The Defense Department has issued guidance on the authority it gained under its current year’s budget to hire federal retirees in certain circumstances without offsets between their salaries and their annuities. Hiring under the authority is allowed when: the position is deemed hard to fill as evidenced by “historically high turnover, a severe shortage of candidates or other significant recruiting difficulty;” or it is deemed “critical to the accomplishment of the organization’s mission;” or the hiring is deemed necessary to complete a specific project or initiative. The authority also may be used if the candidate has “unique or specialized skills, or unusual qualifications not generally available” or the assignment is “to mentor less experienced employees and/or to provide continuity during critical organizational transactions” (such assignments may last for not more than one year of full time or for two years of part time work that add up to no more than a year of work at a full time rate, with no extensions allowed).