diff --git a/.github/workflows/retire.yml b/.github/workflows/retire.yml
index e45eaee..e311ba8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/retire.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/retire.yml
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           token: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
+          # Fetch full history to determine when committers were added
+          fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Run script
         # One month plus a bit of leeway
         run: scripts/retire.sh NixOS nixpkgs nixpkgs-committers members "yesterday 1 month ago"
diff --git a/members/Enzime b/members/Enzime
index 3fb16d6..e69de29 100644
--- a/members/Enzime
+++ b/members/Enzime
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-2025-08-20
diff --git a/members/LordGrimmauld b/members/LordGrimmauld
index 3fb16d6..e69de29 100644
--- a/members/LordGrimmauld
+++ b/members/LordGrimmauld
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-2025-08-20
diff --git a/members/MattSturgeon b/members/MattSturgeon
index 3fb16d6..e69de29 100644
--- a/members/MattSturgeon
+++ b/members/MattSturgeon
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-2025-08-20
diff --git a/members/SigmaSquadron b/members/SigmaSquadron
index 3fb16d6..e69de29 100644
--- a/members/SigmaSquadron
+++ b/members/SigmaSquadron
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-2025-08-20
diff --git a/members/jmbaur b/members/jmbaur
index 3fb16d6..e69de29 100644
--- a/members/jmbaur
+++ b/members/jmbaur
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-2025-08-20
diff --git a/members/m1cr0man b/members/m1cr0man
index 3fb16d6..e69de29 100644
--- a/members/m1cr0man
+++ b/members/m1cr0man
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-2025-08-20
diff --git a/scripts/README.md b/scripts/README.md
index 5c0e41f..f99d599 100644
--- a/scripts/README.md
+++ b/scripts/README.md
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ Once you have the above setup (or got @infinisil to add yourself to his), you ha
 This script has no external effects and as such can be easily tested by running:
 
 ```bash
-scripts/sync.sh infinisil-test-org actors members
+scripts/sync.sh infinisil-test-org actors members-test
 ```
 
-Check that it synchronises the files in the `members` directory with the team members of the `actors` team.
+Check that it synchronises the files in the `members-test` directory with the team members of the `actors` team.
 
 ## `retire.sh`
 
@@ -47,16 +47,21 @@ This script has external effects and as such needs a bit more care when testing.
 
 ### Setup (important!)
 
-To avoid other users getting pings, ensure that the `members` directory contains only a simulated new user and your own user (simulated to have been added over a year ago), then commit and push it for testing:
+To avoid other users getting pings, ensure that the `members-test` directory contains only simulated new users and your own user (simulated to have been added over a year ago), then commit and push it for testing:
 
 ```bash
 me=$(gh api /user --jq .login)
 git switch -C "test-$me"
-rm -rf members
-mkdir members
-date +%F > "members/github"
-date --date="1 year ago 1 day ago" +%F > "members/$me"
-git add members
+rm -rf members-test
+mkdir -p members-test
+
+touch members-test/"$me"
+date +%F > "members-test/new-committer-1"
+git add members-test
+GIT_COMMITTER_DATE=$(date --date @0) git commit -m testing
+
+touch "members-test/new-committer-2"
+git add members-test
 git commit -m testing
 git push -f -u origin HEAD
 ```
@@ -67,40 +72,40 @@ The following sequence tests all code paths:
 
 1. Run the script with the `active` repo argument to simulate CI running without inactive users:
    ```bash
-   scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org active nixpkgs-committers members 'yesterday 1 month ago'
+   scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org active nixpkgs-committers members-test 'yesterday 1 month ago'
    ```
 
    Check that no PR would be opened.
 2. Run the script with the `empty` repo argument to simulate CI running with inactive users:
 
    ```bash
-   scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members 'yesterday 1 month ago'
+   scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members-test 'yesterday 1 month ago'
    ```
 
-   Check that it would only create a PR for your own user and not the "github" user before running it again with `PROD=1` to actually do it:
+   Check that it would only create a PR for your own user and not the "new-committer-1" or "new-committer-2" user before running it again with `PROD=1` to actually do it:
 
    ```bash
-   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members 'yesterday 1 month ago'
+   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members-test 'yesterday 1 month ago'
    ```
 
