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  1. How can I tell if someone is retired from another TRS-covered employer?
    In the Employer Access area of the TRS website, you can use the Employee Lookup feature to view if someone you employ is retired.

    If a retiree is reported as an active member, an edit will invoke. You will be required to correct the Contribution Category to 99 -Retired, report hours and not days paid, and not remit contributions. You should review the contributions withheld from the member to determine if any contributions are due back to the member.
     
  2. How will districts report the time a TRS annuitant has worked?
    Annuitants’ time worked will be reported in hours. Full days are converted to hours and a full day never counts for more than five hours. On days that the annuitant works less than the full day, all time he/she is required to be present should be counted. 

    Example 1: An annuitant teaches two 45-minute classes but is required to be in class 10 minutes between classes and 10 minutes before and after class. On this day, a total of two hours is counted against the post-retirement limits. 

    Example 2: On Monday, an annuitant works a full 7-hour day; on Tuesday, he works 2.25 hours; on Wednesday, he works 3.5 hours and on Thursday, he works a full day. For this annuitant, 15.75 hours would be reported.
     
  3. The retired teachers we hire are not hourly in our system. Can we report their days paid?
    No. A retiree must be reported in hours. This allows TRS to accurately track the time worked for retirees who work in multiple districts. TRS will notify the member and employer(s) when the member is close to the post-retirement employment so that the member does not inadvertently exceed the limitations. In addition, TRS will notify the member and employer(s) if/when the post-retirement limitations are exceeded.
     
  4. Do we report a retiree who only does work that does not require licensure?
    No. If a retiree only does work that does not require licensure, he/she should not be reported. In addition, if a retiree does both work that requires licensure and it counts towards the post-retirement limitations and work that does not require licensure, only the work that counts against the limitations should be reported.

    Only work that requires teacher licensure is subject to the post-retirement employ­ment limitation. This work includes: summer school, substitute teachings and attendance during the work week at teachers’ institutes, workshops and parent/teacher con­ferences scheduled in the school calendar.

    All time that a teacher or administrator is required to be present for duties requiring teacher licensure is subject to the limitation. For teachers, this includes preparation periods and time before, between, and after classes. For administrators, this includes all time that is required to be spent on administrative duties, such as attendance at board meetings and contract negotiations. Paid sick, personal and vacation days are subject to the post-retirement employment limitation.

    Extra duties that do not require teacher licensure (e.g., coaching, lunchroom supervision, chaper­oning) are not subject to the post-retirement employment limitation.
     
  5. For retired members who come back to work in a full-time paraprofessional position all year and occasionally substitute teach, is the district going to report their IMRF position wages when they substitute teach?
    When a TRS annuitant returns in a TRS-covered position (i.e. substitute teaching, homebound teaching, etc.) the hours and earnings will be reported as a contribution category of 99 – Retired. Only work that counts against the post-retirement employment limitations would be reported. This will allow TRS to notify the member and employer if/when the post-retirement employment limitations are exceeded.
     
  6. Will the retiree’s earnings be tied to the reported hours?
    No, there is no validation on the reported earnings.
     
  7. Will a retiree be able to see the hours they have worked?
    Our plans are for the members to be able to view their reported information. This is planned for a later phase of the project.
     
  8. Is an employment type required to be reported for a retiree?
    Yes.