Last
Chance to Protect TRS Pension
We
have been trying to keep everybody informed about the
harmful changes that the legislature made in TRS
pensions during the last session. There is one piece
that affects only a small number of people, but
some folks who would be harmed by this provision still
have a chance to avoid the negative consequences.
If you
are over 50, or if you already have 25 or more years of
service credit in TRS, you may quit reading. This does
not affect you.
If your age added to your years of service credit in TRS
equals 70 or more, you may quit reading. This does not
affect you.
If your age and service credit add up to less than 67
and you never taught in another state, you may quit
reading. It affects you and this will not help.
If you are still
reading, you need to read this closely and call TSTA or
TRS if you have any questions. It could make a huge
difference in your retirement benefits! The individuals
most likely to benefit from reading this are those
between the ages of 44 and 50 who have between 18 and 25
years of service credit.
During the regular session, the Legislature made changes
in TRS that will have a negative impact on most
education employees, but they grandfathered employees
who meet one of these three requirements by August 31,
2005: (1) those 50 years of age or older; (2) those with
25 or more years of service credit; and (3) those whose
age added to years of service totals 70 or more. If you
meet any one of those criteria, you will not be affected
by the changes.
If you do not meet the age requirement, we cannot help
you;
if you do not meet
either of the other two requirements but come close,
there may still be hope. You
may purchase service credit in TRS for out-of-state
teaching service
if you are otherwise
eligible. If you taught out
of state but are not sure whether you are eligible to
purchase time or not (or want to know how much you can
purchase), contact TRS immediately to find out if you
are eligible. If you can purchase enough credit for
that service, you may still be able to meet the
requirement.
If you have 22 or more years of service, or if your age
a! nd servi ce credit total at least 67 but not yet 70,
you are definitely
eligible to buy three years
of service credit whether or not you ever taught out of
state. Ordinarily, purchasing these three years would
be too expensive to make it worth doing,
but
if you are close to meeting the requirement, this is an
instance where the improvements in your pension might
well make the cost worthwhile.
Because the purchase must be completed by
August 31, you might think you could not possibly put
together enough money to get it done in time, but we
want to call your attention to an option that most
people are not aware of:
If you have an NEA
Valuebuilder account (or any other IRA or 403-B account)
you probably can use the money in that account to make
the purchase by way of a rollover.
In fact, there might be a tax benefit to doing it this
way even if you could come up with the money from
another source.
This is a complicated
issue and it is different for each individual set of
circumstances. Do not take any action without
consulting a financial advisor. TSTA does not give
financial advice, but your NEA Valuebuilder Agent is
qualified to help you analyze your particular situation
and see if you can still avoid the negative consequences
of the actions of the legislature.
Below is a list of Valuebuilder Agents. Contact the one
nearest you to see if you have an option.
North Texas/Dallas/Ft. Worth Area: Nathan Wilson,
800-611-8604
Conroe/Galveston/Beaumont/Katy/Cy-Fair/Houston Area:
Linda Eaton, 713-877-8464;Terry Elder, 866-445-4869
Bryan/College Station/Killeen/Longview/Waco
Area: Steve Colson, David Phinney and Doug Crum,
979-680-0658
El Paso & Surrounding Areas: Phil Boyd, 915-592-2782
Laredo/Brownsville/San Antonio/Corpus Area: Mullen &
Associate! s, 800-7 23-6616
Amarillo/Abilene/Lubbock/Midland/Odessa Area: Jeff
Pannell, 800-385-8866
Austin & Surrounding Areas: Susan Winkler, 512-894-3533