    Check that it created the PR appropriately.
    You can undo this step by closing the PR.
 3. Run it again to simulate CI running again later:
    ```bash
-   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members 'yesterday 1 month ago'
+   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members-test 'yesterday 1 month ago'
    ```
    Check that no other PR is opened.
 4. Run it again with `now` as the date to simulate the time interval passing:
    ```bash
-   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members now
+   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members-test now
    ```
    Check that it undrafted the previous PR and posted an appropriate comment.
 5. Run it again to simulate CI running again later:
    ```bash
-   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members now
+   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org empty nixpkgs-committers members-test now
    ```
 6. Reset by marking the PR as a draft again.
 7. Run it again with the `active` repo argument to simulate activity during the time interval:
    ```bash
-   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org active nixpkgs-committers members now
+   PROD=1 scripts/retire.sh infinisil-test-org active nixpkgs-committers members-test now
    ```
diff --git a/scripts/retire.sh b/scripts/retire.sh
index bffd73a..cdac339 100755
--- a/scripts/retire.sh
+++ b/scripts/retire.sh
@@ -37,9 +37,31 @@ DIR=${4:-$(usage)}
 NOTICE_CUTOFF=${5:-$(usage)}
 
 mainBranch=$(git branch --show-current)
-newCutoff=$(date --date="1 year ago" +%s)
 noticeCutoff=$(date --date="$NOTICE_CUTOFF" +%s)
 
+# People that received the commit bit after this date won't be retired
+newCutoff=$(date --date="1 year ago" +%s)
+
+# We need to know when people received their commit bit to avoid retiring them within the first year.
+# For now this is done either with the git creation date of the file, or its contents:
+#
+# | commit bit reception date  | file creation date | file contents  |
+# | -------------------------- | ------------------ | -------------- |
+# | A)         -∞ - 2024-10-06 | 2025-07-08         | empty          |
+# | B) 2024-10-07 - 2025-04-22 | 2025-07-08         | reception date |
+# | C) 2025-08-13 - ∞          | reception date     | empty          |
+#
+# After 2026-04-23 (one year after C started), the file creation date
+# for all first-year committers will match the reception date,
+# while everybody else will have been a committer for more than one year.
+# This means the code can then be simplified to just
+# check if the file creation date is in the last year.
+#
+# For now however, the code needs to check if the file creation date
+# is before 2025-07-09 to distinguish between periods A and C,
+# so we hardcode that date for the code to use.
+createdOnReceptionEpoch=$(date --date=2025-07-09 +%s)
+
 if [[ -z "${PROD:-}" ]]; then
   tmp=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.tmp
   rm -rf "$tmp"
@@ -54,12 +76,30 @@ mkdir -p "$DIR"
 cd "$DIR"
 for login in *; do
 
-  # Don't remove people that have been added recently
-  if [[ -s "$login" ]]; then
-    epochAdded=$(date --date="$(<"$login")" +%s)
-    if (( newCutoff < epochAdded )); then
-      continue
+  # Figure out when this person received the commit bit
+  # Get the unix epoch of the first commit that touched this file
+  # --first-parent is important to get the time of when the main branch was changed
+  fileCommitEpoch=$(git log --reverse --first-parent --format=%cd --date=unix -- "$login" | head -1)
+  if (( fileCommitEpoch < createdOnReceptionEpoch )); then
+    # If it was created before creation actually matched the reception date
+    # This branch can be removed after 2026-04-23
+
+    if [[ -s "$login" ]]; then
+      # If the file is non-empty it indicates an explicit reception date
+      receptionEpoch=$(date --date="$(<"$login")" +%s)
+    else
+      # Otherwise they received the commit bit more than a year ago (start of unix epoch, 1970)
+      receptionEpoch=0
     fi
+  else
+    # Otherwise creation matches reception
+    receptionEpoch=$fileCommitEpoch
+  fi
+
+  # If the commit bit was received after the cutoff date, don't retire in any case
+  if (( newCutoff < receptionEpoch )); then
+    log "$login became a committer less than 1 year ago, skipping retirement check"
+    continue
   fi
 
   trace gh api -X GET /repos/"$ORG"/"$ACTIVITY_REPO"/activity \
diff --git a/scripts/sync.sh b/scripts/sync.sh
index 15b2271..0fa103b 100755
--- a/scripts/sync.sh
+++ b/scripts/sync.sh
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@ gh api /orgs/"$ORG"/teams/"$TEAM"/members --paginate --jq '.[].login' |
     if [[ -f "$DIR/$login" ]]; then
       mv "$DIR/$login" "$DIR.new"
     else
-      # Keep track of when the user was added
-      date +%F > "$DIR.new/$login"
+      touch "$DIR.new/$login"
     fi
   done