Post Retirement Employment
Is there a limit to how much I can work and earn as an SWRS retiree?
No, unless you are under any general or special law for disability (M.G.L. c. 32, sec. 91A) or you will be receiving post regular retirement earnings from the City of Swampscott, the Commonwealth, or any of its counties, cities or municipalities (M.G.L. c. 32, sec. 91(b),(c)).
M.G.L. c. 32, sec. 91A refers to post disability retirement earnings. M.G.L. c. 32, sec. 91A provides that a disability retiree’s earnings, when added to his/her retirement allowance, cannot exceed the regular compensation (salary) the member would have received had he/she remained in active service plus $5,000.
To determine your disability retirement earnings, you shall in each year on or before April fifteenth subscribe, under the penalties of perjury, and file with the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (“PERAC”) a statement, in such form as PERAC shall prescribe, certifying the full amount of your earnings from earned income during the preceding year. You shall annually submit to PERAC all pertinent W-2 forms, 1099 forms, other requested tax forms and proof of income, and any other documentation requested by PERAC.
M.G.L. c. 32, sec. 91(b),(c) refer to post regular retirement earnings, from the City of Swampscott, the Commonwealth, or any of its subdivisions. The intent of this law is to prevent a retiree from earning more from the Commonwealth than what they originally were earning as an employee.
Simply stated, if a retiree is re-employed in the service of the City of Swampscott, the Commonwealth, or any of its counties, cities, or municipalities, his/her earnings for the calendar year when added to the retirement allowance, cannot exceed the salary currently being paid for the position from which he/she retired, and further the that the re-employment is limited to a period of up to 960 hours in aggregate, in any calendar year.
For example, if you retired from your position with an allowance of $40,000, and that position currently pays $55,000 then you may not earn more than $15,000 and/or work more than 960 hours in a calendar year.
If you work for any of the aforementioned public entities, you must keep track of your hours, and excess earnings, as you are required to certify to your public employer the number of days or hours you have worked in a calendar year and the amounts of earnings therefrom.