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REHIRED
ANNUITANT
Federal Retirees Return to Federal Service
Retirement
Annuitant Rules & Regulations
There are opportunities for retirees to return to federal service under the
rehired annuitant program. In most cases you will keep your full annuity however
your new federal salary will be reduced by the amount of your annuity for most
retirees. The salary reduction is waived for certain critical occupations.
It is important to note that federal retirees can go back to work in the
private sector without any impact on their federal annuity. You will continue to
receive your full annuity and all benefits if you decide to work in the private
sector after you retiree from federal service. 
Annuity Stops
Employee Status & Retirement Coverage
Benefits When Reemployment Ends
Supplemental or Redetermined Benefits
Disability Annuitants
Exceptions
Additional Information
Annuity Stops
Annuity Continues
Exceptions
Additional Information
If your annuity does not stop under the rules listed below, you will continue
to receive it while you are working. Your pay will be reduced by the
amount of annuity paid for the period you work. If you do not work full
time, the reduction in pay will be adjusted proportionately. However, some pay
is not subject to this reduction for annuity. Pay is not reduced for annuity for
a period during which you have elected to receive injury compensation benefits
in lieu of annuity or when you receive a lump-sum payment of annual leave on
separation.
Annuity Stops
Reemployment will cause your annuity to stop if -
(1) You are a disability annuitant whom OPM has found recovered or restored
to earning capacity prior to reemployment;
(2) You are a disability annuitant who was not disabled for your National
Guard Technician position but were awarded disability annuity because you were
medically disqualified for continued membership in the National Guard;
(3) Your annuity is based on an involuntary separation (other than a
separation that was required by law based on your age and length of service or a
separation for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency) and your new
appointment is permanent in nature (for example--Career, Career-Conditional, or
Excepted); or
(4) You receive a Presidential appointment subject to retirement deductions.
Employee Status and Retirement Coverage
If your annuity stops as the result of your reemployment with the Government,
your status will be that of a regular employee.
If your new appointment gives retirement coverage,
a. the coverage will be CSRS if:
- you had CSRS coverage when you retired, and
- you are reemployed within 1 year of your retirement.
b. the coverage will be CSRS Offset (CSRS and Social Security coverage) if:
- you had CSRS Offset coverage when you retired,
- you are reemployed more than a year after your retirement, or
- you are appointed to a senior position that is subject to mandatory
Social Security coverage.
Benefits When Reemployment Ends
When your reemployment ends, a new determination about your rights to
retirement benefits will be made. Your prior retirement benefit generally has no
impact on your new retirement benefit.
If you meet all the requirements for an immediate retirement (see Retirement
Facts 1, The Civil Service Retirement System), your benefit will be computed as
though you are retiring for the first time. (Note: The unused sick leave balance
used in the initial retirement computation will be added to the unused sick
leave balance when your reemployment ends.)
Generally, you will have to wait until age 62 to receive a deferred annuity
if you do not qualify for an immediate retirement benefit when your reemployment
ends.
In rare situations, an annuity based on an involuntary retirement may be
reinstated when your reemployment ends. The annuity will be reinstated if:
- you were reemployed after more than 1 year of your initial retirement,
and
- your reemployment lasted less than 1 year.
A disability annuity may be reinstated when your reemployment ends if:
- you have not reached age 62,
- you were reemployed more than 1 year after you separated for disability
retirement,
- Your reemployment lasted less than 1 year, and your disability had
recurred, or your earnings capacity falls below the 80% limitation.
Supplemental or Redetermined Benefits
Reemployment may increase your retirement and death benefits. As a reemployed
annuitant, you can earn either a supplemental annuity or a redetermined annuity.
A supplemental annuity is an annuity that is added on to your present annuity.
A redetermined annuity is a recomputed annuity that takes the place of your
present annuity. If you work as a reemployed annuitant on a full time,
continuous basis for at least 1 year, you may be entitled to a supplemental
annuity. If you work part time, you must work a proportionately longer period to
earn a supplemental annuity. If your reemployment continues for at least 5
years, or the part-time equivalent, you may elect a redetermined annuity.
