There are certain statutory restrictions on retiree employment. These
restrictions are a matter of law and although all retirees are notified
at the time of their retirement, a number of retirees are consistently
discovered through government audits to be violating these restrictions.
These retirees are then forced to reimburse the Article II Pension Fund
for all pension benefits received while in violation of the law.
In 1998, a City Comptroller's audit caught 81 retired City employees
illegally collecting pension benefits while receiving paychecks from either
City or State agencies for whom they had gone back to work. These "double-dipping"
retirees had collected nearly $600,000 in illicit benefits, and now, several
of them, including NYPD retirees, are reimbursing the Fund over $200,000
each! Don't let this happen to you!
The New York City Comptroller's office has turned over the results of
their audit to the New York City Department of Investigation for possible
criminal prosecution, in addition to recovery of all pension monies received.
Retirees – make sure that you are in compliance with the following
guidelines on employment. You should review the statutes cited to avoid
jeopardizing your pension benefit. Questions regarding these statutory
restrictions should be submitted to the Pension Section in writing. A
copy of your correspondence will be made a part of your pension records.
Remember that you are responsible for ensuring that you are not violating
these important restrictions. Violations will result in substantial financial
reparations as well as possible criminal repercussions.
Your retirement benefit consists chiefly of a pension portion, and to
a lesser degree, an annuity portion. The following is concerned with the
pension portion only. (The annuity portion of your retirement benefit
was purchased by your contributions and is not affected. Also, continuation
of your annuity portion maintains your eligibility for medical benefits.)
An active member of the pension system is one who is in the active service
of a governmental agency. He or she may or may not be making contributions
to the pension system, but is earning future pension benefit credits.
A passive member is one who is receiving benefits.
According to Section 1117 of the New York City Charter, the pension portion
of the retirement benefit is to be suspended or forfeited for all retired
persons who are employed by New York State or any of its political subdivisions,
unless the sum of the pension portion and the compensation or salary is
less than $1,800 per year.
Section 211 of the New York State Retirement and Social Security Law
allows a person retired for other than a physical disability to be employed
by New York State or one of its political subdivisions if the agency wishing
to employ the person obtains approval from the New York State Civil Service
Commission or others in power to grant such approval.
Disability retirees may be employed, with an earnings limitation, by New
York City, State or any political subdivision prior to the 20th anniversary
of their appointment to the Police Department. The earnings are limited
to the difference between the pension portion and the current salary,
plus overtime, night shift differential, and vacation work for the next
higher rank than that of the retired person at the time of retirement.
Uniform allowance shall be included at the rate for the rank of the retired
person at the time of retirement. Earnings in excess of this difference
are to be subtracted from subsequent pension portion payments.
After the 20th anniversary of their appointment to the Police Department,
all accident or ordinary disabilities are subject to Section 1117 of the
New York City Charter, which states that you may not be employed by New
York City, State or any political subdivision without first suspending
the pension portion of your retirement allowance. As disability retirees,
you are excluded from the exmption provisions of Section 211 or 212 of
the New York State Retirement and Social Security Law, because you would
have had to retire for other than a physical disability in order to be
eligible. This means that after the 20th anniversary, disability retirees
cannot work for any municipal employer in New York State (other than a
public benefit corporation) without suspending their pension benefit with
the Pension Section.
Any retired person (disability, service or vested interest) may not join
another New York State Retirement System as an active member while receiving
a pension benefit from the Article II Pension System. If a retired person
elects to do so, the pension portion must be suspended. When the active
membership ceases, pension portion payments will be reinstated.
Section 212 of the New York State Retirement and Social Security Law
permits employement by New York State or one of its political subdivisions
without approval for non-disability retired persons if the salary or compensation
is less than an amount set by the Legislature each year (check the amount
with the NYPD Pension Section). Under Section 212, you must notify the
Article II Pension System if you elect to exercise this right.
Please note that it is the responsibility of the service or vested
interest retiree to verify that the prospective employer has obtained
a waiver under Section 211 and that waiver is continued in force throughout
the duration of employment.
The Office of the Corporation Counsel has interpreted Section 1117 of
the New York City Charter as not applying to the "Public Benefit
Corporations," so that retired City employees can work for such corporations
without suspension of benefits. The Corporation Counsel has determined
the following Authorities to be Public Benefit Corporations:
New York City Housing Authority
New York City Transit Authority
New York City Dormitory Authority
Off-Track Betting Corporation
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Urban Development Corporation
Port Authority
Waterfront Commission
New York City School Construction Authority
New York City Convention Operating Corporation |