Rehired Retiree

Rehired Retiree Information

Under Board of Regents policy, a retiree from the University System of Georgia may be rehired under the following conditions:

When an individual retires from the University System of Georgia and is receiving benefits from the Teachers Retirement System, the Employees Retirement System, or the Regent’s Retirement Plan, he/she shall not be reemployed without the prior approvals as described in this communication. When an employee has retired from the University System of Georgia, he/she may be reemployed by University System of Georgia under the following conditions:

1. The reemployment of a USG retiree must be approved by the hiring institution’s president. Institutions must submit a copy of their hiring and approval procedures to rehire USG retirees to the Office of Faculty Affairs.
2. A rehired retiree must have a minimum break of at least one (1) month between the effective date of his/her retirement and the effective date of his/her reemployment.
3. The work commitment of a rehired retiree must be less than half-time; i.e., less than 49%.
4. The salary that is paid to a rehired retiree must be either:
   • No more than 49% of the annual benefit-base compensation amount that he/she was earning at the time of his/her retirement, with consideration for the average merit increase percentages that have been applied since the employee retired; or,
   • No more than 49% of the average compensation for the position into which the retiree is being hired based on the institution’s existing compensation plan, or, if not applicable, the average compensation of existing or previous incumbents; or,
   • No more than 49% of a reasonable market competitive rate for the position into which the retiree is being rehired as determined by the institutional chief human resources officer.
5. The salary that is paid to a rehired retiree must be consistent with his/her work commitment.

(BoR Minutes, April 2002; November, 2007; October 2008)

Note:

• All rehired retirees are approved on a Fiscal Year (FY) basis. HR will provide all departments with instructions on process for the upcoming FY each March.
• TRS requires the employer to certify that, as of the date of employment termination, no verbal or written agreement exists that allows the employee to return to service, including service for an independent contractor.
• FY 2020 Schedule of maximum hours that a TRS rehired retiree can work.
• FY 2021 Schedule of maximum hours that a TRS rehired retiree can work

Rehired Retiree Process - For New Rehired Retirees

Beginning March 15, 2021, departments who have a HR Business Partner will begin contacting their designated HR Business Partner and HR Business Specialist to begin the process for all rehired retiree new hires.  Those departments without an HR Business Partner will contact the HR Coordinator per the updated department list.

Note: Before returning to work in any capacity with a TRS-covered employer, the TRS or ORP retiree MUST have a break-in-service of a least one full calendar month.

1. Contact your HR Business Partner or Compensation and Performance Management at 706-721-5707, to help determine/create the position your department needs.
   • • Note: Position titles must be job specific and contain Rehired Retiree (may be abbreviated) and position FTE must reflect the Rehired Retirees actual FTE.
2. Department will complete the Re-Hired Retiree Application and Employment Terms form and submit to the departments HR Contact (per the updated list).
3. HR will obtain the appropriate approvals from Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) and/or Augusta University’s approving authority to rehire the retiree.
4. Once approval(s) are received, the HR contact (per the updated list) will reach out to the department to have the department obtain the completed background form from the retiree.
5. Once the background is cleared, If the retiree will be working in a lab the HR contact (per the updated list) will instruct the department to schedule the employee for drug screen/physical with Employee Health.

6. Once the candidate has been cleared to be hired, HR contact (per the updated list) will create the packet in Equifax and will schedule candidate for in-processing.
   • • The rehired retiree will receive two emails (login information & password) from Equifax to complete the new hire packet in Equifax.
7. Once in-processing is complete, HR Coordinator will notify supervisor to submit submit Smart HR Hire ePAR and confirm start date.  The temporary employee cannot work until this portion is complete.   The ePAR must be submitted within 24 hours.
   **Please note that rehired retirees employees cannot work until notified by HR that the rehired retiree has completed their processing.
   • •  Smart HR Hire ePAR job aid.

Rehired Retiree Process - FY Renewals

All rehired retirees’ current employment is on a fiscal year basis and will end at the end of each fiscal year.  In order for you to retain a rehired retiree in your department beyond the end of the fiscal year, we must receive a request and obtain the appropriate approvals from the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) and/or Augusta University’s approving authority. 

When a University System of Georgia retiree or a retiree from another agency is also a retiree of the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia (TRS), the employer is required to coordinate with TRS prior to the retiree resuming work.  TRS approval must be secured to ensure that the retiree’s benefit under TRS is not in jeopardy.  Thus, when rehiring a retiree who is receiving a benefit from Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia, we are responsible for:  1. Securing TRS approval prior to the rehire; 2. Securing appropriate approval from Augusta University’s President or designated authority.

1. Department will complete the Re-Hired Retiree Application and Employment Terms form and submit to the HR Coordinator in Benefits and Data Management.
2. The HR Coordinator will obtain the appropriate approvals from Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) and/or Augusta University’s approving authority to rehire the retiree.
3. Once approval(s) are received, the HR Coordinator will reach out to the department to have the department submit the ad/hoc salary change to re-establish the Rehired Retirees salary for the new fiscal year.
4. Once the salary has been re-established in HR, the HR Coordinator will send a letter to the Rehired Retiree informing them of the approval for that fiscal year.

Contact Information:

Chris Hunt

HR Leave Specialist

Phone: 706-721-3836

Email: chunt@augusta.edu