Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS)

Teachers Retirement System (TRS)

The University of 91ֱ��partners with the State of 91ֱ��Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB) to administer the Teacher's Retirement System (TRS). The DRB is the plan administrator for all TRS plans. For more information on the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), please review the ORP webpage. All benefit-eligible faculty are required to participate in a retirement account. For information on staff retirement plans, please review the PERS webpage.

TRS Enrollment

Eligibility

Faculty

Faculty who are in a benefit-eligible position will choose between the Teacher's Retirement System (TRS) and the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) within 30 days of hire into an eligible position as long as they have never had the option to select ORP in a previous position with the university.

Academic Officer

Academic officers may choose between TRS and ORP within 30 days of hire into an eligible position as long as they have never had the option to select ORP in a previous position with the university.

Staff

Staff are not eligible for TRS but participate in PERS.

Temporary employees

Temporary employees are not eligible to participate in PERS, TRS, ORP or the UA Pension Plan. Temporary employees can participate in a 403(b). Review our 403(b) webpage for more information.

Enrolling & Making Changes

Retirement election paperwork is sent to employees via DocuSign. This is a one-time decision in all except rare cases.

New or returning benefit-eligible employees

Irrevocable decision in first 30 days

Election due in first 30 days

Retirement elections are irrevocable. New benefit-eligible faculty will be provided with their retirement election paperwork within their first 30 days of hire.

Returning after a break in service

The irrevocable decision means that the retirement selected cannot be changed as long as an employee is in a faculty position with the university - even if they separate from the university and return as faculty after a break in service.

Returning/transferring staff

If returning as staff after a break in service - or transferring to a staff position without a break in service - employees will automatically be transferred to PERS.

Mandatory participation

Participation in a retirement plan is mandatory for all benefit-eligible positions.

Reminder | The default

If there is a choice between more than one retirement plan, the choice must be made within 30 days of hire. If no election is made, faculty will automatically default into TRS.

Current benefit-eligible employees

Irrevocable decision

Retirement elections cannot be changed except in very specific circumstances when an employee is transferring positions between certain employee classes. Depending on prior elections, an employee moving employee classes (i.e. from faculty to staff) may receive an option to change their retirement plan.

Transferring positions? Reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu

If an employee is transferring positions within UA (between temporary, staff, faculty, or executive) they may be given additional retirement choices depending on their initial election. If needed, additional retirement election paperwork will be sent after the transition. For questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.

Temporary Employees

Only eligible for voluntary 403(b)

Review our 403(b) webpage for more information.

Transferring Positions - Reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu

If a temporary employee is transferring to a benefit-eligible position, they will receive retirement depending on prior work history and elections. Email ua-benefits@alaska.edu for additional information.

Find your Retirement Plan

Review the options below to get an idea of faculty retirement options depending on past service with the university or the State of Alaska. Official retirement selections will be sent by a member of the UA Benefits team. For questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.


Work Status	Retirement Plan
I am faculty and I have never worked for the University of 91ֱ��or any State of 91ֱ��employer before.	I will choose between TRS and ORP within my first 30 days.
I am faculty and I have worked for the University of 91ֱ��before in a faculty benefit-eligible position.	My retirement plan will be the plan I previously selected (either ORP or TRS with or without UA Pension Plan).
I am faculty and I have worked for the University of 91ֱ��before in a staff benefit-eligible position.	If I previously selected ORP with my staff position, I will be placed back in ORP. If I previously selected PERS with my staff position, I will be placed in TRS with our without the UA Pension Plan.
I am faculty and I have worked for a State of 91ֱ��employer before (either faculty or staff) but this is my first faculty position with the University of Alaska.	My retirement plan will be my previous TRS plan if I was a faculty member. If I was previously staff with another State of 91ֱ��employer, I will choose between TRS and ORP within my first 30 days.

Changing your Retirement Plan, Contribution Amount or Contribution Type

These changes are not allowed.

Coverage Begin & End Dates

First/last day of employment
Coverage and contributions begin on the first day of employment and end on the last day of employment or on the last day of employment in an eligible position.

Form

Election forms are sent via DocuSign.

TRS Basics

Plans

Two plans - Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC)
The State of 91ֱ��Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB) has two TRS plans - a Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC). Whether an employee is in a DB or DC plan depends on the date of hire into the TRS system.


