PERS; change separation requirement for retired teachers returning to work from 90 days to 30 days.

SB 2299 would change Mississippi law to allow retired teachers with at least 30 years of service (or 25 years as of July 1, 2024) to return to public school teaching and continue receiving their retirement allowance after only 30 days of retirement, instead of the current 90-day waiting period. The bill restricts this return to work to school districts with critical teacher shortages and requires teachers to hold valid teaching licenses for the subject area. School districts would pay 50% of the retired teacher's salary directly to the retirement system (PERS) as a pension liability assessment, while the teacher receives the other 50% as salary, with a total limit of five years of reemployment. This change aims to address teacher shortages while offsetting costs to the retirement system through the PERS assessment mechanism.