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 provision applies as long as certain conditions are met, including that the annuitant does not have an agreement to return to work with a participating employer at the time of their termination. Additionally, the bill mandates that employers hiring these rehired annuitants make contributions to the Employee Trust Funds (ETF) equivalent to what would have been required if the annuitant had suspended their annuity.

The bill also includes the repeal of two obsolete provisions related to WRS annuitants returning to work during the public health emergency declared in March 2020. Furthermore, it amends several sections of the statutes to reflect these changes, including the replacement of references to the repealed provisions and the creation of new sections that outline the conditions under which rehired annuitants can maintain their annuity status. Overall, the bill aims to provide more flexibility for retirees returning to work while ensuring that employers contribute appropriately to the retirement system.

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