Employee Benefits
Wisconsin Retirement System Eligibility
Do you participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System? If you expect to work or have worked for the University for at least one full year in a non-student position, you probably are eligible.
State statutes and the administrative rules of the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) dictate the eligibility standards for coverage under the WRS. Employers are responsible for determining each employee's eligibility using these standards. If an employee disagrees with the employer's determination, he or she has a right to appeal to the Employee Trust Funds Board.
Section 40.22, Wis. Stats., provides that all employees of state agencies (which includes the University of Wisconsin) must be covered under the WRS except:
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Employees not expected to work at least one-third of full time; and
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Employees whose expected duration of employment is less than one year.
Section ETF 20.015, Wis. Admin. Code, defines "one-third of full time" as 440 hours per year for teachers and 600 hours per year for all others. ("Teachers" includes academic staff of the University of Wisconsin.) It defines "year" as 365 consecutive calendar days (366 in leap year).
Employees appointed to work for one academic year meet the duration standard if they have an expectation of renewal (e.g., if the appointment is "fixed-term renewable.") Terminal appointments of less than 365 days do not meet this standard.
If an employee is not expected to meet the eligibility standards at the time of hire, he or she may qualify later if the work situation changes. The employee also can qualify by working at least one-third of full-time during a one-year period. Each pay period, the employer should "look back" over the past year to determine: 1) whether the non-qualifying employee was employed one year ago and if so, 2) whether he or she has worked one-third of full time (counting all non-excluded positions) since then (s. 40.22(2m), Wis. Stats.). The employee must be enrolled in the WRS as soon as the "look back" standard is met.
Once an employee qualifies for WRS coverage, he or she continues to be eligible during subsequent periods of employment in any University position (other than positions excluded by statute), regardless of the number of hours worked, until employment has been terminated for at least twelve consecutive calendar months or the employee takes a WRS benefit (s. 40.22(3m), Wis. Stats.)
Certain university positions are excluded from WRS coverage by statute. The most important exclusions are:
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Student assistants and employees in training who are employed by the University are specifically excluded from WRS coverage, as are other student employees who are regularly enrolled and attending classes (s. 40.22(2)(g), Wis. Stats.)
- Visiting faculty who are on leave from another educational institution are excluded for the first twelve months of their UW employment (s. 40.22(2)(h), Wis. Stats.)
- Employees who have returned to work after beginning a WRS annuity ("rehired annuitants") are excluded unless they choose to terminate the annuity (s. 40.22(2)(L),Wis. Stats.)
Appeals from an employer's determination that an employee is not eligible for WRS coverage are described in s. 40.06(1)(e), Wis. Stats., and ch. ETF 11, Wis. Admin. Code. For more information, contact the Department of Employee Trust Funds.
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This document was last revised on June 12, 2007