TRS Tier	Dates of Eligibility
TRS DB Tier I	Hired into TRS through June 30, 1990.
TRS DB Tier II	Hired into the TRS from July 1, 1990 through June 30, 2006.
TRS DC Tier III	Hired into TRS on or after July 1, 2006.

Fund sponsors

TRS Tier I, II (DB) - Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB)

The TRS DB plan is managed through the DRB. .

TRS Tier III (DC) - Empower

The TRS DC plan is managed by the DRB through Empower Retirement. for more information.

Beneficiaries

TRS Tiers I, II (DB) - MyRNB

TRS DB Tiers I - II can update beneficiaries at any time either by , completing the Tiers I - III Beneficiary Form, or by contacting the DRB directly at 1-800-821-2251.

TRS Tier III (DC) - Empower

TRS DC Tier III can update beneficiaries at any time by .

TRS Details

Employer contributions

TRS Tier I, II (DB)

The University of 91ֱ��contributes an additional percentage of an employee's salary as determined annually by TRS and the DRB.

TRS Tier III (DC)

The University of 91ֱ��contributes 7% of an employees salary.

Employee contributions

TRS Tier I, II (DB)

Employee contributions are mandatory when participating in TRS. These percentages are fixed and cannot be changed. Faculty and Academic Officers in TRS DB Tiers I and II will contribute 8.65% through biweekly pre-tax payroll deductions.

TRS Tier III (DC)

Employee contributions are mandatory when participating in TRS. These percentages are fixed and cannot be changed. Faculty and Academic Officers will contribute 8% of their salary through biweekly pre-tax payroll deductions.

Vesting schedule

TRS Tier I, II (DB)

TRS Tiers I and II members are vested at eight paid-up years of credible TRS service. Once vested, employees may terminate TRS employment and still receive a monthly retirement benefit when they reach retirement age. Former employees must leave their contributions in the plan to stay vested.

TRS Tier III (DC)

Employees are 100% vested in the employee contributions they make to their retirement account. Employer contributions follow the 5 year vesting schedule shown below.


Years of Service	Employer Vesting Percent
Less than 2 years of service	0% vested in employer contributions
2 years of service	25% vested in employer contributions
3 years of service	50% vested in employer contributions
4 years of service	75% vested in employer contributions
5+ years of service	100% vested in employer contributions

Additional resources

TRS Tier I, II (DB)

The TRS Tier Chart is a side by side comparison of all three TRS plans. For more detailed information, visit the and refer to the .

TRS Tier III (DC)

The TRS Tier Chart is a side by side comparison of all three TRS plans. For more detailed information, visit the and refer to the .

Income in retirement

TRS Tier I, II (DB)

Defined benefit (DB) plans provide eligible employees guaranteed income for life at the time of retirement. The monthly benefit for each participant is calculated based on factors such as the employee’s salary and years of service. The TRS DB plan is managed through the DRB. . Please note UA has opted out of the DRB's deferred compensation plan.

TRS Tier III (DC)

Defined contribution (DC) plans are account-based plans where the employee and employer contributions are invested into mutual funds or money market funds where they grow tax-deferred until withdrawn. The TRS DC plan is managed by the DRB through Empower Retirement. for more information. Please note UA has opted out of the DRB deferred compensation plan.

Financial advice

UA is not authorized
UA is not authorized to provide financial advice to employees. Please contact the DRB directly to discuss.

Planning and/or applying for retirement

Reach out to DRB
An employee who is considering retirement from TRS must reach out to DRB as soon as possible to review the retirement application process and what to expect. DRB can be reached at 1-800-821-2251. Planning and/or applying for retirement is slightly different between the Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC) TRS plan. Review the offboarding webpage for up-to-date information.

Separating from the university but not retiring

Review offboarding webpage
Employees who are separating from the university (but are not retiring) have a few different considerations for their TRS accounts depending on what type of account they have. Review the offboarding webpage for information on separating from the university.

FORMS

Retirement forms are prepared and sent to new employees via DocuSign after attending a Benefits Overview.

RESOURCES

University of 91ֱ��offboarding website

91ֱ��

Benefits & Compensation

Retirement