- Working after retirement is unrestricted for self-employment, private employers, the federal government and jobs outside Nevada.Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 10, Reemployment After Retirement
- With a Nevada public employer, any job or contract within 90 days of retirement suspends your benefit for that employment. The only exception is a one-time emergency waiver of up to 30 days, which your employer must get in advance.NRS 286.520(1), (6); Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), pp. 10-11
- After 90 days, a job not eligible for Nevada PERS membership lets you keep your benefit while you earn up to 50% of the average Regular member salary each fiscal year ($31,335 for July 2024-June 2025). Above that, the benefit stops for the rest of that employment. You and your employer must notify Nevada PERS within 30 days of hire.NRS 286.520(1)(b), (2); Nevada PERS memo, Re-Employed Retiree Earnings Limitation for Fiscal Year 2025 (Dec. 9, 2024); Official Policies (2024), p. 61, Policy 10.27
- Hours matter too. A school district intermittent job based on the school year becomes eligible for Nevada PERS membership if it exceeds 719 hours in a school year, and a job eligible for membership suspends your benefit.Official Policies (2024), p. 9, Policy 2.4(b); p. 62, Policy 10.28; Retiree Reemployment Notification, Non-Nevada PERS Eligible Position (Rev. 04/25)
- Critical labor shortage exception: a school board can designate a hard-to-fill position for up to 2 years at a time. You can then work in it without the usual limits, if your benefit is unreduced (or you have reached the unreduced age) and you take the job after your first retirement check is issued.NRS 286.523; Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 11, Critical Labor Shortage positions
- If you go back to a job eligible for Nevada PERS membership, your benefit stops while you work. After 6 months you earn an extra benefit; after 5 years you may be able to have your benefit recalculated (once), giving up post-retirement increases already received.Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), pp. 11-12; NRS 286.525
1. The 90-day rule
Taking a job or independent contract with a Nevada public employer within 90 calendar days of retirement suspends the benefit for the duration of that employment. The employer may get a one-time waiver for up to 30 days within the 90 days for an emergency, approved in advance by Nevada PERS. NRS 286.520(1)(a)(1), (6); Official Policies (2024), p. 61, Policies 10.24-10.25; Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), pp. 10-11
2. The earnings limit
In a position not eligible for Nevada PERS membership with a Nevada public employer (after the 90 days), you may earn up to 50% of the average salary for regular members, from the latest actuarial valuation, each fiscal year (July-June). Exceeding it suspends the benefit for the rest of that employment and any later employment that fiscal year, even into the next fiscal year. Notify Nevada PERS within 30 days of hire and within 10 days of exceeding the limit. NRS 286.520(1)(b), (2), (3); Official Policies (2024), p. 61, Policy 10.27; Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 11
| Fiscal year | Limit |
|---|---|
| 2025July 2024 to June 2025 | $31,335published by Nevada PERS |
| 2026July 2025 to June 2026 | $34,063.50our estimate · Check with Nevada PERS |
| 2027July 2026 to June 2027 | not known yetCheck with Nevada PERS |
FY2025's published $31,335 equals 50% of the 2024 average salary ($62,670), so the limit for fiscal year N uses the valuation for year N-1. Fiscal year 2026: 50% of the 2025 average salary, $68,127. Fiscal year 2027 needs the next valuation. Official Policies (2024), p. 56, Policy 10.10(c) (to 2023); Official Policies revisions eff. Apr. 15, 2026 (memo of Mar. 26, 2026, attachment PDF p. 7, Policy 10.10(c)) (2024, 2025)
The only earnings limit published in the sources we have is for fiscal year 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025). The fiscal year 2026 figure is our own math: half of the 2025 average salary, the same way the 2025 limit was set. Fiscal year 2027's can't be worked out yet.
What would settle it: Nevada PERS's Re-Employed Retiree Earnings Limitation memos for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
3. Hours: when a job becomes eligible
Eligibility for enrollment depends on the position. A school district intermittent position based on the school year must be enrolled from the first day if it exceeds 719 hours in a school year (1,039 hours in a fiscal year for other employers' intermittent positions). Temporary positions are enrolled on the first day of the seventh month. Half-time or more in a regular position is enrolled. A retiree whose hours make the position eligible has the benefit suspended. Official Policies (2024), p. 9, Policies 2.1-2.4; Retiree Reemployment Notification, Non-Nevada PERS Eligible Position (Rev. 04/25); Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 10
A job in a position eligible for Nevada PERS membership (half-time or more) suspends the benefit for the duration. You may reenroll and earn a separate additional benefit (at least 6 months of work). After 5+ years you may combine service, once. NRS 286.520(1)(a)(2), 286.525; Official Policies (2024), pp. 62-63, Policies 10.28-10.31; Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), pp. 11-12
The exception: critical labor shortage positions
A retiree may work in a position designated as a critical labor shortage (CLS) without the 90-day wait, earnings limit or suspension if receiving an unreduced benefit, or a reduced benefit and has reached the age for an unreduced one, and does not accept the CLS job until after the first retirement check is issued. School boards of trustees designate CLS positions in a public meeting, for no more than 2 years at a time. NRS 286.523; Official Policies (2024), pp. 63-65, Policy 10.34; Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 11, Critical Labor Shortage positions An unreduced benefit is one with no early retirement cut.
A CLS retiree may reenroll under NRS 286.525. NRS 286.523(3)
No limits
- No restrictions for self-employment, private employers, employment outside Nevada, or the federal government. Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 10, Reemployment After Retirement; NRS 286.520(1)(c)
- A retiree may serve in an elective public office and keep receiving the allowance, with no hours or earnings limit, unless serving in the same office in which they earned service credit. NRS 286.520(5); Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 11
See also retiree health, taxes and the calculator for the benefit you'd be protecting.
Questions
Can I go back to work for a Nevada school district after retiring?
Not in the first 90 days: any job or contract with a Nevada public employer then stops your benefit while it lasts. After that, a job that isn't eligible for Nevada PERS membership lets you keep your benefit while you earn up to the yearly limit.
What is the Nevada PERS earnings limit?
50% of the average Regular member salary, per fiscal year (July to June): $31,335 for fiscal year 2025. Our estimate for fiscal year 2026 is $34,063.50, not yet confirmed by Nevada PERS.
What is the critical labor shortage exception?
A school board can name a hard-to-fill position as a critical labor shortage. A retiree on an unreduced benefit (or past the unreduced age) who starts after the first retirement check can then work in it without the 90-day wait, the earnings limit or a suspended benefit.
Source: Nevada PERS Summary Plan Description for Regular Members, REV 8/25 (law through the 2025 Legislature). Also: Nevada PERS Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25) pp. 10-12; Nevada PERS Official Policies (eff. Sept. 1, 2024) pp. 9, 56, 61-65; Nevada PERS Official Policies revisions eff. Apr. 15, 2026; Nevada PERS memo of Dec. 9, 2024; Nevada PERS News (2025); Nevada PERS reemployment notification forms; NRS §§ 286.520, 286.523, 286.525. Last reviewed .