Reemployment of UC Rehired Retirees into Senior Management Group & Staff Positions

The systemwide Implementation Procedures and Frequently Asked Questions for the Policy on Reemployment of UC Rehired Retirees into Senior Management Group and Staff positions, which became effective January 1, 2009, are available in Related Information. We appreciate your patience and flexibility while we were awaiting completion of the systemwide implementation procedures for the University. 

The following is a brief summary of the new Policy, along with our local procedures for the UCLA Campus.

Highlights of Rehired Retiree Policy & Procedures (Effective January 1, 2009) 

1. Reemployment of a UC retiree is limited to an appointment of 43% or less with a cumulative maximum duration of 12 months. Rehires within these parameters are considered “within policy” and require approval by the department head, the cognizant Vice Chancellor/Dean, and the Chief Human Resources Officer, i.e. myself or Mark Speare. However, all rehired retiree actions, even those within policy, require the submission of the Approvals Form, in advance, as described below.
2. Any requests for variations from Policy require advance approval by Chancellor Block in addition to myself and the other officers noted above. Please see page 5, section II.2 of the Procedures for a brief list of examples.
3. Retired employees are those who receive monthly pension payments and those who took a lump sum cashout from the UC Retirement Plan.
4. A minimum 30 day break-in-service is required for all rehires, but 90 days is preferred. There are no exceptions to the 30-day break.
5. Rehire proposals must be based on justification related to “University Need.” See page 1 of attached Procedures for examples of “University Need.”
6. Use of Temporary Agency and/or Independent Contractor arrangements to circumvent the Rehired Retiree Policy is prohibited.
7. Health & Welfare implications in the Medical Plan and Medicare Secondary Payer areas can have serious financial consequences to UC and potentially to departments. Please review the information outlined in Appendix A of the Procedures.
8. Special Grandfather Clause for Lump Sum Cashouts prior to December 31, 2008: All recipients of the UCRP Lump Sum Cashout who retired on or before December 31, 2008, but were not rehired as of December 31, 2008, are eligible to return to employment with the University during the calendar year 2009 and be immediately grandfathered as indicated below. During calendar year 2009, notices will be sent to all past recipients of the UCRP Lump Sum Cashout regarding the changes to University employment policy that limit future rehiring actions. Effective January 1, 2010, all Lump Sum Cashout recipients not already re-hired will be immediately subject to the full extent of the new Policy on Reemployment of Retired Employees.

UCLA Campus - Local Procedures 

1. A Rehired Retiree Approvals Form (UBEN 138) must be completed and submitted to Benefit Services at least 30 days in advance of the Appointment Begin Date.
2. For campus requests, please send the form to Benefits Director Lydia Oller, who will prepare it for review and my approval and, if needed for any policy exceptions, by Chancellor Block. See Related Information for the Approvals Form.
3. The Signature Section of the Approvals Form requires 2 signatures (from the organization head and the department head), as shown here:

   Authorized Signatures

*For example, Administrative Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor — Student Affairs, Dean — School of Engineering & Applied Science, Vice Chancellor — External Affairs, etc.

4. For those rehires on a Contract Employment basis, please attach the draft Contract to the Approvals Form for submission to Director Lydia Oller. 

5. A completed UCRP Retired Employee Election Form must accompany the Approvals Form for all rehired retirees who are receiving monthly UCRP payments.

6. Campus Human Resources will prepare the semi-annual report of all rehired retirees, those within policy and exceptions, for submission to the Office of the President and the Regents, using the data furnished on the Approvals Form.

7. Rehired Retirees with an active Appointment as of December 31, 2008, are Grandfathered as follows:

Rehired Retirees with active Appointment as of 12-31-08

#See attached Procedures for definition of “appointment change.”
*UCOP is considering whether to establish a Sunset Date to end Indefinite Appointments of Rehired Retirees. 

8. The Approvals Form for Rehired Retirees in your department should be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the rehire or the Appointment extension in order to provide sufficient time to conduct the necessary review and approval process before commitments are made. (We realize that advance notice has not been possible in the absence of Procedures so far this year.) For appointments ending on June 30, 2009, we would appreciate receiving any requests for extension as soon as possible.

9. If you have already extended any Appointments that had end dates from January 2009 through the present, retro-active Approval is necessary by submitting the Form in accordance with these procedures. Please keep in mind that for those appointments already extended in 2009, the months following the extension are counted for purposes of the 12-month maximum. 

If you have any questions, contact Director Lydia Oller, or Retirement Counselors Camille Carr, Tom Coda or Robert Larriva. For Health System proposals, please contact Director Kety Duron.

Sincerely,

Lubbe Levin
Associate Vice Chancellor
Campus Human Resources

Campus Human Resources
Phone: (310) 794-0800 | Fax: (310) 794-0805