Returning to Teaching

Featured Image

If you're planning to take a teaching contract while you're receiving an ATRF pension, you should be aware of the 0.6 rule.

If you return to teaching on a contract with an ATRF employer after you retire, you need to know there is a limit to the amount of service you can accrue in the school year before your pension is impacted. That limit, as outlined in the Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Private School Teachers Pension Plan  (the plan rules), is 0.6 years of service. This is also known as the “0.6 rule”.

When this limit is reached, your monthly pension payment will be reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount of monthly salary you earn, without creating any negative balance on your pension. Once you have reached 0.6 years of service, you will receive a letter from us advising you of the adjustment to your pension.

If you are working part-time for more than one ATRF employer at the same time, the 0.6 rule applies to both contracts.

Your pension payment will not be affected if you work:

Things to Consider Before Returning to Teaching

  • Since you will not be participating in the pension plan, your pensionable service will not increase, and neither will your pension payments.
  • Your employer will submit your salary and service information to our office and we will use this information to monitor your 0.6 limit for the school year.
  • Working and receiving a pension payment at the same time may have tax implications because these payments are both considered income.

Once You Return to Teaching

  • Inform your employer you are currently receiving a pension from ATRF so pension contributions will not be deducted from your pay.
  • If you plan to work more than 0.6 of a year, and want to avoid pension over-payment, talk to your employer. They can help you determine when you will reach that limit.
    • Note: End of Contract or summer payout payment(s) during the school year are included in the 0.6 calculation.

Getting Close to the 0.6 Limit?

Once the salary and service that has been reported by your employer equals or exceeds 0.4, we will send you a letter letting you know you have reached 0.4 years of service. We will then reach out to your employer to get projected service for the rest of the year in order to ascertain when you are likely to reach 0.6. If you believe there is an error in the service and salary used by ATRF to calculate your over-payment, contact your employer for clarification. Your employer will have to submit any corrections to ATRF before we are able to recalculate the over-payment.

Note: This calculation is an estimate and you may have already reached 0.4 of your service for the year by the time we contact you. Your employer may not always submit your monthly salary and service information to ATRF in a timely manner. The service you see at 0.4 may have been reached in a month prior to the month in which the notice letter is sent.