Teachers Retirement System (TRS)
The University of Alaska partners with the State of Alaska 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
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
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.
Retirement election paperwork is sent to employees via DocuSign. This is a one-time decision in all except rare cases.
New Employees - Irrevocable Decision - 30 days
Retirement elections are irrevocable. This 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.
New benefit-eligible faculty will be provided with their retirement election paperwork
within their first 30 days of hire.
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.
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.
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.
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 Alaska or any State of Alaska 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 Alaska 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 Alaska 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 Alaska 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 Alaska employer, I will choose between TRS and ORP within my first 30 days. |
These changes are not allowed.
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.
Election forms are sent via DocuSign.
TRS Basics
The State of Alaska 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. |
TRS Tier I, II (DB)
The TRS DB plan is managed through the DRB. More information can be found on the DRB's webpage.
TRS Tier III (DC)
The TRS DC plan is managed by the DRB through Empower Retirement. Visit the Empower Retirement webpage for more information.
TRS Tiers I, II (DB)
TRS DB Tiers I - II can update beneficiaries at any time either by logging into your MyRnB account, completing the Tiers I - III Beneficiary Form, or by contacting the DRB directly at 1-800-821-2251.
TRS Tier III (DC)
TRS DC Tier III can update beneficiaries at any time by logging into your Empower Retirement account.
TRS Details
TRS Tier I, II (DB)
The University of Alaska contributes an additional percentage of an employee's salary
as determined annually by TRS and the DRB.
TRS Tier III (DC)
The University of Alaska contributes 7% of an employees salary.
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.
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 |
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 PERS & TRS Defined Benefit Retirement Plan and refer to the TRS DB Handbook - Tier I and II .
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 PERS & TRS Defined Contribution Retirement Plan website and refer to the TRS DC Tier III Handbook.
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. More information can be found on the DRB's webpage. 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. Visit the Empower Retirement webpage for more information. Please note UA has opted out of the DRB deferred compensation
plan.
UA is Not Authorized
UA is not authorized to provide financial advice to employees. Please contact the
DRB directly to discuss.
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.
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.
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