In the coming days local governments affected by Helene may need to hire additional staff to help relieve the burden on current staff and/or add capacity to address the recovery efforts. An often-attractive pool of candidates is retired local government professionals and retired law enforcement officers and sheriffs. Many retirees are qualified individuals who may be able to step in and provide immediate aid because of their backgrounds and experiences. But an impediment to hiring retired local government staff, law enforcement officers, and sheriffs is the impact on the retirees’ retirement benefits.

Part XII of the State’s Disaster Recovery Relief Act, Session Law 2024-51, addresses this issue. It temporarily allows local government retirees, retired law enforcement officers, and retired sheriffs to be employed by a local government in an impacted area during the statewide declaration of emergency related to Hurricane Helene without affecting their Local Government Employees Retirement System (LGERS) retirement benefits. Relevant provisions for local government retirees and law enforcement officers and sheriffs are detailed below.

Normal Retirement System Rules for Employing or Contracting with Retired Local Government Employees

If someone who retired from local government and is a beneficiary of the Local Governmental Employees Retirement System (LGERS) comes back to work part-time, temporarily, or on a fee-for-service basis for any LGERS employer, they are subject to income restrictions. If they earn too much, their retirement payments are suspended for the rest of the calendar year. G.S. 128-24(5)(c).

Temporary Changes for Hurricane Helene Response

Section 12.1(e) of S.L. 2024-51 states that any earnings a LGERS retiree (who retired before October 1, 2024 on an early or service retirement allowance) makes from a job with an employer that participates in LGERS will not count towards the earnings limit set by G.S. 128-24(5)(c). This rule is in effect from September 25, 2024, until the statewide emergency declaration ends, which is currently expected to be on March 1, 2025. See S.L. 2024-51 12.1(a), (e), (g).

This exception only applies, though, if a retiree is hired or contracted by a local government in a “position needed due to the state of emergency related to Hurricane Helene or associated Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.” S.L. 2024-51 12.1(e). The employing local government will need to submit a certification of the earnings under this temporary provision to the Retirement Systems Division of the Department of State Treasurer.

Law Enforcement Officer Separation Allowance and Sheriff Pension

In G.S. Chapter 143, Articles 12D and 12H cover Separation Allowances for Law Enforcement Officers and the Sheriffs’ Supplemental Pension Fund. Under Article 12D, if a retired local law enforcement officer takes a job with a local government, his/her separation allowance payments are stopped unless he/she qualifies for certain exemptions. Similarly, under Article 12H, a retired sheriff’s pension payments are paused if the sheriff is reemployed full-time by a LGERS employer.

Temporary Changes for Hurricane Helene Response

Under Section 12.1(f) of S.L. 2024-51, any benefits received by “law enforcement officers, retired officers, sheriffs, or retired sheriffs” under Articles 12D and 12H of G.S. Chapter 143 will not be affected by work performed between September 25, 2024, and when the statewide emergency ends, which is currently set for March 1, 2025.

This temporary exemption applies only if the work performed is necessary due to the emergency related to Hurricane Helene or recovery efforts linked to it. The employing local government must document the work done that qualifies for this exemption.

Thanks to Meagan Watson, School of Government Research Attorney, for her research assistance on this post.