Rehired Annuitants as Temporary Faculty

This page is intended to convey basic information about rehired annuitants working as temporary faculty. For staff-related rehired annuitants, please visit the Employment Services webpage.

Definition

The CalPERS website states that "A 'retired annuitant' is a CalPERS retiree who, without applying for Reinstatement From Retirement, returns to work with a CalPERS employer in a designated retired annuitant position."

Work Limitations

Rehired annuitants may not be employed at Sac State (or by any CalPERS employer) for a period of 180 days after the retirement date (excluding FERP participants).

Sac State is prohibited from hiring retirees who have collected unemployment insurance compensation during the 12-month period prior to the proposed appointment (HR 2017-04).

Employment within a fiscal year may not exceed 960 hours or 50% of the time base in the year preceding retirement, whichever is less.

• All the academic workdays (prorated by time base) defined by the academic calendar count toward the 960 hour (the equivalent of 120 academic workdays) or 50% of the hour’s methodology maximum (time base maximum) whichever is less, regardless of actual days spent teaching. (Government Code 21227).
• FERP employment is limited to 90 days (720 hours) or 50% of the time base in the year preceding retirement, per Article 29 of the Unit 3 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Rehired annuitants must monitor their hours of work. Penalties for exceeding limitations above include the risk of having their retirement terminated and all of the retirement allowance paid during the period of unlawful employment may be collected.

Here are some scenarios to help you determine the employment limit in terms of units for retired faculty:

Scenario 1

Herky Hornet retired on 05/24/2023
In Fall 2022 they taught 12 units
In spring 2023 they taught 9 units
Total units for the Fiscal/Academic Year = 21 Units
Herky can have a workload as a Rehired Annuitant of 10.5 units each Academic Year

Scenario 2

Herky Hornet retired on 12/31/2022
Since they retired mid academic year, we take the previous FULL fiscal year (21/22) to calculate the hours they are able to work as a rehired annuitant.
In Fall 2021 they taught 9 units
In Spring 2022 they taught 7 units
Total units for the Fiscal/Academic Year = 16 units
Herky can have a workload as a Rehired Annuitant of 8 units each Academic Year

Appointment Information

Appointment as a rehired annuitant will be in the form of a temporary faculty (lecturer) appointment, regardless of the type of appointment the retiree held prior to retirement. Rehired annuitants will be subject to the same rights and responsibilities as other temporary faculty as provided in the Unit 03 contract unless specifically stated.

Retirement is a voluntary termination of employment, thus when a retiree gains employment as a rehired annuitant faculty, they are considered a brand new hire for purposes of entitlement, order of assignment, and eligibility (range elevation, 3-year contracts, etc.). Furthermore, there is no requirement on behalf of the department to offer a rehired annuitant the same rank or salary that they had prior to retirement.

Resources

CalPERS Retired Annuitant Website: https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/retirees/working-after-retirement/retired-annuitant

Chancellor's Office Technical Letter HR 2017-04 Post Retirement Employment: CalPERS' Retirees (internal, requires login)

Sacramento State Benefits Office