Intermittent service cannot be counted in establishing eligibility for a
supplemental or redetermined annuity and cannot be used in the computation of a
supplemental annuity.
If you die while reemployed, after becoming eligible for either a
supplemental or redetermined annuity, your surviving spouse may have his or her
survivor benefit either increased or recomputed.
CSRS reemployed annuitant service cannot be credited in a supplemental or
redetermined annuity unless a deposit is paid after separation, or retirement
deductions are withheld. If you are reemployed in a full-time or part-time
position, you may elect to have retirement deductions withheld from your pay.
The amount of retirement deductions or deposit is a percentage of your basic pay
before it is reduced for annuity.
Disability Annuitants
The following are important facts that may affect your future retirement
benefits if you are a disability annuitant -
(1) If you are reemployed on a permanent basis in a position equivalent in
grade and pay to the position from which you retired, OPM may find that you have
recovered from your disability;
(2) If you are reemployed subject to medical and physical qualification
standards equivalent to those of the position from which you retired, OPM may
find that you have recovered from your disability;
(3) The pay of the position in which you are reemployed, prior to the offset
of annuity, will be included as earnings in determining whether you are restored
to earning capacity and your annuity must stop;
(4) Receipt of, or continued entitlement to receive, full or partial injury
compensation benefits from the Department of Labor's Office of Workers'
Compensation during reemployment, when those benefits are based on the same
injury or medical condition that is the basis for OPM's award of disability
retirement, is conclusive evidence (unless there is contravening medical
evidence) that you have not recovered from your disability; and
(5) If you are age 60 or over, your annuity cannot be stopped because of your
earnings, and OPM can find that you are recovered only if you request to be
found recovered.
Exceptions
Not all of the above rules apply to all reemployed annuitants. If you are
reemployed -
(1) Under special provisions for positions for which there is exceptional
difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee or there is a direct
threat to life or property, or other unusual circumstances warranting emergency
employment;
(2) On an interim basis, as a consequence of an administrative or judicial
body reviewing the grounds for your separation;
(3) As a Presidential appointee to a position that is permanent in nature;
(4) As a former Member of Congress who separated from Congressional service
with more than 5 years of service as a Member of Congress;
(5) As a justice or judge of the United States, as defined by section 451 of
title 28 of the United States Code; or
(6) Under another retirement system for Federal employees
Additional Information
This section is excerpted from
OPM's RI
83-18 Guide. For information on FEGLI and FEHB coverage visit the OPM site
to view the guide.
Reemployment in the federal sector may affect your annuitant status and
whether you will continue to receive annuity during and after the period of
employment.
Annuity Stops
Reemployment will cause your annuity to stop if -
(1) You are a disability annuitant whom OPM has found recovered or restored
to earning capacity prior to reemployment;
(2) You are a disability annuitant who was not disabled for your National
Guard Technician position but were awarded disability annuity because you were
medically disqualified for continued membership in the National Guard;
Annuity Continues
If your annuity does not stop under the above conditions, then you will
continue to receive it while working. Your pay will be reduced by the
amount of annuity paid for the period you work. If you do not work full
time, the reduction in pay will be adjusted proportionately. However, some pay
is not subject to this reduction for annuity. Pay is not reduced for annuity for
a period during which you have elected to receive injury compensation benefits
in lieu of annuity or when you receive a lump-sum payment of annual leave on
separation. Unless your reemployment is on an intermittent basis, retirement
deductions will be withheld from your pay. The retirement deductions are a
percentage of your basic pay, before it is reduced for annuity.
Exceptions
Not all of the above rules apply to all reemployed annuitants. If you are
reemployed -
(1) Under special provisions for positions for which there is exceptional
difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee or there is a direct
threat to life or property, or other unusual circumstances warranting emergency
employment;
(2) On an interim basis, as a consequence of an administrative or judicial
body reviewing the grounds for your separation; or
(3) Under another retirement system for Federal employees
Additional Information
This section is excerpted from
OPM's RI90-18 Guide. For information on FEGLI and FEHB coverage visit the OPM site
to view the guide. You will also find the other listed resources helpful:
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