Two bills, one from Democrats and one from Republicans, have been introduced in the Legislature in response to the mounting teacher shortage. Take time to contact the committees the bills are assigned to and weigh in!

• SB 612 / AB 670 would raise the minimum retirement age for teachers to 59.5 for teachers, who can now retire at 55. Under the proposal, retired public employees could work up to 36 months while collecting their pensions. The bill would apply to employees under the age of 40 on the bill’s effective date. While the bill would apply to teachers, a primarily female workforce, the proposed would not apply to employees in male-dominated fields of protective services, including police officers, firefighters, most correctional officers and the state patrol.
• SB 627 / AB 698 would allow a teacher annuitant who retired from a school district at least 30 days to return to work as a teacher and elect to not become a participating employee for purposes of the Wisconsin Retirement System, and instead continue to receive his or her annuity.