Milkin' the cow

Retired, then rehired: How college workers use loophole to boost pay.

“ Greg Royer ranks among the state's top-paid employees, with a salary of $304,000. But that's just part of his income. For nearly seven years, he's also collected an annual pension of $105,000. Royer, the vice president for business and finance at Washington State University, tops a long list of college administrative staff members who've been able to boost their incomes by up to 60 percent by exploiting a loophole in state retirement laws. A Seattle Times investigation has found that at least 40 university or community-college employees retired and were rehired within weeks, often returning to the same job without the position ever being advertised. That has allowed them to double dip by collecting both a salary and a pension. ” Royer, 61, has collected about $700,000 in retirement benefits while continuing to draw his salary. In recent years, he's been responsible for overseeing some of the deepest budget cuts in the university's history. Last year, for instance, WSU announced it was cutting about 360 jobs, axing its theater and dance program and hiking tuition by 14 percent.