TRS-ERS Transfer

1 TRS-ERS TransferThis brochure describes optional servicetransfer. If you are employed by astate agency that transferred all membershipfrom TRS to ERS in 1993 or 1994, pleasecontact ERS at 1-877-275-4377 forassistance with your Transfer questions. INTRODUCTION ligible active members of the TeacherRetirement System (TRS) may transferservice credited under the EmployeesRetirement System (ERS) to , eligible active members of ERSmay Transfer TRS-credited service to Transfer of service takes place at thetime a member retires or at the time a pre-retirement death benefit becomes who have already retired undereither system are not eligible to transferservice TRS member must have at least threeyears of active TRS service credit to beeligible to Transfer ERS service to , an ERS member must have threeyears (36 months) of active ERS servicecredit to Transfer TRS service to ERS.

2 Aperson who has at least three years of activeservice credit in both systems may make atransfer from either system to the other. Consider these examples: A person has 20 years of TRS servicecredit and 2 years of ERS servicecredit. This person may Transfer ERSservice to A person has only one year of TRSservice credit and 12 years of ERSservice person may Transfer TRS serviceto ERS. A person has 10 years of TRS servicecredit and also has 10 years of ERSservice credit. This person may eithertransfer the ERS service to TRS ortransfer the TRS service to person who transfers service creditfrom one retirement system to the otherterminates membership and the right tobenefits in the system from which servicecredit was transferred. SERVICE ELIGIBLE FOR Transfer ervice which is eligible fortransfer is current membership servicewhich meets the requirements for servicecredit under TRS laws and rules.

3 Foradditional explanation, refer to the Establishing TRS Service Credit sectionof the TRS Benefits Handbook, available bymail or on the TRS Web site( ). ERS service will be evaluated on aSeptember 1 through August 31 basisto determine if it is creditable underTRS laws and rules. ERS service of atleast five calendar months in a fiscalyear will be counted as one year ofservice credit when transferred to TRS. For members transferring TRS servicecredit to ERS, each year of TRSservice credit will be counted as 12months of service at Members who have both TRS and ERScredit for service performed within thesame school year will receive no morethan one year of credit. Overlappingservice is credited only once. PURCHASE OF SERVICECREDIT ctive members of TRS who have at least three years of credited TRSservice may reinstate service credit whichwas withdrawn from ERS without becominga current member of ERS.

4 Conversely, activeERS members with at least three years (36months) of credited ERS service mayreinstate service credit which was withdrawnfrom TRS without becoming a currentmember of TRS. To be eligible forreinstatement and Transfer , service must meetthe requirements outlined in the section ofthis brochure titled Service Eligible forTransfer. ERS members who reinstate TRSwithdrawn service may use that reinstatedTRS service to qualify for the purchase ofother eligible TRS special service. Topurchase other types of service, therequirements under TRS laws and rules forthose purchases must be example, TRS requires a member tohave at least five years of active membershipservice to be eligible to purchase militaryservice credit. An ERS member who reinstatesat least five years of withdrawn TRS servicemay qualify to purchase military service withTRS, provided all other requirements under theTRS laws and rules are cost of service purchased for thepurpose of Transfer at retirement must be3paid in full by the effective date : ERS members with less than 36months of active ERS service credit mayreinstate TRS withdrawn service under theProportionate Retirement additional information, refer to the Withdrawn Service and ProportionateRetirement sections of the TRS BenefitsHandbook.

5 SERVICE Transfer FOR RETIREMENT minimum of five years of service credit is required for a member to beeligible for service retirement benefits witheither TRS or ERS. Service may betransferred from ERS to TRS, or vice versa,to meet this requirement. Age requirementsof the system under which the member plansto retire must also be met. Service credittransfer is also available to members whoare approved for disability who Transfer service atretirement must terminate their employmentwith all TRS-covered employers and allERS-covered employers by their effectivedate of retirement. Please refer to the sectionof this brochure titled Employment afterRetirement with Service Transfer foradditional average compensation to be used inthe benefit formula will be determined usingthe higher of the member s average TRScompensation or average ERScompensation.

