Statement: Department of Employee Trust Funds to review rehired annuitant case at UW-Green Bay

The following is a statement from the state Department of Employee Trust Funds, pertaining to a review of Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance Tom Maki’s rehire in April 2011.

September 8, 2011

Statement Concerning Rehired Annuitant Inquiry at UW Green Bay

Shawn Smith, ETF Communications Director

“The department will conduct a “facts and circumstances” review into the question of whether Mr. Maki’s retirement was valid as defined by state law.

Such inquiries are not an infrequent occurrence, we carefully review allegations made that rules governing our programs were not followed. We have looked into similar cases in the past and continue to provide guidance and training to employers to ensure the rules are well understood.

Inquiries of this nature will begin with department staff asking a number of questions of the employer to evaluate the facts and circumstances of the hire. It is common that we will review employer policies and procedures, recruitment information, board materials and minutes from meetings of the governing body, statements from individuals with knowledge of the circumstances, available public records and any other source we deem relevant and appropriate. The department has wide latitude to request any related records from the employer. It is important to point out that a 30 day break in service is an indication of a valid retirement; a 30 day break does not satisfy on its own that there was a true separation of service as required by law in order to receive a retirement benefit.

Generally speaking, if the department finds that there was not a valid retirement, we will consider the annuity benefit paid to be in error, we will cancel the annuity, and collect the amount paid from the member as an over payment. The employer can also be held liable for non-compliance of state and federal law, but the specific penalties that would apply vary according to the individual case circumstances.

Wisconsin Administrative Code ETF 10.08 contains the provisions related to proper termination and rehire of WRS members. The language can be found beginning on page 4 of the attached: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/rsb/code/etf/etf010.pdf

Wisconsin law (Section 40.07) specifically prohibits ETF from disclosing any personal information about our members. For that reason, the department cannot release any additional information about the inquiry, its status, or its specific outcome.”