To Semi-Retire or Not To Semi-Retire
2284103
56 Posts
Now I have another scenario where I can use help.
Do you think we would be allowed to require 65+ ee's to take Medicare as primary and us secondary when they want to semi-retire? We've got someone who wants to go part-time but still get benefits. What they've come up with is a phony 4 day week, 8 hours a day.
Here's the kicker. Actually, they will be working 3 days a week and using a vacation day each week to make up the 4th day = 32 hours (minimum for benefits). They have enough vacation days to last them at least 1 year. Unfortunately, this is not going to be a one time event. We've got several of us ol' timers who will be trying to get creative with their working vs retiring time.
Again, any help would be appreciated.
KathyD
Do you think we would be allowed to require 65+ ee's to take Medicare as primary and us secondary when they want to semi-retire? We've got someone who wants to go part-time but still get benefits. What they've come up with is a phony 4 day week, 8 hours a day.
Here's the kicker. Actually, they will be working 3 days a week and using a vacation day each week to make up the 4th day = 32 hours (minimum for benefits). They have enough vacation days to last them at least 1 year. Unfortunately, this is not going to be a one time event. We've got several of us ol' timers who will be trying to get creative with their working vs retiring time.
Again, any help would be appreciated.
KathyD
Comments
We had an employee retire a few years ago after which we brought her back as an hourly employee to cover for vacations in the department she was in before retirement. When we informed her that we wouldn't need her anymore, she filed unemployment and was able to receive benefits based on her salary from the previous year! I fully understand that unemployment is the employee's right, BUT this woman was treated like a queen and had one heck of a retirement party. We felt extremely slighted by her behavior.
Our Plan Doc says that eligibility depends on an ee being regularly scheduled to "work" 32 hours per week, not regularly scheduled for 24 hours plus at least 8 hours of PTO! I'm afraid this play on words is going to be a can of worms if we don't come up with something concrete to cover it, and soon.
Thanks, again.
KathyD
I fully understand how hard this situation is...and how easily it can come back to bite you!
Are you saying that if an ee wanted to do what this ee is doing, you would tell them they are now considered part-time (24 hours), thus no benefits, and here's the money for the PTO you have accrued and not used?
Based on sick and vacation history, we pay out PTO at 45% when an employee terms. We had an employee retire and then come back to work for us. She works one day a week and also fills in for her department. We required a termination and paid out her leave. She then came back to work for us a month later. She is, and always has been, an excellent employee, but we couldn't make an exception for one employee when it might cause other employees to expect the same.
We also do not allow employees to schedule a termination date and then use up their leave time before the date.
Nae
We have changed our PTO system (we have separate vacation, sick, and personal time) to an accrual system. If an employee terminates before the time is accrued, they must pay back any unearned time they've used. We do not pay out unused time at time of termination. The only exception is retirement after age 60 with 20 years of experience, 10 of which must be with us, we will pay 50% of earned sick time.
With this ee, the 20 years experience is all with us, which is one reason why we need to weight the good will vs negative moral affects by holding on to hard rules instead of the benefits of being more gracious.
Fortunately, we have several ee's who are in the 20 year area. We figure we must be doing something right, so don't want to blow it by making the wrong move here.
It was mentioned that some of you pay out only a portion of the PTO accruals when a person terminates. We have some people on payroll in California, so we use CA laws everywhere (unless a state is tougher on the employer, which is unlikely). CA says accrued PTO is considered earned wage and every penny will be paid to the ee upon termination. I'm sure nobody is surprised to hear that out of CA! ha ha
KathyD
Our Plan Doc states that 32 hours per week meets the requirement to qualify for health, life and dental benefits. Where we may differ from a lot of companies is that we quantify between a permanent ee and a temporary ee. We have several ee's who work part-time, permanently. If their schedule does not meet the 32 hour requirement, they are not eligible for the insurance benefits. However, they are eligible for all other benefits, as in vacation, holidays, 401k, bonuses, etc. Those benefits are simply scaled to coincide with the hours they work. Except for the insurance benefits, they are just like any other permanent ee. They just have shorter, but regular, hours. It has been a win-win proposition.
By the way, even if I don't find a resolution out of my questions, today, I want to thank all of you for your time and expertise. You have all been very helpful. Thank you.
KathyD
Our policy on vacation requires that you must use your vacation each year. How did this employee manage to accrue at least 52 days vacation?
We put a max on vacation carry over (10% of time earned in the preceeding year), personal days do not carry over, and sick days can accrue up to a max of 66 days (the waiting period for long-term disability).