40.21 Participating employers. (1) Any employer shall be included within and thereafter subject to the provisions of the Wisconsin retirement system by so electing, through adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the employer. (2) Any employer who elected or was required to participate in the Wisconsin retirement fund under s. 41.05, 1979 stats., shall be included in the Wisconsin retirement system on the same basis as the employer was included in the Wisconsin retirement fund. (3) Every employer authorized by law to employ or pay the salaries of teachers, who is not otherwise a participating employer, is a participating employer with respect to teacher employees only.
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
40.21
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE TRUST FUND
(3m) A city-county health department that is established under s. 251.02 (1m), that is subject to s. 251.02 (1r), and that is not otherwise a participating employer, is a participating employer with respect to its employees who are included in a collective bargaining unit for which a representative is recognized or certified under subch. IV of ch. 111 and is not required to adopt a resolution electing to participate in the Wisconsin retirement system or provide notice of such election to the department under sub. (1). (4) Every city or village which was subject to s. 61.65, 1975 stats., and s. 62.13, 1975 stats., on or before March 30, 1978, except a city of the 1st class, which is not otherwise a participating employer, is a participating employer but only with respect to present and future employees of its police and fire departments specified by s. 61.65 (6) and (7), 1975 stats., and s. 62.13 (9) (e), (9a) and (10) (f) and (g), 1975 stats. (5) Whenever any employer is created, the territory of which includes more than one-half of the last assessed valuation of an employer which at the time of creation was a participating employer on a basis other than that specified in sub. (3) or (4) and the employer so created assumes the functions and responsibilities of the previous employer with respect to the territory, then the employer so created shall automatically be a participating employer from its inception, but no prior service credits shall be provided for any personnel of the employer unless the new participating employer adopts a resolution as provided in sub. (1). If a resolution is adopted, no employee shall receive prior service credit for any period of service which was previously covered by a retirement system. (6) (a) Any employer electing to be included within the provisions of the Wisconsin retirement system in accordance with this section may in the resolution and in the certified notice of election recognize 100 percent, 75 percent, 50 percent, 25 percent or none of the prior creditable service of its employees earned by the employees while employed by the employer, if the same percentage of each employee’s prior creditable service is recognized. (b) Any employer which recognizes less than all of the prior creditable service of its employees under par. (a) may adopt another resolution as provided in this section, increasing, for each person who is still a participating employee on the effective date of the increase determined under this section, the percentage of the employee’s prior creditable service which is recognized to one of the higher levels provided by par. (a) provided the accumulated percentage does not exceed 100 percent. (c) Whenever the percentage of recognized prior creditable service is increased as provided in par. (b), the employer contributions computed under s. 40.05 (2) shall be increased to reflect the value of the increased prior creditable service being granted, amortized over the remainder of the funding period provided for prior creditable service costs of that employer. (7) (a) Subject to pars. (b) and (c), any employer that elects to be included within the provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System under sub. (1) on or after March 2, 2016, may elect to be a participating employer only with respect to employees hired on or after the date on which the employer elects to participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System. Any employer that makes such an election shall do so in writing on a form provided by the department. (b) Any municipal employer, other than a 1st class city or county with a population of at least 750,000, that elects to be included within the provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System under sub. (1) on or after March 2, 2016, may choose not to include any of its public utility employees. (c) Any municipal employer that elects to be included within the provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System under sub. (1)
Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.
32
on or after March 2, 2016, and that elects to be a participating employer under par. (a), may offer its current employees the option of becoming participating employees in the Wisconsin Retirement System. If an employee elects to become a participating employee, the employee shall make the election in writing on a form provided by the department before the effective date that the employer becomes a participating employer. History: 1981 c. 96; 1987 a. 309; 1987 a. 403 s. 256; 1989 a. 56 s. 259; 1993 a. 383; 2001 a. 16; 2015 a. 174, 187; 2023 a. 12. Sub. (4) limits prospective mandatory Wisconsin Retirement System coverage to present and future police and firefighter employees of cities and villages that had police and firefighter employees included in the Wisconsin Retirement Fund prior to March 31, 1978. 75 Atty. Gen. 34.
