New York State Offering Positions to Retired Officers

For my whole life I've been told that the "plan" for life is supposed to be, go to school, get a degree, get a job, settle down, have some kids, provide for your family and eventually when your old and all grey, you retire and pick-up some hobby like golf or shuffleboard.

Well, one particular group of retirees now has quite the opportunity in front of them. New York State (NYS) is now offering retired corrections officers the chance to return to work and I have to admit, it sounds like one hell of an offer.

What's Your Offer?

For starters, the offer from NYS to retired officers is the opportunity to come back to work on a part-time basis. The Director of Personnel for the state department, Kelly Ahearn stated that this part-time basis would allow for the officers to continue to receive...

full retirement allowance without loss, suspension or diminution while simultaneously.

In addition, working on this part-time basis would also allow these retirees to make upwards of $35,000 per year. That comes out to a whopping rate of $34.81 per hour. In comparison, New York City corrections officers from the academy through their first year make close to $48,000 per year. This number then increases in each year that follows. An NYC corrections officer by the time they reach 5 1/2 years could make as high as $92,000 per year. That is in addition to a plethora of benefits.

There's Even More

Some additional perks for coming back to work for these officers would be, the ability to choose which facility they'd wish to work at, flexible schedules and 40 hours of in-service training per year. Now that is one hell of an offer.

Why Make This Offer?

For a deal that sounds as good as this does, it makes me wonder why would the state jump in and make this seemingly unilateral offer. Well, the answer is rather simple and some might even say obvious. Currently, the state is experiencing and dealing with a "shortage" of full-time officers for staffing at the state's correctional facilities. When you can't meet the need for new officers with new hires, you have to get creative.

I'm not a corrections officer and I for damn sure am nowhere close to being retired, however, I have to admit, this deal sounds pretty sweet for those that do choose to take the leap again.