Senate Bill 170 proposes significant changes to the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) regarding rehired annuitants. The bill allows individuals who receive a retirement or disability annuity from the WRS and are subsequently hired by a WRS-participating employer to not suspend their annuity for up to 60 months. This change applies to those who are expected to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment. Additionally, the bill mandates that employers hiring these annuitants make payments to the Employee Trust Funds (ETF) equivalent to the contributions that would have been required if the annuitant had suspended their annuity. The bill also repeals two obsolete provisions related to WRS annuitants returning to work during the public health emergency declared in 2020.

The bill includes several amendments to existing statutes, specifically replacing references to a previous provision (40.26 (6)) with a new provision (40.26 (7)). It also creates new subsections (40.26 (7) and (8)), which outline the conditions under which rehired annuitants can maintain their annuity and the corresponding employer payment obligations. The amendments aim to streamline the process for rehired annuitants while ensuring that employers contribute appropriately to the retirement system. Overall, the bill seeks to provide more flexibility for retirees returning to work while maintaining the integrity of the WRS.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 40.22(1), 40.22, 40.22(2m)(intro.), 40.22(2r)(intro.), 40.22(3)(intro.), 40.26(1m), 40.26, 40.26(5)(intro.), 40.26(5m), 40.26(6), 323.19(3), 323.19