18
PENSION AND BENEFITS REPORT
NEW JERSEY COPS ■ FEBRUARY 2014
Employment after retirement
Pat
Colligan
Well, the “20 & Out” article last month elicited
more responses than any article I have ever written for NJ Cops. Thank you for the feedback;
many of you wrote some very passionate emails.
I’ve already made some progress in getting the
issue clarified, and I am more hopeful now than
I was last month that it will be resolved favorably.
Now that I have done a few retirement seminars around the state, I’ve discovered another
issue that needs some clarification: When you go on the MBOS
(Member Benefit Online System) to retire, you will quickly get
to the “Acknowledgement of Terms & Conditions of Retirement” page. It is basically a contract with the Division. If you
don’t agree to the terms, you can’t get to the next page.
One of the terms states: “I understand I cannot make any prearrangement to return to employment after retirement in any
capacity. Refer to Employment After Retirement for more information.”
As if that wasn’t enough, they added another sentence in a
highlighted box at the very bottom that reads: “I certify I have
made no pre-arrangement to return to employment after retirement in any capacity.”
If you click on the “Employment After Retirement” link
PFRS TIP OF THE MONTH
Need to know what your Federal taxes are going to be in
retirement? Follow the link at the bottom of the
pensions tab at www.njspba.com or visit:
http://apps.opm.gov/tax_calc/withhold_calc/index.cfm
provided, you are supposed to be linked to a fact sheet that
will answer all of your questions about the subject. The fact
sheet is missing, and many of you would like to know where
it went. I think the nice people at the Division would like to
know where it went, too. The Attorney General pulled those
sheets well over a year ago and promised they’d be back in
about six months. I’d have to guess that the AG’s Office might
be a little busy these days. I’ll go out on another limb and
guess that the “Employment After Retirement” Fact Sheet isn’t
on the top of anybody’s “to-do” list over there either.
So, let’s get back to the Terms & Conditions of retirement.
I’m not sure who wrote the terms, but they sure scared the
hell out of a lot of people. When you retire, your employer is
notified electronically within 24 hours and has to confirm
that you did not make pre-arrangement to return to employment. The state seems to be a little nicer to your employer
because they clarify that it should be: Returning to the Same
Employer.
Let’s take a peek at New Jersey Administrative Code 17:117.14 “Retiree reemployment.” (d) In order to demonstrate
that there has been a bona fide severance from employment
in compliance with Federal law, each member and the member's employer shall certify as part of the application for a
retirement benefit that the member has had a bona fide severance from employment with the employer as of a specific
date and that there is no pre-arranged agreement for that
member to be reemployed by the employer as an employee,
a contract employee, a leased employee or an independent
contractor. The certification shall be made under penalties of
perjury.
Basically, the Division is complying with Internal Revenue
Code. I’m OK with following the rules, but why the ambiguity? Why are they clear with the employer and make us search
for a Fact Sheet t