40.22 Participating employees. (1) Except as otherwise provided in sub. (2) and s. 40.26 (6), each employee currently in the service of, and receiving earnings from, a state agency or other participating employer shall be included within the provisions of the Wisconsin retirement system as a participating employee of that state agency or participating employer. (2) No person may be included within, or receive benefits from, the Wisconsin retirement system for any service if any of the following conditions apply: (a) Except as provided in sub. (2m), the employee was a participating employee before July 1, 2011, and is not expected to work at least one-third of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule. (am) Except as provided in sub. (2r), the employee was not a participating employee before July 1, 2011, and is not expected to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule. (b) The employee’s expected duration of employment is less than one year. (c) The employee is excluded from participation by s. 40.21 (3) or (4). (cm) The employee is excluded from participation by s. 40.21 (7). (d) The employee is subject to s. 40.19 (4) provided that contributions and benefits shall be paid as provided by that subsection. (e) The employee is subject to a contract involving the furnishing by the person of more than the person’s personal services. (f) The employee is a member of a retirement system of a 1st class city and was an employee of a technical college district created under ch. 38 on the date the district was created. (g) The employee is appointed by the university under s. 36.19, or by the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, as a student assistant or employee in training or is appointed by a school or other education system in which the person is regularly enrolled as a student and is attending classes to perform services incidental to the person’s course of study at that school or education system. (gm) The employee is initially employed by a participating employer on or after April 23, 1992, is under the age of 20 and is regularly enrolled, or is expected to be regularly enrolled, as a full-time student in a school, as defined in s. 118.257 (1) (d). (h) The employee is teaching while on leave from an educational institution not a part of the University of Wisconsin System, if the person is a visiting professor, visiting associate professor, visiting assistant professor or visiting lecturer at the university and if the employment at the university is all within 12 consecutive calendar months. If the employment at the university is continued beyond the 12-month period the person shall, at the start of the 13th consecutive calendar month of employment, come under the system for future service. (i) The employee contributes to the employee retirement sys-
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
33
Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.
tem of the county of Milwaukee if the person was contributing to that system on September 10, 1959. (j) The employee is employed by a transportation system in a position that is excluded from the Wisconsin retirement system and is included in another retirement system under s. 66.1023. (k) The employee is eligible to receive similar benefits from any other state covering the same service and earnings. (L) The employee is employed by a participating employer after the person becomes an annuitant, unless the service is after the annuity is suspended under s. 40.26. (m) Notwithstanding sub. (3m), the employee was formerly employed by Milwaukee County, is a state employee described in s. 49.825 (4) or (5) or 49.826 (4), and is a covered employee under the retirement system established under chapter 201, laws of 1937, pursuant to s. 49.825 (4) (c) or (5) (c) or 49.826 (4) (c). (2m) Except as otherwise provided in s. 40.26 (6), an employee who was a participating employee before July 1, 2011, who is not expected to work at least one-third of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule, and who is not otherwise excluded under sub. (2) from becoming a participating employee shall become a participating employee if he or she is subsequently employed by the state agency or other participating employer for either of the following periods: (a) At least one year for at least one-third of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule, or, for an educational support personnel employee, at least one year for at least one-third of what is considered full-time employment for a teacher. (b) At least 600 hours in the immediately preceding 12-month period. (2r) Except as otherwise provided in s. 40.26 (6), an employee who was not a participating employee before July 1, 2011, who is not expected to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule, and who is not otherwise excluded under sub. (2) from becoming a participating employee shall become a participating employee if he or she is subsequently employed by the state agency or other participating employer for either of the following periods: (a) At least one year for at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule, or, for an educational support personnel employee, at least one year for at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment for a teacher. (b) At least 1,200 hours in the immediately preceding 12month period. (3) Except as otherwise provided in s. 40.26 (6), a person who qualifies as a participating employee shall be included within, and shall be subject to, the Wisconsin retirement system effective on one of the following dates: (a) The employer’s effective date of participation if the person is an employee of that employer on the employer’s effective date and has met all requirements for inclusion on or prior to that effective date. (b) 1. The first day after completion of one year of employment for at least one-third of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule, if the person becomes a participating employee under sub. (2m) after the employer’s effective date of participation. 2. The first day after completion of one year of employment for at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the department, as determined by rule, if the person becomes
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE TRUST FUND
40.23
a participating employee under sub. (2r) after the employer’s effective date of participation. (c) The first day of employment if the person is a participating employee not covered under par. (a) or (b). (3m) Any employee who becomes a participating employee shall continue to be a participating employee notwithstanding sub. (2) (a) or (b) for periods of subsequent employment with that state agency or other participating employer unless the employment with the state agency or other participating employer is terminated for 12 or more consecutive calendar months or unless the employee receives a benefit under s. 40.23, 40.25 (1) or (2) or 40.63. (4) For purposes of s. 40.02 (25), a person who is employed by a state agency shall be deemed to have become a state employee on the date the person becomes a participating state employee. No participating employee may be included under s.