1. (a) If a person who retired after January 1, 2011, and who is receiving a service retirement annuity complies with subsection (b) of this section, the person may, without forfeiting payment of the annuity for the months of employment, be employed in any capacity in Texas public education, including as much as full-time.

2. (b) To be eligible to be employed without forfeiting payment of the annuity under subsection (a) of this section, the service retiree must have been separated from service with all Texas public educational institutions for at least 12 full, consecutive calendar months after the effective date of retirement. The 12-month separation period required under §824.602(a)(3), Government Code for the full-time exception may be any 12 consecutive calendar months following the month of retirement. During the separation period, the retiree may not be employed in any position or capacity by a public educational institution covered by TRS.

   1. (1) Employment as a substitute or on a half-time basis under the exceptions provided for in this chapter is considered employment for the purpose of this subsection.
   2. (2) Paid time off, including sick leave, vacation leave, administrative leave, and compensatory time for overtime worked, is considered employment for purposes of this subsection.
   3. (3) Employment by a third party entity is considered employment by a Texas public educational institution for purposes of this subsection unless the retiree does not perform duties or provide services on behalf of or for the benefit of the institution or the retiree was first employed by the third party entity before May 24, 2003.

   4. (4) Effective the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, employment by a Texas public educational institution includes performing duties or providing services for or on behalf of the institution in the first 12 full, consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement that an employee of the institution would otherwise perform or provide, and:

      1. (A) waiving, deferring, or foregoing compensation for those duties or services;
      2. (B) performing the duties or providing the services as an independent contractor; or
      3. (C) serving as a volunteer without compensation and performing the same duties or providing the same services for the institution that the retiree performed or provided immediately before retirement and the retiree has an agreement to perform those duties or provide those services after the first 12 full, consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement.

3. (c) If a person who retired after January 1, 2011, and who is receiving a service retirement annuity does not meet the separation from service period required in subsection (b) of this section, the person will forfeit payment of the annuity for any month of full-time employment in Texas public education. In this section full-time employment means any employment that does not meet the substitute service exception as described in §31.13 of this title (relating to Substitute Service) or the one-half time exception in §31.14 of this title (relating to One-half Time Employment).

   1. (1) Paid time off, including sick leave, vacation leave, administrative leave, and compensatory time for overtime worked, is considered employment for purposes of this section and must be reported to TRS as employment for the calendar month in which it is taken.
   2. (2) Employment by a third party entity is considered employment by a Texas public educational institution for purposes of this section and must be reported to TRS as employment for the calendar month in which it occurs unless the retiree does not perform duties or provide services on behalf of or for the benefit of the institution or the retiree was first employed by the third party entity before May 24, 2003.

   3. (3) Effective the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, employment by a Texas public educational institution includes performing duties or providing services for or on behalf of the institution in the first 12 full, consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement that an employee of the institution would otherwise perform or provide, and:

      1. (A) waiving, deferring, or foregoing compensation for the duties or services;
      2. (B) performing the duties or providing the services as an independent contractor; or
      3. (C) serving as a volunteer without compensation and performing the same duties or providing the same services for the institution that the retiree performed or provided immediately before retirement and the retiree has an agreement to perform those duties or provide those services after the first 12 full, consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement.

Source Note:The provisions of this §31.15 adopted to be effective March 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 2109; amended to be effective October 30, 2003, 28 TexReg 9288; amended to be effective March 8, 2007, 32 TexReg 1089; amended to be effective May 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 4006; amended to be effective April 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 1997; amended to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5376; amended to be effective December 23, 2014, 39 TexReg 10027; amended to be effective November 14, 2017, 42 TexReg 6373.