Updated October 22, 2026. Quick answer: The VSERS Group F plan description says a retired member may earn other income but cannot work for the State of Vermont unless under contract or as a temporary employee. A member who returns as a classified or exempt employee has the retirement benefit frozen, starts a separate new account, and gets both benefits when retiring again.
What this covers
The Group F plan description has a section headed “Employment After Retirement”. This page quotes that section. For the wider choices, see Vermont VSERS and VSTRS retirement decisions and public pension retirement decisions.
What the plan description says
Each row is the plan description’s own wording.
| Situation | What the plan description says |
|---|---|
| Working for the State | “A retired member may earn other income while they are receiving a retirement benefit, but they cannot work for the State of Vermont unless they are under contract or working as a temporary employee.” |
| Returning as a classified or exempt employee | “If they retire and return to work for the state as a classified or exempt employee, their retirement benefit will be frozen.” |
| The new account | “They will begin contributing on a new account, entirely separate from their initial retirement benefit.” |
| Joining VMERS or VSTRS | “A member may, however, begin active membership in VMERS or VSTRS and continue to receive their pension in VSERS.” |
| Re-retiring, frozen benefit | “The member must submit, in writing, a request to resume their frozen benefit.” |
| Re-retiring, vested on the new account | “If the member has reached vested status on their subsequent account, they must apply for a new retirement allowance which will be calculated as a separate benefit.” |
| Re-retiring, not vested on the new account | “Should a member not reach vested status on their subsequent account, the member’s contributions and applicable interest will be refunded or rolled over to an eligible financial institution.” |
When you retire again
When a member retires again, the plan description says the frozen benefit and any new benefit are both paid, and “they may elect a new option for the additional benefit.” The Treasurer’s page says the earlier optional election stays in place for the frozen benefit.
What the plan description does not say
The section sets no earnings cap for a retiree working outside state government, and it does not say how long the frozen benefit may stay frozen. The tax side of pension income is on how Vermont taxes retirement income. Ask the Retirement Office before accepting any state job.
Edition
This page reads the Vermont State Treasurer, VSERS Group F Plan Description, the web page the Vermont Treasurer served on 2026-10-22. It describes Group F, which the page says covers state employees employed on or after January 1, 1991. Groups A, C and D and the teachers’ system (VSTRS) have their own plan descriptions, and Vermont law and your own member account control over this summary.
Common mistakes
- Taking a state job as an ordinary employee and expecting the pension to keep paying. The plan description says “their retirement benefit will be frozen.”
- Not asking to restart the benefit. The plan description says “The member must submit, in writing, a request to resume their frozen benefit.”
Related: Vermont VSERS and VSTRS retirement decisions, and public pension retirement decisions.
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Answer againSources
- Vermont State Treasurer, VSERS Group F Plan Description: www.vermonttreasurer.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): Vermont State Treasurer, retirement office: www.vermonttreasurer.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
Read from the pension system handbooks linked above on October 22, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a pension system or a qualified professional is the right place to confirm anything consequential.