluding employer-
provided medical insurance required under subsection
(4)of this section, shall be
considered;
(3)Under this section, an employer may employ full-time a number of retired members
not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the membership actively employed full-time by
that employer. The board of trustees may reduce this ten percent (10%) cap upon
recommendation of the retirement system's actuary if a reduction is necessary to
maintain the actuarial soundness of the retirement system. The board of trustees
may increase the ten percent (10%) cap upon a determination that an increase is
warranted to help address a shortage in the number of available teachers and upon
the determination of the retirement system's actuary that the proposed cap increase
allows the actuarial soundness of the retirement system to be maintained. For
purposes of this subsection, "full-time" means the same as defined by KRS
161.220(21). A local school district may exceed the quota established by this
subsection by making an annual written request to the Kentucky Department of
Education which the department may approve on a year-by-year basis;
(a)Except as provided by subsection
(9)of this section, a member returning to
work in a full-time or part-time position, or in a position providing substitute
teaching service, under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section shall contribute to
an account with the retirement system that shall be administered
independently from and with no reciprocal impact with the member's original
retirement account, or any other account from which the member is eligible to
draw a retirement allowance.
(b)Except as provided by subsection
(9)of this section, a member returning to
work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section shall make contributions to the
retirement system at the rate provided under KRS 161.540. The new account
shall independently meet all vesting requirements as well as all other
conditions set forth in KRS 161.600(1) or (2), as applicable, before any
retirement allowance is payable from this account. The retirement allowance
accruing under this new account shall be calculated pursuant to KRS 161.620.
This new account shall not entitle the member to a duplication of the benefits
offered under KRS 161.620(7) or 161.675, nor shall this new account provide
the benefits offered by KRS 161.520, 161.525, 161.620(3), 161.655, 161.661,
or 161.663.
(c)A member returning to work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section shall
waive his or her medical insurance with the Teachers' Retirement System
during the period of reemployment and shall receive the medical insurance
coverage that is generally provided by the member's active employer to the
other members of the retirement system that the active employer employs. If
medical insurance coverage is not available from the employer, the Kentucky
Teachers' Retirement System may provide coverage for the member.
(d)A member returning to work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section shall
not be eligible to purchase service credit for any service provided after the
member's effective date of retirement but prior to the date that the member
returns to work. A member returning to work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of
this section shall not be eligible to purchase service credit that the member
would have otherwise been eligible to purchase prior to the member's initial
retirement.
(e)A member who returns to work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section, or
in the event of the death of the member, the member's estate or applicably
designated beneficiary, shall be entitled, within ninety
(90)days of the posting
of the annual report submitted by the employer, to a refund of contributions as
permitted and limited by KRS 161.470;
(5)The board of trustees may annually, on July 1, adjust the current daily rate of a
member's last annual compensation, for each full twelve
(12)month period that has
elapsed subsequent to the member earning his or her last annual compensation, by
the percentage increase in the annual average of the consumer price index for all
urban consumers for the calendar year preceding the adjustment as published by the
Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, not to exceed five percent (5%) annually. Each
annual adjustment shall become part of the member's daily rate base. Failure to
comply with the salary limitations set forth in subsections
(1)and
(2)of this section
as may be adjusted by this subsection shall result in a reduction of the member's
retirement allowance or any other benefit to which the member would otherwise be
entitled on a dollar-for-dollar basis for each dollar that the member exceeds these
salary limitations, and the member shall be refunded his or her retirement
contributions made on the compensation that exceeds these salary limitations.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a member retiring from
a local school district who returns to work for a local school district under
subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section shall be entitled, without any reduction to his or
her retirement allowance or any other retirement benefit, to earn a minimum
amount equal to one hundred seventy dollars ($170) per day;
(a)A retired member returning to work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section
shall have separated from service for a period of at least one
(1)year if
returning to work for the same employer on a full-time basis, and at least three
(3)months if returning to work for a different employer on a full-time basis.
A retired member returning to work under subsection
(1)or
(2)of this section
on a part-time basis shall have separated from service for a period of at least
three
(3)months before returning to work for any employer.
(b)As an alternative to the separation-from-service requirements in paragraph
of this subsection, a retired member who is returning to work for the same
employer in a full-time position under subsections
(1)and
(2)of this section
may elect a separation-from-service of not less than two
(2)months followed
by a forfeiture of the retired member's retirement allowance on a month-to-
month basis for each month that the member has separated from service for
less than twelve
(12)full months. A retired member returning to work for the
same employer in a part-time position, or for a different employer in a full-
time position, may elect an alternative separation-from-service requirement of
at least two
(2)months followed by a forfeiture of the member's retirement
allowance for one
(1)month. During the period that the member forfeits his or
her retirement allowance and thereafter, member and employer contributions
shall be made to the retirement system as a result of employment in any
position subject to membership in the retirement system. The member shall
contribute to an account with the retirement system subject to the conditions
set forth in subsection
(4)of this section.
(c)A retired member who is returning to work for an employer that has
employees who participate in the Teachers' Retirement System shall comply
with the separation-from-service requirements in this subsection before
performing any service for the employer, regardless of whether the retired
member is providing service in a position covered by the Teachers'
Retirement System.
(d)The starting date for any separation from service required under this
subsection shall be the effective date of the member's retirement.
(e)The separation-from-service requirements of this subsection are not met if
there is a prearranged agreement between the member and an employer that
has employees who participate in the Teachers' Retirement System prior to
retirement for the member to work for the employer after retirement.
(f)The Teachers' Retirement System may require the member and the employer
for which the member is returning to work to certify in writing on a form
prescribed by the Teachers' Retirement System that no prearranged agreement
was or will be entered into between the member and employer prior to
retirement for the member to work for the employer after retirement.
