diff --git a/plugins/processors/parser/README.md b/plugins/processors/parser/README.md
index fbd242004..529315075 100644
--- a/plugins/processors/parser/README.md
+++ b/plugins/processors/parser/README.md
@@ -26,10 +26,15 @@ See the [CONFIGURATION.md][CONFIGURATION.md] for more details.
   ## If true, incoming metrics are not emitted.
   # drop_original = false
 
-  ## If set to override, emitted metrics will be merged by overriding the
-  ## original metric using the newly parsed metrics.
-  ## Only has effect when drop_original is set to false.
-  merge = "override"
+  ## Merge Behavior
+  ## Only has effect when drop_original is set to false. Possible options
+  ## include:
+  ##  * override: emitted metrics are merged by overriding the original metric
+  ##    using the newly parsed metrics, but retains the original metric
+  ##    timestamp.
+  ##  * override-with-timestamp: the same as "override", but the timestamp is
+  ##    set based on the new metrics if present.
+  # merge = ""
 
   ## The dataformat to be read from files
   ## Each data format has its own unique set of configuration options, read
diff --git a/plugins/processors/parser/parser.go b/plugins/processors/parser/parser.go
index 95154c24a..182a954fc 100644
--- a/plugins/processors/parser/parser.go
+++ b/plugins/processors/parser/parser.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package parser
 
 import (
 	_ "embed"
+	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/processors"
@@ -20,6 +21,16 @@ type Parser struct {
 	parser       telegraf.Parser
 }
 
+func (p *Parser) Init() error {
+	switch p.Merge {
+	case "", "override", "override-with-timestamp":
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unrecognized merge value: %s", p.Merge)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (*Parser) SampleConfig() string {
 	return sampleConfig
 }
@@ -100,6 +111,8 @@ func (p *Parser) Apply(metrics ...telegraf.Metric) []telegraf.Metric {
 
 		if p.Merge == "override" {
 			results = append(results, merge(newMetrics[0], newMetrics[1:]))
+		} else if p.Merge == "override-with-timestamp" {
+			results = append(results, mergeWithTimestamp(newMetrics[0], newMetrics[1:]))
 		} else {
 			results = append(results, newMetrics...)
 		}
@@ -120,6 +133,22 @@ func merge(base telegraf.Metric, metrics []telegraf.Metric) telegraf.Metric {
 	return base
 }
 
+func mergeWithTimestamp(base telegraf.Metric, metrics []telegraf.Metric) telegraf.Metric {
+	for _, metric := range metrics {
+		for _, field := range metric.FieldList() {
+			base.AddField(field.Key, field.Value)
+		}
+		for _, tag := range metric.TagList() {
+			base.AddTag(tag.Key, tag.Value)
+		}
+		base.SetName(metric.Name())
+		if !metric.Time().IsZero() {
+			base.SetTime(metric.Time())
+		}
+	}
+	return base
+}
+
 func (p *Parser) parseValue(value string) ([]telegraf.Metric, error) {
 	return p.parser.Parse([]byte(value))
 }
diff --git a/plugins/processors/parser/parser_test.go b/plugins/processors/parser/parser_test.go
index 6abf71a6a..ec135dcc8 100644
--- a/plugins/processors/parser/parser_test.go
+++ b/plugins/processors/parser/parser_test.go
@@ -603,6 +603,31 @@ func TestApply(t *testing.T) {
 					time.Unix(0, 0)),
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name:        "override with timestamp",
+			parseFields: []string{"value"},
+			merge:       "override-with-timestamp",
+			parser: &json.Parser{
+				TimeKey:    "timestamp",
+				TimeFormat: "2006-01-02 15:04:05",
+			},
+			input: metric.New(
+				"myname",
+				map[string]string{},
+				map[string]interface{}{
+					"value": `{"timestamp": "2020-06-27 19:43:40", "value": 42.1}`,
+				},
+				time.Unix(0, 0)),
+			expected: []telegraf.Metric{
+				metric.New(
+					"myname",
+					map[string]string{},
+					map[string]interface{}{
+						"value": float64(42.1),
+					},
+					time.Unix(1593287020, 0)),
+			},
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
@@ -621,11 +646,22 @@ func TestApply(t *testing.T) {
 
 			output := plugin.Apply(tt.input)
 			t.Logf("Testing: %s", tt.name)
-			testutil.RequireMetricsEqual(t, tt.expected, output, testutil.IgnoreTime())
+
+			// check timestamp when using with-timestamp merge type
+			if tt.merge == "override-with-timestamp" {
+				testutil.RequireMetricsEqual(t, tt.expected, output)
+			} else {
+				testutil.RequireMetricsEqual(t, tt.expected, output, testutil.IgnoreTime())
+			}
 		})
 	}
 }
 
+func TestInvalidMerge(t *testing.T) {
+	plugin := Parser{Merge: "fake"}
+	require.Error(t, plugin.Init())
+}
+
 func TestBadApply(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name        string
diff --git a/plugins/processors/parser/sample.conf b/plugins/processors/parser/sample.conf
index 4fa9a5572..5275f282a 100644
--- a/plugins/processors/parser/sample.conf
+++ b/plugins/processors/parser/sample.conf
@@ -9,10 +9,15 @@
   ## If true, incoming metrics are not emitted.
   # drop_original = false
 
-  ## If set to override, emitted metrics will be merged by overriding the
-  ## original metric using the newly parsed metrics.
-  ## Only has effect when drop_original is set to false.
-  merge = "override"
+  ## Merge Behavior
+  ## Only has effect when drop_original is set to false. Possible options
+  ## include:
+  ##  * override: emitted metrics are merged by overriding the original metric
+  ##    using the newly parsed metrics, but retains the original metric
+  ##    timestamp.
+  ##  * override-with-timestamp: the same as "override", but the timestamp is
+  ##    set based on the new metrics if present.
+  # merge = ""
 
   ## The dataformat to be read from files
   ## Each data format has its own unique set of configuration options, read