Returning to UC
Employment After
Retirement
Fact Sheet: Returning to UC Employment After Retirement
By authority of the Regents, University of California Human Resources,
located in Oakland, administers all benet plans in accordance with
applicable plan documents and regulations, custodial agreements,
University of California Group Insurance Regulations for Faculty and Sta,
group insurance contracts, and state and federal laws. No person
is authorized to provide benets information not contained in these
source documents, and information not contained in these source
documents cannot be relied upon as having been authorized by the
Regents. Source documents are available for inspection upon request
(800-888-8267). What is written here does not constitute a guarantee
of plan coverage or benets—particular rules and eligibility requirements
must be met before benets can be received. The University of California
intends to continue the benets described here indenitely; however,
the benets of all employees, retirees, and plan beneciaries are subject
to change or termination at the time of contract renewal or at any other
time by the University or other governing authorities. The University also
reserves the right to determine new premiums, employer contributions and
monthly costs at any time. Health and welfare benets are not accrued
or vested benet entitlements. UC’s contribution toward the monthly
cost of the coverage is determined by UC and may change or stop
altogether, and may be aected by the state of California’s annual
budget appropriation. If you belong to an exclusively represented
bargaining unit, some of your benets may dier from the ones described
here. For more information, employees should contact their Human
Resources Oce and retirees should call the UC Retirement Administra-
tion Service Center (800-888-8267).
In conformance with applicable law and University policy, the University
is an armative action/equal opportunity employer. Please send inquiries
regarding the University’s armative action and equal opportunity
policies for sta to Systemwide AA/EEO Policy Coordinator, University
of California, Oce of the President, 1111 Franklin Street, 5th Floor,
Oakland, CA 94607, and for faculty to the Oce of Academic
Personnel and Programs, University of California Oce of the
President, 1111 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94607.
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If you’ve retired from UC but the university needs your skills, you
may be able to return to work for a limited period under certain
restrictions. This allows UC to tap the specialized expertise of its
retirees, while allowing you to make a valuable contribution to
UC’s mission. Because rehired retirees may draw a retirement
benet and another UC income simultaneously, the university
must follow clear policy guidelines to ensure public
accountability, transparency and sound succession planning.
The policies for rehire in this fact sheet apply to faculty, sta and
senior management employees. The rules for faculty, though, are
dierent from those for senior management and sta. As you
review this fact sheet, make sure you understand the rules that
apply to your situation.
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What You Need to Know
What You Need to Know
ELIGIBILITY
You’re eligible to be considered for reemployment as a retiree if
you’re a member of UCRP receiving a monthly retirement benet
or a Savings Choice participant who is receiving retiree health
benets. For Savings Choice participants, the date that retiree
health benets coverage begins is treated as the retirement date.
Savings Choice participants who begin receiving retiree health
benets are subject to all rules for the reemployment of retired
employees.
If you’re a senior management or sta employee and chose the
UCRP lump sum cashout—an option available primarily to those
who joined UCRP before July 1, 2013—you can’t be hired into a
career (UCRP-eligible) position.
Faculty members who took a UCRP lump sum cashout, though,
are eligible for rehire into UCRP-eligible academic positions.
LENGTH OF APPOINTMENT
Most often, rehired retirees work 43 percent time or less, for 12
months or less. This is referred to as a “non-career appointment.”
If your appointment is at this level, you are ineligible for active
employee health and welfare benets, so any retiree health
coverage you have will likely continue. You may also continue
to receive your UCRP monthly retirement income (if applicable)
during your reemployment.
Occasionally, a retiree may be hired into a career position. See
“If you’ve been rehired into a career position” on page 5 for
more information about rules that apply for those situations.
If you’re a faculty member and you have funding, you’re eligible
for a three-year appointment.
WHEN YOU CAN BE REHIRED
Because UCRP must comply with IRS pension distribution rules,
for the most part UC retirees are allowed to return to work only
under certain limited circumstances. (See “If you’ve been rehired
into a career position” on page 5 for the exceptions.)
You must comply with IRS rules about when you can discuss
reemployment. For UCRP members, you can’t discuss
reemployment until after you’ve received your rst UCRP
monthly retirement payment, or 30 days after you’ve ended UC
employment—whichever is later—if you haven’t reached normal
retirement age. (The normal retirement age is 65 if you joined
UCRP on or after July 1, 2013. If you joined before that date, it’s
60; if you’re a Safety member, it’s 50.) For Savings Choice
participants, you cannot discuss reemployment until after
you’ve received retiree health coverage (or elected to suspend
retiree health coverage), or 30 days after you’ve ended UC
employment—whichever is later.
To be hired after you’ve retired, UC policy states that:
• The reemployment must be in response to a university need,
for instance:
– You have skills and knowledge that the hiring department
can’t otherwise obtain with equal cost-eectiveness.
