TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas school administrators want lawmakers to again consider raising the cap on the amount retired workers can earn to help alleviate staffing shortages. Lawmakers during the last legislative session changed a program called Working After Retirement. It gives limited authority for employers in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System to hire retired workers who are drawing a pension if younger workers cannot fill certain jobs. Under the bill enacted this year, the earnings cap was raised to $25,000 starting July 1, 2016. Two groups of Kansas school administrators told the Legislature's Joint Committee on Pensions, Investments and Benefits this week that some districts, particularly in rural areas, continue to struggle to recruit qualified teachers. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the administrators say the cap should be raised beyond $25,000.
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