Some ACERA retirees will return to work after their ACERA service retirement. How your retirement allowance is handled depends on whether you work for an employer outside of ACERA’s network or return to an ACERA participating employer. The information below relates to members who retired for service. If you retired for disability and wish to return to work for an ACERA participating employer, please contact ACERA.
Working After Retirement for Employers That Do Not Participate in ACERA
You may work for any employer that is not an ACERA participating employer for any amount of time without affecting your retirement allowance. This applies to members who are retired for disability as well.
Working After Retirement for an ACERA Participating Employer
ACERA service retirees wishing to return to work for one of ACERA’s participating employers have two options:
1. Returning to Service and Suspending Your Retirement Allowance
You can return to work for an ACERA participating employer and suspend your retirement allowance while you work. This starts a new period of active ACERA membership, allowing you to earn additional service credit and increase your future retirement benefit.
Here’s how it works:
- No Retirement Inducements: Reemployment is not available to an employee who took an additional retirement benefit as an inducement to retire early.
- Allowance Paused: Retirement allowance payments stop while you’re working.
- Same Tier: You resume active membership in the same tier you had at retirement.
- Service Credit and Contributions: During this second period of service, you’ll earn more retirement service credit and contribute to ACERA like other active members.
- Retirement Eligibility: You can retire again at any time, regardless of how much service credit you earn.
When you retire from this second period of service:
- ACERA will calculate a second retirement allowance based on:
- the service credit earned in your second period of work,
- your age at the time of your second retirement, and
- your highest average monthly salary during your period of reemployment
- We’ll restart your original retirement allowance, including any cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) you would have received if you hadn’t returned to work.
- We’ll add the new allowance to your restarted original allowance, giving you a higher total retirement allowance going forward.
What You Need to Do:
- Secure a Job Offer: Receive an official job offer and confirmed hire date from an ACERA participating employer.
- Notify ACERA Immediately: Ask your hiring employer to promptly notify ACERA by contacting the Assistant CEO of Benefits at ERDirectSupport@acera.org.
2. Returning to Work and Continuing Your ACERA Retirement Allowance (Working as a Retired Annuitant)
If an ACERA participating employer needs your specialized skills for a limited duration, you may work up to 960 hours per fiscal year as a “Retired Annuitant” without suspending your monthly retirement check. During retired annuitant service, you do not accrue additional service credit, nor do you or your employer pay retirement contributions.
Waiting Periods Before You Can Return to Work
- General Members Must Wait 180 Days: Most General members must wait at least 180 days after their retirement date before returning to work for an ACERA employer (this applies to work under contract or via an employment agency).
- Exception: Your employer can waive the 180-day wait if their governing body certifies in an open public meeting (not on the consent calendar) that your hiring is necessary to fill a critically needed position.
- Safety Members Who Retire Do Not Have to Wait: Retired Safety Members may return to work in a public safety position without waiting 180 days.
- All Members Who Received a Retirement Incentive (General and Safety) Must Wait 180 Days: If you accepted an early separation payoff or retirement incentive, you must wait 180 days before returning to work. No exceptions.
Other Retired Annuitant Rules
- You May Not Work More Than 960 Hours Per Fiscal Year: You cannot work more than 960 hours in any fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) across all participating employers combined.
- Your Pay Rate Must Match Comparable Employees: Your pay rate cannot be lower or higher than the salary range paid to regular active public employees performing comparable duties.
- You Cannot Have Received Unemployment Compensation Within the Prior 12 Months: You are not eligible to work as a retired annuitant if you have received unemployment compensation arising out of prior employment with a public agency during the 12 months before your appointment to the position with one of ACERA’s participating employers.
Penalties and Compliance Requirements for Violations
Working as a retired annuitant in violation the rules carries financial consequences for you under California Government Code Section 31680.9:
- Reimbursement of Allowance: You must fully reimburse ACERA for all retirement allowance payments received during any period of unlawful employment. Unlawful payments are treated as overpayments subject to immediate collection.
- Retroactive Contributions: If you are required to reinstate as an active employee due to a violation, you must pay ACERA an amount equal to the member contributions that would have been deducted during the period of unlawful employment, plus interest.
- Administrative Expenses: You may be required to contribute toward reimbursing ACERA for reasonable administrative expenses incurred in resolving the violation if you are determined to be at fault.
Working After Retirement May Affect Social Security
Working after retirement may affect your Social Security benefit. Check the Social Security website for more information.
