Many people retire and later decide to return to the workplace. There are no restrictions if you are hired anywhere other than the municipality you retired from. If you decide to rehire with the municipality you retired from, certain rules apply, depending on your MERS retirement plan. (If you're not sure which MERS retirement plan you have, click here for help.)

If you are a MERS Defined Benefit Plan or Hybrid Plan retiree:

Effective January 1, 2016:
If you retire and you are returning to a regular (non-elected/appointed) position, the following rules apply:

• You must complete and submit the Working in Retirement Certification form (F-29c), signed by both you and your employer, to MERS.
• You must have a bona fide separation before returning to work, per IRS rules. Bona fide separation is defined as no formal or informal agreement to return to work prior to retirement.
• You must have 60 days of separation.
• You may work up to 1,000 hours in a calendar year.

If you retire and you are returning to a voter-elected position (or are appointed to a voter-elected position), the following rules apply:

• You must complete and submit the Working in Retirement Certification form (F-29c), signed by both you and your employer, to MERS.
• You must have a bona fide separation before returning to work, per IRS rules. Bona fide separation is defined as no  formal or informal agreement to return to work prior to retirement.
• If you are re-elected/appointed into the same position, you must have two years of separation.
• If you are elected/appointed into a different position, you must have 60 days of separation.
• You are not subject to any hour limitation.

If you are a MERS Defined Contribution Plan retiree:

• You must have a bona fide retirement before returning to work, per IRS rules. Bona fide separation is defined as no formal or informal agreement to return to work prior to retirement.
• There are no hourly work restrictions for Defined Contribution retirees.
• If the rehired employment is in a covered MERS Defined Contribution position, regardless of age, the employer should "rehire" the former employee and contributions should begin upon rehire date.
• The rehired status does not have an impact on access to the Defined Contribution account for distributions, assuming the age-eligibility was reached.