DRAFT

After retiring from Seattle Colleges, you can return to work at the Colleges. While reemployment can be advantageous to both you and the Colleges, you’re not guaranteed to find a job, and you’ll have to follow the same application procedures as any other candidate.

The exact policies governing reemployment depend on which retirement plan you have. 

State DRS Plan Members

If you have a retirement plan that’s managed by the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS), state law and Seattle Colleges policy govern your potential reemployment.

Both state law and Seattle Colleges policy require that you follow all the normal Colleges procedures while applying for a job. You can’t, for example, make an agreement before retiring that stipulates that you’ll later return to work at the Colleges. Also, while applying for reemployment at Seattle Colleges, you’re required by law to inform the Colleges that you are retired from a DRS plan.

Once you’re reemployed at Seattle Colleges, there are limits to the number of hours you can work. PERS and TRS retirees are limited to 867 hours of employment in a calendar year. Once you reach your annual limit, you have to decide whether or not to continue working.

To see reemployment details specific to your retirement plan, visit Returning to Work on the DRS website.

Benefits for Re-Employed DRS Plan Members

Should you return to work at Seattle Colleges after retiring, you’re eligible to participate in Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) benefits if your new position meets PEBB eligibility rules. However, if you exceed the work-hour limits for your DRS plan, your pension may be temporarily suspended. In a benefits-eligible position, you may temporarily defer participation in the PEBB retiree health plan, if you’re previously enrolled in the PEBB retiree coverage. 

State Board Retirement Plan (SBRP) Members

SBRP retirees receiving retirement benefits must have a 6 month or 2 quarter break-in-service before being considered “completely separated.”  

The Plan and Seattle Colleges policy require that you follow all the normal Colleges procedures while applying for a job. You can’t, for example, make an agreement before retiring that stipulates that you’ll later return to work at the Colleges.  

Benefits for Re-Employed SBRP Members

Should you return to work at Seattle Colleges after retiring, you’re eligible to participate in Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) benefits if your new position meets PEBB eligibility rules.

Phased Retirement Program  

Full-time participants wanting to “retire” but continue to work part-time may do so under the terms of the Plan’s phased retirement program. While Participating Employers may consider the employee to be retired, under the Plan the employee has not retired by modifying his or her work schedule. However, participants in the Phased Retirement Program may receive an “in-service distribution” of their TIAA accumulations.

Phased retirement enables a Plan Participants with full time appointments to transition into retirement through working part-time. “Phased Retirement” applies to:  

• Participants age 59 1/2 or older with at least 10 years of full-time service in the Plan; and
• Who terminate from their positions with a Participating Employer, surrendering tenure or rights to continuous appointment; and
• Who are rehired by a Participating Employer within 6 months of termination into a different job and assigned a reduced workload. A Retired Participant rehired after a two consecutive quarters or a 6 continuous month break in employment from all Participating Employers is considered to have had a complete separation of service from a Participating Employer.

Participation in phased retirement is completely voluntary and is not an absolute right of a Plan Participant. Phased retirement is only available when agreed to and entered into by a mutual agreement between an eligible Participant and his or her Participating Employer. Participants in the Phased Retirement Program continue to be eligible for the SBRP and contributions should continue at the same percentage as when the Participant was in a full-time appointment.  

Participation in the Plan’s phased retirement program is not intended to impact eligibility for other employment benefits that may be offered to Plan Participants through their Participating Employer or by the State of Washington.