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Office of Teaching Initiatives

Educator Resources

Employment of a Retiree

NOTICE: The following information impacts Section 211 waivers for employment through June 30, 2027.

The New York State legislature has passed an extension to the 2024 of the Retirement & Social Security law which extends the suspension of the earnings limitation for retirees for an additional two years through June 30, 2027. This amendment allows retirees to be employed and earn compensation in a position at a New York State public school district or BOCES without any effect on their retired status, and their earnings from such positions will not be applied to their earnings when calculating the earnings limitation through June 30, 2027.

Please note- employment at a charter school, community college, SUNY, or any other public employment is not covered by this amendment.

Prior to this amendment, the earnings limit had been temporarily suspended by New York State Executive Orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in no earnings limitation for pay earned during the following periods:

  • March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020
  • January 1, 2021 through June 24, 2021
  • September 27, 2021 through April 30, 2022

Since the earnings limitation has been extended through June 30, 2027, the Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) will not be processing any section 211 waiver applications that include employment in a school district or BOCES during the effective dates of the Executive Orders or the timeframe covered by the original amendment and the extensions to section 211 through June 30, 2027.

Please note that the Office of Teaching Initiatives does not handle specific questions regarding a retirees earnings or earning limitations. Those questions should be directed to the retirement system of which the retiree is a member.

Questions regarding this amendment and section 211 waiver applications can be submitted to 211requests@nysed.gov.

Additional information can be found on the and .

A section 211 waiver is required when any New York State school district (other than the city school district of the City of New York), Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) or any county Vocational Education and Extension Board (VEEB), seeks to hire an individual who has retired from public service to fill a temporary vacancy in the unclassified service.

The waiver process is necessary if the retired individual will both be under the age of 65 throughout the calendar year of employment and will earn more than the stated maximum allowable amount for the year, currently set at $35,000.泭 Retired individuals who are 65 years of age or older are not subject to the restrictions as set forth in the Retirement and Social Security Law and therefore do not need a waiver.

When seeking a section 211 waiver for any position, the District, BOCES or VEEB requesting the waiver must follow the requirements as set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner 80-5.5.泭 Retirees are subject to any restrictions and limitations put in place by the retirement system they are a member of.泭 Retirees should contact the retirement system they are a member of to familiarize themselves with these restrictions and limitations.

Retirees are restricted from returning to work in a position that is the same or similar to the position they retired from for a period of one year, from the date they retired.

211 waivers must be requested within 30 days from the appointment of the retiree.泭 All supporting documentation must be submitted to the 91做厙 (91做厙) Office of Teaching Initiatives in a timely manner.泭泭Prompt application and active follow-through are essential.

91做厙 Commissioner's Regulations

NOTE:泭211 waivers are meant for the temporary filling of a vacancy.泭They are not granted on a long-term basis.

School Resource Office Positions

Before a 211 waiver request is submitted for a School Resource Officer (SRO) position, determine the following:

  • Determine if the position is that of a SRO or a security officer.泭 If the job duties of the position in question are involved with security only and they do not present information to students, then they would not be that of a SRO.
  • Consider the following SRO Duty Statement:
    • The SRO is an educator, law enforcer and counselor.
    • The SROs primary duties are to protect the schools safe environment and to maintain an atmosphere where students, staff feel safe to learn.
    • The SRO may assist in the investigation of criminal activity occurring on school campuses with school administrators in accordance with New York State Law and school district policy.
    • As an educator working with faculty members, the SRO can present information and answer questions on a variety of topics, including the law, drugs, safety, crime prevention, violence prevention, concepts of safety, traffic laws, general law, and crime prevention techniques.
  • Security officers
  • Security officers do not perform the duties of an educator
How to Apply

The section 211 waiver request has two parts:

  1. The retiree submits a Retirement waiver request online through the TEACH system and
  2. The District, BOCES or VEEB requesting the waiver submits a retirement waiver statement in TEACH.

NOTE:泭It is important to note that even if the District, BOCES or VEEB has submitted their superintendent statement, 91做厙 cannot process the request until the retiree submits their application online through the TEACH system.

Apply for the retirement waiver through TEACH Online Service

To apply for a section 211 waiver, a retiree must have a current, active account on 91做厙s TEACH system. To create a TEACH account, go to Creating a Personal TEACH Online Account泭and follow the steps.

From there, do the following:

  1. Click on the TEACH Online Service link.
    泭
  2. From your TEACH Home Page under Retiree Links, click on the link that says, Apply for a Retirement Waiver.
    泭
  3. Follow the instructions and submit the online application.

After you have Applied for the Waiver

Section 211 waiver applications cannot be processed until the District, BOCES or VEEB requesting the waiver submits the supporting statement and the required supporting documentation.

It is the Districts, BOCES or VEEBs responsibility to provide all necessary documentation to process the waiver request.泭 In the case of an incomplete application, 91做厙 may reach out to you for any additional information deemed necessary to process your application for a waiver. It is important to make sure your TEACH account has valid, current information.