– The hiring department anticipates a prolonged process for
hiring a replacement.
– The hiring department anticipates that you will help the
replacement acquire the skills and knowledge needed for
the job.
– If you’re a faculty member, your recall must serve the
university’s essential academic needs.
• You need to have had a break in service of at least 30 days—
preferably 90 days—before you can be reemployed.
• Your rehire appointment must be limited to the equivalent of
no more than 43 percent time during a 12-month period.
– Faculty members are limited to working no more than
43 percent time per month, with the percentage of time
calculated each month.
• Your employment can’t exceed a total of 12 consecutive
months. If your department still needs you after 12 months, it
must apply again for approval for additional time.
– Following review, academic recall appointments may be
renewed annually.
– Following review, appointments for reemployed sta
retirees may only be extended for up to an additional
12 months.
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What You Need to Know
• If you’re reemployed temporarily in a career position (for
example, to ll your former job during the search for a
replacement), the job must be posted and a search begun
within 30 days of the job becoming vacant. The recruitment
period must last at least 30 days.
APPROVALS
Your location’s executive ocer (or designee) must approve all
sta appointments after the chief human resources ocer’s
review and endorsement.
For academics, the chancellor (or designee) approves all
appointments, and the provost must approve compensation
that exceeds the appropriate indexed compensation level.
If you’re applying for a senior management position or one in
which the base salary plus any other cash compensation exceeds
the Indexed Compensation Level, the Regents or their delegate
must also approve your appointment.
If you’ve been rehired into a career position
Occasionally, a retiree may be hired into a career position
after an open recruitment process. If you’re rehired under
these circumstances, you must suspend your monthly UCRP
retirement benet (if applicable) during your reemployment.
If you are eligible for Retirement Choice upon reemployment,
you must elect to participate in either:
• Pension Choice—as an active member in the UCRP 2016
Tier, you and UC will make mandatory contributions to
UCRP, you’ll earn additional UCRP service credit and your
years of service will be taken into account for purposes of
determining UC’s maximum contribution toward the cost
of retiree health coverage.
• Savings Choice—as an active participant in UC’s Dened
Contribution (DC) Plan, you and UC will make mandatory
contributions to the DC Plan and your years of service will
be taken into account for purposes of determining UC’s
maximum contribution toward the cost of retiree health
coverage.
There are some circumstances in which you will not be
eligible for Retirement Choice when you are rehired into a
career position:
• If you became a member of UCRP prior to July 1, 1994,
you will become an active member of the UCRP 2016 Tier.
• If you were previously eligible for Retirement Choice, you
will automatically resume active participation in the plan
in which you participated before your retirement, either
Pension Choice (UCRP 2016 Tier) or Savings Choice
(DC Plan).
You’ll have to suspend any medical, dental, vision and/or
legal coverage you have as a retiree. You may, however,
enroll as an employee in any health and welfare plans for
which your reemployment qualies you. Please note that if
you or family members are covered by Medicare and become
eligible for employee medical coverage (including Core),
federal law requires that Medicare no longer be your primary
insurance. See page 6 for more information.
If you have questions, please contact your local Benets
representative or the Retirement Administration Service
Center at 800-888-8267.
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HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFITS
If you are not eligible for active health and welfare benets
based on your reappointment percentage, you may continue any
retiree health and welfare benets you’ve been receiving. If you
are receiving a monthly pension benet, your premiums will
continue to be deducted from your monthly retirement
payments. If you are receiving retiree health benets based
solely on participation in the UC Savings Choice program, retiree
health premiums will continue to be paid in the same manner,
which is generally via deduction from your designated bank
account. You also have the option to enroll in any health and
welfare plans for which you’re eligible as an employee; for
example, the Health FSA.
But you can’t have duplicate coverage as both a retiree and an
employee—you need to choose.
MEDICARE
If you or family members are covered by Medicare and become
eligible for employee medical coverage (including Core), federal
law requires that Medicare no longer be your primary insurance.
This means that you must either:
• suspend your retiree medical insurance and enroll as an
employee, so that Medicare becomes your secondary
insurance; or
• opt out of all UC-sponsored medical coverage (both employee
and retiree) and have Medicare coverage only.
If you are eligible and enroll in medical insurance as an employee,
your premium will be paid from your employee earnings. If
you have been receiving a Medicare Part B reimbursement, it
will stop.
If you’re not eligible for employee coverage during your
reemployment, your retiree medical benets continue, with
Medicare remaining as the primary payer.
SICK LEAVE
UC does not provide sick leave to employees who work 43
percent time or less.
