Not-so-over-the-hill computer experts, rejoice! Uncle Sam wants -- and will pay -- you.

To prevent U.S. government computers from suffering the world's greatest memory loss at the turn of the century, Uncle Sam will take extraordinary steps to reclaim retired brainpower. The folks are needed, quick, to help solve the so-called year 2000 problem.

Many computers read only the last two digits of a year. Many experts predict a global computer crash on the last day of this century, when computers may confuse the year 2000 with the year 1900. If that happens, some predict it could wipe out, scramble or misplace trillions of items of data, key records and the like. Many private firms and banks have already scooped up some of the best retired programmers and computer scientists, either as regular employees or consultants. They can draw their retirement pay plus full salary or consultant fees.

But government rules about reemploying federal civilian or military workers make it financially unattractive for most people to come back to work for the government. Salary is generally reduced by the amount of the retiree's pension.

Many of the nation's top computer experts are former feds or military personnel. Many of the civilians left in the past couple of years -- while the government was downsizing 300,000 jobs -- in order to get special $25,000 buyout payments. Now, some of them are needed back on the job. Immediately.

To lure the retirees -- both military and civilian -- back into federal service, the government plans to waive so-called dual compensation rules that cut into the pay of rehired civilian or military retirees. It also will relax premium pay rules, on a case-by-case basis, to make working holidays and overtime -- on emergency projects -- more worthwhile. The cost to the government would be minimal, but the financial incentives for the individual retirees would be tremendous.

Under current rules, retired civilian workers who return to work as "reemployed annuitants" have their salaries offset by the amount of their pensions. Retired military officers who are hired by federal agencies also are subject to the dual compensation rules, which reduce their military retired pay as much as 40 percent. Both safeguards were put into law to prevent civilian and military agencies from allowing workers or officers to retire, on fully indexed pensions, then be rehired at full federal salaries.

But the Office of Personnel Management, in response to pleas from federal agencies trying to avoid any kind of year 2000 crash, has decided to waive reemployment pay rules in this instance.

A special memo to agency heads from OPM Director Janice R. Lachance says:

"We want to make every effort to give you the human resources management tools you need to resolve the year 2000 computer conversion problem." To allow agencies to recruit top experts -- now retired from government or the military -- OPM will "waive dual compensation reductions, making it easier to reemploy annuitants who have the programming skills and system knowledge that you may need." The order will allow agencies to pay high-ranking employees full overtime or premium pay for work on emergency projects relating to the year 2000 problem.