6 Average compensation isdetermined by each system under applicablelaws and rules. TRS and ERS compensation4cannot be combined to determine who are ready to retire andhave service eligible for Transfer shouldnotify the system under which they plan toretire of their intent at least three monthsprior to their anticipated retirement members should request retirementdocuments, including a service credittransfer request form . The Transfer formmust be completed and signed by themember and returned to the system underwhich the member is retiring. SERVICE Transfer FOR PRE-RETIREMENT DEATH BENEFITS embers who have service in bothTRS and ERS should inform theirbeneficiaries of the possibility of servicetransfer in the event of the member s deathwhile actively employed under eithersystem.

7 For a beneficiary to be eligible totransfer service credit upon the death of amember before retirement, the designatedbeneficiary under both TRS and ERS mustbe the same person. For this reason, it isextremely important that individuals withdual membership maintain up-to-datebeneficiary designations with both TRS and ERS require that membersdesignate beneficiaries on forms prescribedby each the event of the pre-retirement deathof a member, the beneficiary may transferservice credit only if the Transfer will resultin the payment of a death benefit system has other specific requirements5for payment of a pre-retirement deathbenefit; such requirements must also be to the TRS Benefits Handbook foradditional information on TRS deathbenefits for active example, if an active, currentlycontributing TRS member who has threeyears of TRS service credit and at least twoyears of ERS service credit dies, the TRSbeneficiary may elect to Transfer the ERSservice to TRS for payment of a deathbenefit annuity, provided that the TRSbeneficiary is the same person as the ERSbeneficiary.

8 Note that, with service Transfer ,the total service is five years. A minimum offive years of service is required for paymentof some death benefit annuities under beneficiary must file a completedtransfer request form with the receivingsystem within 90 days after the date of themember s death. Service credit can only betransferred if neither system has yet paidbenefits. EMPLOYMENT AFTER RETIREMENT WITH SERVICE Transfer embers who Transfer service atretirement must terminate theiremployment with all TRS-coveredemployers and all ERS-covered employersby their effective date of retirement. A TRSretiree may work after retirement for a TRS-covered employer without adverse effect onthe monthly annuity payment only inaccordance with specified limits on the typeand length of break in service of at least one fullcalendar month must also occur beforebeginning any employment after to the TRS Benefits Handbook foradditional information on employment afterretirement TRS retiree may work for an ERS-covered employer following retirementwithout limits on the type and length ofservice.

9 A TRS retiree who transferred ERSservice credit to TRS to increase the TRSretirement benefit and whose last place ofemployment before retirement was with anERS-covered employer, must have a break inservice of one full calendar month after theretirement date. During this break, the retireemay not work in any capacity for any TRS-or ERS-covered employer. A TRS retireewho goes to work for an ERS-coveredemployer will be required to become a newmember of ERS and make contributions tothat system. The same is true for an ERSretiree who becomes employed by a TRS-covered who use service Transfer atretirement are encouraged to contact thesystem under which they retired prior toaccepting any employment with a TRS- orERS-covered a complete statement of the laws andadministrative rules that pertain toTRS-ERS Transfer , consult the TRS Lawsand Rules (Laws, Chapter 805; Rules,Section ).

10 Available via the TRS Website ( ).7 Frequently Asked Questions: I am currently a member of TRSand I have previously withdrawn servicefrom employment with a state do I contact to reinstate that service?Contact ERS at: Box 13207, Austin,TX 78711-3207 or 1-877-275-4377. I am currently a member of TRSand have less than one year of previousstate agency service under ERS. Is thattime eligible for Transfer ? If your ERS service credit is at least fivemonths in one fiscal year (September 1through August 31), it is eligible for transferto TRS as one creditable year of service. I am working for a school district now but will Transfer my TRS service toERS and retire under that system. May Ireturn to full-time public schoolemployment after my ERS retirement?