Rehired Retiree Guidance for Hiring Departments

ORP Retirees

ORP retirees may return to work immediately following retirement without restrictions on employment. However, to receive a distribution from the participant's accumulation account(s) based on separation from service, the participant must have experienced a bona-fide termination of employment in which the employer/employee relationship is completely severed.

PERS Retirees

Individuals who have retired from the University (or other State of Mississippi agency) may be reemployed in accordance with state law and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) under Regulation 34. The rules for returning to work are different for PERS and ORP retirees.

30-Day Break in Service (effective July 1, 2026)

Where retirees previously had to have a 90-day break in service before returning to covered employment, law now requires a separation of only 30 days. Retirees who return to work before at least 30 days will forfeit their retirement benefit.

Any employee of an educational institution employed on less than a 12-month basis retiring at the end of one school year may not be reemployed in an educational institution any earlier than 30 days after the beginning of the next school year.

Important: Pre-arranged agreements with recently retired or current employees to return to work are prohibited by law. Employees must have a bona-fide break in service before returning to work for a PERS-covered employer. Failure to comply may result in cancellation or forfeiture of retirement benefits.

Notifying PERS

If a retiree decides to return to employment with a covered employer, the retiree and the employer must notify PERS in writing within five days of the reemployment and provide the conditions under which he or she is being reemployed. Notification must be repeated each new fiscal year of post-retirement employment.

A service retiree may be employed with a covered employer and continue to receive service retirement benefits only if one of the following limited reemployment conditions are met:

Option A

The retiree works for a period not to exceed one-half of the normal working days or hours for the position, and receives no more than one-half of the salary in effect for the position in any fiscal year.

Option B

The retiree works long enough in any fiscal year to earn no more than 25 percent of his or her average compensation used in the calculation of his or her benefit.

Option C New

The retiree may return to covered employment full-time and earn no more than 80 percent of the position's full salary in effect at the time of employment.

Members who retire under age 65 under tiers 4 or 5 with less than 30 years of service are not eligible. Excludes retirees serving as an administrator at a university or a community college or junior college and elected officials.

Revised Form 4B

This new option is available to select on the revised PERS Form 4B, Reemployment of PERS Service Retiree Certification/Acknowledgement.

Hiring Process for Rehired Retirees

Hiring departments must hire rehired retiree through PageUp in advance of the employee beginning work at MSU. The process is as follows:

1	Hiring department creates and routes a PARF to the HR Business Partner to receive a blind posting link.
2	The rehired retiree submits applicant materials via the blind posting link (from the HR Business Partner).
3	The PARF routes through the appropriate chain of command for approvals.
4	Hiring department extends a job offer to the rehired retiree.
5	New hire paperwork is completed, including PERS Form 4B for PERS retirees.