UC provides sick leave to eligible employees who are on pay
status at least one-half of the working hours of a month or
four-week cycle. If you return to work under these terms as a
reappointed retiree, you will generally start accruing sick leave
from zero in your new appointment. (Unused sick leave from
your prior appointment will most likely have been used to
increase your UCRP retirement benet, if applicable, and/or the
UC contribution toward your UC retiree health premiums.)
Faculty members don’t accrue sick leave, so this information
doesn’t apply to them.
UCRP/SAVINGS CHOICE
In most cases, your reappointment won’t qualify you for active
participation in UCRP (Pension Choice) or Savings Choice. That
means you don’t make contributions to UCRP or Savings Choice,
you don’t earn additional UCRP service credit and you don’t
earn additional retiree health service credit during your
reemployment period.
As a part-time employee not eligible for primary retirement
benets, you will make mandatory contributions of 7.5 percent
to the DC Plan Pretax Account, in lieu of Social Security. See
the DC Plan summary, available at ucal.us/contributionplan, for
more information.
DC, 403(B), 457(B) PLANS
As a reappointed retiree, the voluntary distribution rules
governing these plans for active employees apply to you. For
example, you must be 59½ or older to take a distribution from
your 403(b) or 457(b) Plan, or from your DC Plan Pretax
Account. Other rules apply as well, including some exceptions
for certain emergency situations. Please see your plan
documents for details.
If you’re repaying a 403(b) loan, your reemployment may aect
your repayment schedule and any direct payment arrangement
you have with Fidelity. Please contact Fidelity at 866-682-7787
or myUCretirement.com.
What Happens to Your Benets
What Happens to Your Benets
Voluntary pretax contributions
When you return to UC service, you may begin or resume
making voluntary pretax salary deferrals to the 403(b)
or 457(b) Plans, up to the IRS maximums. Visit
myUCretirement.com or call Fidelity at 866-682-7787
to enroll.
What You Need to Do
What You Need to Do
Returning to work policies
You can read the full policies for returning to work after
retirement online:
Sta and senior management:
regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/policies/7706.pdf
Academic appointments:
ucop.edu/academic-personnel/_les/apm/apm-205.pdf
WHEN APPLYING TO BE REHIRED
You must disclose your status as a UC retiree. If you don’t, your
appointment could be modied or withdrawn.
AFTER YOU’VE BEEN REHIRED
If you’re rehired into a non-career sta position, you’ll need
to complete the UCRP Reemployed Retiree Notication Form
(UBEN 1039) and indicate that you will continue to receive your
monthly UCRP retirement income and/or your retiree health
coverage.
If you had received a UCRP lump sum cashout prior to your
rehire, you do not need to complete the UBEN 1039 or notify
UC Retirement Administration Service Center of your
reemployment.
If you’ve been rehired into a career sta position, you’ll need
to complete the UCRP Reemployed Retiree Notication Form
(UBEN 1039) indicating that you’re suspending your UCRP
monthly retirement benet and/or your retiree health coverage.
(You must return any overpayment of UCRP retirement benets
that may result from your reemployment.)
If you’ve been rehired into a full-time academic position, you
don’t need to ll out the UBEN 1039 form, but you do need to
send a signed letter to the UC Retirement Administration
Service Center providing your rehire date and requesting
suspension of your UCRP monthly retirement benet and/or
your retiree health coverage. (You must return any overpayment
of UCRP retirement benets that may result from your
reemployment.)
If you are eligible for Retirement Choice upon reemployment,
you will have a 90-day election period to choose either Pension
Choice or Savings Choice. If you do not make an election, you
will be defaulted to Pension Choice at the end of your 90-day
election period. The sooner you enroll, the sooner you start
receiving UC contributions (and service credit under Pension
Choice).
If you’re changing your health coverage from retiree to
employee, or opting out of all UC-sponsored coverage,
contact your Benets representative and/or the UC Retirement
Administration Service Center for help with the process.
NINETY DAYS BEFORE THE DATE YOUR
REEMPLOYMENT WILL END
If you suspended retiree health coverage and enrolled in
employee health and welfare benets, notify the UC
Retirement Administration Service Center at 800-888-8267 of
the date you’ll stop working so that you can be switched back to
retiree coverage.
If you suspended UCRP retirement income and either earned
additional UCRP service credit or participated in Savings
Choice during your rehire period, you must re-retire under
UCRP the day after you leave UC employment. Contact the
UC Retirement Administration Service Center to arrange your
re-retirement and any change to your original UCRP retirement
benet.
AFTER YOUR REEMPLOYMENT HAS ENDED
Check your rst retiree benets statement carefully to make
sure that any changes have been made correctly. Contact the
UC Retirement Administration Service Center if you have any
questions or concerns.
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Returning to UC
Employment After
Retirement
Fact Sheet: Returning to UC Employment After Retirement
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