Working After Retirement FAQ

State law permits retirees to reemploy up to 40% of full time employment (FTE) per calendar year. In any given calendar year where reemployment occurs, UW policy limits a retiree’s total reemployment compensation to the equivalent of 40% of their annual base salary at the time of their retirement.

Since faculty have been accustomed to thinking about employment in terms of academic year assignments, it may be challenging to think of reemployment in terms of the calendar year. The charts below illustrate possible options for distributing FTE—and by extension, salary—across a calendar year.

Example of calendar year reemployment options for 9-month faculty retirees 

Example of calendar year reemployment options for 12-month faculty retirees 

It is especially important for retirees to be mindful of calendar year limits when planning to reemploy in consecutive academic years. Below are two examples of reemployment across consecutive academic years that would violate the calendar year limitation.

The highlighted cells in the examples above fall within the same calendar year and average 60% FTE and 55% FTE, respectively. This exceeds the 40% FTE calendar year threshold and would be in violation of state law.

Questions about retiree compensation should be directed to Academic Human Resources (AHR) at acadpers@uw.edu. Questions about FTE and specific retirement plan limitations should be directed to the University of Washington Human Resources Benefits team at benefits@uw.edu. 

When reemployed, retirees are voting members of the faculty. Their participation in voting should be viewed as an obligation of reemployment. 

No. Retired faculty who reemploy must be compensated at the same full-time monthly base salary that was in place at the time of retirement, prorated commensurate with assigned FTE, which must average 40% or less over the calendar year.

Yes. A tenured faculty member achieves a vested right to reemploy if they retire from a tenured appointment AND are age 62 or older at the time of retirement. If a tenured faculty member retires–for instance–at age 60, they do not defer a vested right for two years. The faculty member never met the criteria (i.e., tenured and  age 62 or older at the point of retirement) to be eligible for the vested right. In such a case, the faculty member can reemploy, but it would be at the unit’s discretion. A reminder that the vested right is not allowable under the following Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) retirement plans. While tenured faculty enrolled in these plans may request to reemploy after retirement as described in the Other Reemployment Options section of this policy, they do not maintain a vested right. For questions on DRS plan terms and conditions of reemployment, contact the University of Washington Human Resources Benefits team at benefits@uw.edu..

While reemploying, the faculty member is still considered a retiree. Depending on the circumstances of the reemployment, the faculty member may become eligible for certain benefits. Visit the UWHR Benefits website for a full understanding of the implications of a proposed reemployment plan.

The UWRP plan document limits retiree reemployment to working no more than a 40% FTE in a calendar year. The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) limits DRS plan retirees to working no more than 867 hours in a calendar year.  The UW Benefits Office will track UWRP retiree time worked over the calendar year. The DRS automatically tracks time worked for DRS retirees based on period work hours reports UW is required to send.  For more information on how a retiree’s FTE is calculated and tracked, contact the University of Washington Human Resources Benefits team at benefits@uw.edu.

The faculty member’s school, college, or campus must submit the request and supporting documentation showing summer employment in the five years preceding retirement to Academic HR. Please check with your dean or chancellor’s office for any additional local-level review process required prior to the submission of the request. If approved, summer reemployment compensation counts toward the 40% cap on compensation in any given calendar year.

A separation/termination date is the last working day at the University. The retirement date is the first day of the month following the separation/termination date. Separation/termination dates of 6/15 or 6/30 would have the same retirement date of 7/1.