Retire and Rehire? Town Debates Practice

If you're a public employee worried about the General Assembly cutting back on retirement benefits and you're not ready for retirement, you may want to retire early and then return to work.

It's a practice that occurs in the town of Summerville, as well as Dorchester County and many other municipalities in the area.

But while the town has usually left the retire-rehire decision up to each department head and employee, several councilmembers are now concerned about the practice's reprecussions, the Summerville Journal Scene reported.

At the council's regular finance committee meeting Monday, Councilman Bob Jackson and others questioned the town's lacking policy that allows the practice. Jackson said this can hinder promotions with top positions stacked with "retired" employees, and counters the town's retirement package that is supposed to give incentive to those on the fence about retirement, he told Patch.

The Journal Scene reported:

Public Safety Director Bruce Owens said employees were anxious because the General Assembly was tinkering with the retirement system.

Some employees in their late 40s, who were eligible for retirement but had no immediate plans to retire, started to worry when they saw that changes could be “very detrimental” to their finances, so they sought retirement before the General Assembly could enact change, Owens said.

“I’ve been wrangling with the decision myself. … I’m still watching what the General Assembly’s doing,” he said.

Owens said the retirements and rehirings didn’t block other people from promotions, because the retirees wouldn’t otherwise have left the town.

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During Wednesday's regular meeting of town council, proposed changes to the employee handbook are on the agenda, but at the conclusion of Monday's meeting councilmembers agreed to discuss the retire-rehire issue in July.