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House passes bill to let retirees return to teach without penalty, now moves to Senate

Mar 14, 2015

The House passed HB 4059 which eliminates a sunset that kept retirees from returning to work without losing their pension and health benefits. Rep. Holly Hughes' bill (R-Montague) will allow school districts to hire retired teachers in areas designated as "critical shortage," as substitutes, or as instructional coaches.

With this bill, a retiree must be retired for at least 12 months before returning to work in a critical shortage area; the retiree can be employed for no more than three years. Meanwhile, the school district must continue to pay for 100 percent of the unfunded liability for the pension and retiree health care.

Retirees who have been retired for at least a month can return to substitute teach can earn no more than one-third of their final average compensation in a calendar year.

In addition to benefiting retirees, the bill will help out school districts that need qualified teachers in certain subject areas.  MEA is supportive of this legislation. The bill now moves to the Senate