PHOENIX -- Thousands of people in Arizona are "double dipping" -- receiving a pension while also receiving a paycheck for the same job, a 5 Investigates report revealed.

Phoenix Director of Public Safety Jack Harris receives a $165,000 annual salary in addition to the $90,000 annual pension he gets as the retired police chief.

Similarly, Maricopa County Chief Deputy Sheriff David Hendershott receives a $177,000 annual paycheck and a $50,000 annual pension.

More than 4,000 others are double dipping, and of those, teachers and school administrators make up about 700.

State retirement system representative Patrick Klein said this practice could become a problem for the trust that pays the pensions if it becomes widespread.

Most state employees, including teachers, pay into the retirement system each month, and they collect money when they retire; as long as new employees are putting money in, the trust remains healthy, Klein said.

The balance is thrown off when a retiree takes one of the employee spots.

Under state law, teachers are allowed to retire and return to work after a year; however, a company called SmartSchools Plus has found a way to put teachers and administrators back to work immediately.

The teachers return to the same job as contract employees working for SmartSchools.

John Wright from the Arizona Education Foundation said there are several problems with this practice.

"Problem No. 1 -- teachers that are teaching now (are) not paying into the system," he said. "Problem No. 2 -- (there is) an artificial incentive to retire as soon as you're eligible."

The third problem, he said, is that school administrators who push their districts to contract with the company often become employees of SmartSchools when they retire.

Nevertheless, SmartSchools lobbyist Kevin DeMenna said the term "double dipper" is unfair because teachers are merely taking the money they put into the system.

"The only way you can get a retirement benefit is if you've earned it," DeMenna said.

He also called the SmartSchools contracts a way to keep the "most qualified and most experienced" teachers in the classroom longer.

Officials from the Arizona retirement system helped write a bill this year that would make up for the lack of contributions to the system; however, due to the state's budget crisis, the bill does not appear to be moving through the legislature.