Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: Michigan’s Office of Retirement Services says a retiree may return to work at a public school reporting unit with no effect on the pension if there is a bona fide termination and earnings stay at or under $15,100 in a calendar year, or once retired six consecutive months. The page lists when a pension is temporarily forfeited and says the pension is not recalculated after a return to work. A retiree on a disability pension must get approval first.
What this section covers
The Michigan Office of Retirement Services publishes a page headed Working After You Retire for the Public School Employees’ Retirement System. It opens with “If you’re returning to work, these are things you need to know” before you begin working. This page walks through its rules for a reporting unit, the forfeiture rule and the jobs the page says are outside the earnings limit.
For the wider choices facing a member of this system, see Michigan MPSERS retirement decisions.
Who it applies to
The page speaks to a retiree of the system who goes back to work at a Michigan public school reporting unit, which it defines as working “Working directly for a Michigan public school reporting unit means you have been hired directly by the school.” “Working indirectly means you are working at a Michigan public school reporting unit but were hired through a third party or as an independent contractor.”
The page lists what counts as a reporting unit: “K-12 public school districts.” “Charter schools/public school academies.*” “Intermediate school districts.” “Some public libraries and museums.” “Tax-supported community colleges.” “Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, and Michigan Technological universities.”
The rules, one by one
Each row is a sentence from the Working After You Retire page, in its own words. The page gives two routes to a return with no effect on the pension: a bona fide termination plus earnings at or under the limit, or a bona fide termination plus six consecutive months of retirement.
| Rule | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Bona fide termination | “You have a bona fide termination, which includes not working in the month of your retirement effective date.” |
| Earnings limit in a calendar year | “You don’t earn more than $15,100 in a calendar year as a retiree from your public school employment.” |
| No earnings limit after six months | “You’ve been retired at least six consecutive months.” |
| When these rules end | “These rules will be in effect until Oct. 10, 2028.” |
| Retired superintendents | Within the $15,100 limit: “You return to work in a position other than superintendent.” Once retired six consecutive months, a retired superintendent may return to work “in any position at a reporting unit” with no earnings limit. |
| What triggers a forfeiture | Any one of three: “You do not have a bona fide termination.” “You’ve been retired for less than six consecutive months, and you earn more than $15,100 in a calendar year as a retiree from your public school employment.” “You’re a retired superintendent who returns to work as a superintendent before being retired for six consecutive months.” |
| Forfeiture and insurance | “If your retirement benefits are temporarily forfeited, you will be responsible for paying the entire insurance premium during that time.” |
| Pension restarts | “Your pension and insurance premium subsidy will resume on the first of the month following the month you’re eligible to receive your pension and insurance premium subsidy again.” |
| No recalculation | “We will not recalculate your pension or insurance premium subsidy if you return to work at a reporting unit after you retire.” |
| No added credit | “You cannot add service credit or increase your final average compensation after your retirement effective date.” |
| Disability pension | “If you’re receiving a disability pension, you must get approval from the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) before you return to work for any employer.” |
The figures the page prints
The earnings limit appears in the page’s list of conditions: “You don’t earn more than $15,100 in a calendar year as a retiree from your public school employment.” Dated rules sit beside it: “These rules will be in effect until Oct. 10, 2028.”
The page explains the six-month clock with two examples. In the first, “You exceed the earnings limit, so your pension and insurance premium subsidy are temporarily forfeited.” and the page then says “You’ll need to be retired six consecutive months from June 15, 2025, to return to work at a reporting unit with no earnings limit and no impact on your pension and insurance premium subsidy.”
In the second example the retiree does not go over the limit: “On June 1, 2025, you’ll no longer have an earnings limit.” “The six-month clock will not start over.”
What to do and where to look
A retiree on a disability pension has a step to take first. The page says “Write a letter to ORS before you resume working.” The page says the letter should include “The name and contact information of your potential employer.” “The official job description from your potential employer.” and “The number of hours you plan to work.”
The page also lists jobs it says carry no earnings limit: “A private sector job outside a Michigan public school reporting unit.” “A private or parochial school.” “A public school in another state.”
Related reading: pension and annuity decisions, Michigan retirement taxes and public pension retirement decisions.
Edition
This page reads Michigan Office of Retirement Services, Working After You Retire (Public School Employees’ Retirement System), the current page the Michigan Office of Retirement Services served on 2026-10-21. The page carries a dated rule set, so check the edition and your own tier or plan on your own member account; the official text controls over this summary.
Common mistakes
- Working in the month of retirement. The page says “You cannot work in a Michigan public school reporting unit or for the State of Michigan during the month of your retirement effective date, even as a volunteer.”
- Expecting a higher pension from the extra work. The page says “You cannot add service credit or increase your final average compensation after your retirement effective date.”
- Assuming the six-month clock simply resumes. The page says “If your pension and insurance premium subsidy are suspended, your six-month clock will start over once you terminate your employment with the reporting unit.”
Related: Michigan MPSERS retirement decisions, pension and annuity decisions, Michigan retirement taxes, and public pension retirement decisions.
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Answer againSources
- Michigan Office of Retirement Services, Working After You Retire (Public School Employees’ Retirement System): www.michigan.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): Michigan Office of Retirement Services, Public School Employees’ Retirement System: www.michigan.gov
Read from the Michigan Office of Retirement Services pages linked above on October 21, 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.