(g)Failure to comply with the separation-from-service requirements in this
subsection voids a member's retirement and the member shall be required to
return all the retirement benefits he or she received, with interest, for the
period of time that the member returned to work without a sufficient
separation from service;
(a)Effective July 1, 2004, local school districts may employ retired members in
full-time or part-time teaching or administrative positions in critical shortage
areas without limitation on the compensation of the retired members that is
otherwise required by subsections
(1)and
(2)of this section. The number of
retired members that a local school district may employ under this subsection
shall be no more than four
(4)members per local school district or ten percent
(10%) of the total active members employed by the local school district on a
full-time basis as defined under KRS 161.220(21), whichever number is
greater. Retired members returning to work under this subsection shall be
subject to the separation-from-service requirements set forth in subsection
of this section. Retired members returning to work under this subsection shall
waive their medical insurance coverage with the retirement system during
their period of reemployment and receive medical insurance coverage that is
offered to other full-time members employed by the local school district.
Retired members returning to work under this subsection shall contribute to
an account subject to the conditions set forth in subsection
(4)of this section.
Retired members returning to work under this subsection shall make
contributions to the retirement system at the rate provided under KRS
161.540. The employer shall make contributions at the rate provided under
KRS 161.550. Local school districts shall make annual payments to the
retirement system on the compensation paid to the reemployed retirees at the
rates determined by the retirement system's actuary that reflect any accrued
liability resulting from the reemployment of these members.
(b)The Department of Education may employ retired members in full-time or
part-time teaching or nonteaching positions without the limitations on
compensation otherwise required by subsections
(1)and
(2)of this section to
fill critical shortage areas in the schools it operates, including the Kentucky
School for the Blind and the Kentucky School for the Deaf, and to serve on
audit teams. The department shall be subject to the same requirements as local
school districts as provided in paragraph
(a)of this subsection, except the
Teachers' Retirement System shall determine the maximum number of
employees that may be employed under this paragraph;
(8)The return-to-work limitations set forth in this section shall apply to retired
members who are returning to work in the same position from which they retired, or
a position substantially similar to the one from which they retired, or a position
described in KRS 161.046 or any position listed in KRS 161.220(4) which requires
membership in the retirement system. Positions which generally require
certification or graduation from a four
(4)year college or university as a condition
of employment which are created, or changed to remove the position from coverage
under KRS 161.220(4) are also subject to the return to work limitations set forth in
this section. The board of trustees shall determine whether employment in a
nonteaching position is subject to this subsection;
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, individuals who become
members on or after January 1, 2022, who subsequently retire and begin
drawing a monthly lifetime retirement allowance from the Teachers'
Retirement System, who following retirement are reemployed with an
employer participating in the Teachers' Retirement System, shall not be
eligible to contribute to or earn benefits in a second retirement account in the
Teachers' Retirement System during the period of reemployment.
(b)The provisions of subsections
(1)to
(7)of this section are not subject to KRS
161.714;
(10)Retired members may be employed in a part-time teaching capacity by an agency
described in KRS 161.220(4)(b) or (n), not to exceed the equivalent of twelve
teaching hours in any one
(1)fiscal year. Retired members may be employed for a
period not to exceed the equivalent of one hundred
(100)days in any one
(1)fiscal
year in a part-time administrative or nonteaching capacity by an agency described
in KRS 161.220(4)(b) or
(n)in a position that would otherwise be covered by the
retirement system. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the return to
work provisions set forth in subsections
(1)to
(7)of this section shall not apply to
retired members who return to work solely for an agency described in KRS
161.220(4)(b) or (n). Calculation of the number of days and teaching hours for part-
time teaching, substitute teaching, or part-time employment in a nonteaching
capacity under this section shall not exceed the ratio between a school year and the
actual months of retirement for the member during that school year. The board of
trustees by administrative regulation may establish fractional equivalents of a day
of teaching service. Any member who exceeds the twelve
(12)hour or one hundred
(100)day limitations of this subsection shall be subject to having his or her
retirement voided and be required to return all retirement allowances and other
benefits paid to the member or on the member's behalf since the effective date of
retirement. In lieu of voiding a member's retirement, the system may reduce the
member's retirement allowance or any other benefit to which the member would
otherwise be entitled on a dollar-for-dollar basis for each dollar of compensation
that the member earns in employment exceeding twelve
(12)hours, one hundred
(100)days, or any apportionment of the two
(2)combined. Retired members
returning to work for an employer described in KRS 161.220(4)(b) or
(n)shall
comply with the separation-from-service requirements of subsection
(6)of this
section;
(11)When a retired member returns to employment in a part-time teaching capacity or
in a nonteaching capacity as provided in subsection
(10)of this section, the
employer shall contribute annually to the retirement system on the compensation
paid to the retired member at rates determined by the retirement system actuary that
reflect accrued liability for retired members who return to work under subsection
(10)of this section; and
(12)For retired members who return to work during any one
(1)fiscal year in both a
position described in KRS 161.220(4)(b) or
(n)and in a position described under
another provision under KRS 161.220(4), and for retired members who return to
work in a position described under KRS 161.220(4)(b) or
(n)in both a teaching and
an administrative or nonteaching capacity, the board of trustees shall adopt a
methodology for a pro rata apportionment of days and hours that the retired
member may work in each position.
(13)Notwithstanding any other provision of KRS 161.220 to 161.716 to the contrary, an
annuitant who has returned to work following retirement with an employer that
does not participate in the state-administered retirement systems shall not be
required to take health insurance coverage through the employer and the system
shall continue to provide health insurance coverage and benefits to the annuitant
during the period of employment, except as may be required by the Medicare
Secondary Payer Act under 42 U.S.C. sec. 1395y(b).