§8468 Annuities and Pay on Reemployment

Summary

If a retired federal worker goes back to a federal appointive or elected job, an amount equal to the retiree’s pension for the time they work must be taken from their pay and put back into the federal retirement fund. That does not apply to intermittent appointments, to justices or judges, to jobs covered by another retirement system, to the President, or to certain disability annuitants whose benefits were stopped because they recovered. The retiree’s lump‑sum retirement credit cannot be reduced by these withholdings. If the retiree works full time for at least 1 year (or the part‑time equivalent), their pension will be increased when reemployment ends based on the time and pay during reemployment. If the retiree has a reduced annuity, the increase is cut by 10% and survivor payments rise by 50% of that increase unless the retiree says in writing they do not want the survivor increase. If the retiree dies while still reemployed after at least 1 year, survivors get the increased benefit. After 5 years (or part‑time equivalent), the retiree may instead choose a full redetermination of their retirement rights; if the retiree dies after 5 years, a survivor may choose that redetermination. If the retiree works less than 1 year, the total amounts withheld can be refunded on written request. Appointment as a Governor of the Postal Service Board is not covered. A retiring federal judge may apply, before leaving that judgeship, to be paid any excess of lump‑sum credit over annuity paid, even if the usual filing time has passed. The word “annuity” here means only payments from the federal retirement fund. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management can waive these rules case‑by‑case for hard‑to‑fill jobs or emergencies, and can let agency heads waive for temporary hires in emergencies. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, agency heads for legislative agencies, and certain House and Senate committees have similar waiver powers for their staffs. “Head of an agency” and “limited time appointee” are defined in the law (the latter means a temporary appointment of 1 year or less). Agency heads may waive the rules for limited time appointees for specific needs (like critical agency functions, certain recovery programs, procurement, inspector general support, training or mentoring, recruitment, or emergencies). Waivers for limited time appointees are limited to 520 hours in the first 6 months after the annuity starts, 1,040 hours in any 12‑month period, and 3,120 hours total. No more than 2.5% of an agency’s full‑time employees may have such waivers. If waivers exceed 1% of staff, the agency must report to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the House Oversight Committee, and OPM and must give a succession plan within 180 days. OPM will make rules for these waivers, training or mentoring hours (up to 520) normally don’t count toward the hour limits unless that is the appointee’s main job, the waiver authority for agency heads ends on December 31, 2024, Executive agency does not include the Government Accountability Office for these rules, and any person working under a waiver is not treated as an employee under this retirement law or chapter 83.