PERA members must terminate employment with all PERA-covered employers to be eligible to retire. Failure to completely sever the employer/employee relationship will cause an individual to be ineligible for retirement.  

Retirees may not volunteer or work on the first business day of the month in which their retirement is effective. If a retiree works the first business day of the month, they are not considered terminated, and their retirement will be canceled or delayed until a valid termination of employment occurs. All benefits paid to an individual who was ineligible for retirement must be paid back to PERA promptly upon discovery. 

Any return to work in the effective month of retirement, even with a new PERA employer, may cause PERA to question whether a member was truly terminated from employment. Even being contracted to work in the effective month of retirement, prior to the first business day of that month, could constitute an employee-employer relationship that may also invalidate a member’s eligibility for retirement. 

Colorado law specifies that employment for any PERA employer during the effective month of retirement will result in a one-time reduction of the retiree’s PERA benefit by 5% for each day, or partial day, worked during that month. 

Any days/hours worked during the retiree’s effective month of retirement will count towards the 110-day/720-hour working after retirement limits. 

Retirees who work during their effective month of retirement should complete an Effective Month of Retirement Work Report and submit it to PERA within 10 days after the end of the month in which their PERA retirement was effective. A copy of the form can be found at the back of the Working After Retirement booklet. 

PERA actively monitors working retirees for compliance with the provisions of state law. When PERA has reason to suspect non-compliance, we may ask employers to provide employment, salary, tax, or other information related to the retiree’s employment.