You asked how many state employees who retired under last year’s Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) were re-hired by the state and how much this costs.

Approximately 4,650 state employees retired under the ERIP enacted by PA 03-2. The State Comptroller’s Office determined about 983 of those were re-hired by the state. Under state employee relations rules, a retired state employee can be re-hired for up to 120 workdays without jeopardizing his pension or other retirement benefits.

Currently the state employs about 1,713 retired state employees under the “120 day wonder” rule. Re-hired retirees are usually paid the same rate as before retirement. The state is prohibited from paying them any more than what they were getting at the time of retirement.

The comptroller’s retirement service division estimated that the 983 rehired ERIP retirees have been paid $ 13. 9 million in total salary in fiscal year 2004 as of May 7 (i. e. with a little more than seven weeks left in the year). Not all employees re-hired under the 120-day rule work for 120 days. And employees hired this way receive their benefits, such as health care, through the retirement system and not from the state’s General Fund.