Anyone here familiar with TRS (Teacher Retirement System)?

2,927 Views | 33 Replies | Last: 13 hrs ago by Jack Pearson
Aggwife
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I am not teaching anymore and do not plan to return. I understand that if I pull all of it out there is a 20% penalty; however, I am unsure of what happens if I roll it all into a Roth IRA. Do I pay a 10% penalty or is that only if I turn around and pull it out of the IRA?

Any help is appreciated!
beerad12man
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I have TCDRS. I am sure it's the same. I have never heard of any 10% penalty to roll into a roth ira. Can't see how that would be legal. It's going from one retirement into another.
JR2007
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Need to do this with my wife's. There shouldn't a penalty for rolling over, just note you'd incur taxes rolling into a Roth vs a 401k.

Been dreading do it because I suspect they'll make the process more difficult than necessary. I'll hang up and listen for others who've done it.
beerad12man
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Good point regarding taxes on the roth. A traditional IRA or 401k should be good to go.
cruiserag2020
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I left TRS employment in 2022 and rolled it into a 401k. No taxes to roll over.
amateur gene ecologist
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I left TRS employment in November and rolled it into a "Rollover IRA" on Fidelity. No taxes as far as I can tell.
Milwaukees Best Light
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JR2007 said:

Need to do this with my wife's. There shouldn't a penalty for rolling over, just note you'd incur taxes rolling into a Roth vs a 401k.

Been dreading do it because I suspect they'll make the process more difficult than necessary. I'll hang up and listen for others who've done it.

They make it incredibly difficult. To roll it over to a different institution you have to fax them a notarized form, then they snail mail you another form. I don't know what to do with the other form cause I am still waiting to receive it. 9 weeks and counting. I will start calling and bothering someone when I get back from spring break.
Aggwife
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Thank you all for your help!
goatchze
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Milwaukees Best Light said:

JR2007 said:

Need to do this with my wife's. There shouldn't a penalty for rolling over, just note you'd incur taxes rolling into a Roth vs a 401k.

Been dreading do it because I suspect they'll make the process more difficult than necessary. I'll hang up and listen for others who've done it.

They make it incredibly difficult. To roll it over to a different institution you have to fax them a notarized form, then they snail mail you another form. I don't know what to do with the other form cause I am still waiting to receive it. 9 weeks and counting. I will start calling and bothering someone when I get back from spring break.
Keep us posted here, would like to learn from your experience.

We need to do the same for my wife. TRS makes it as confusing and difficult as possible. I wasted so much time looking for the form that you "must fill out". Finally, after a bunch of time wasted, I discovered that you have to fill out a form to get the form that you have to fill out. Completely insane.

gvine07
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I'm sure a CFP can come and here and clarify, but...

A 401k is a retirement plan from a private-sector employer... if you're in TRS then you can't get that, you'd get a 403b (basically same thing), but can only contribute to that while receiving pay by that government entity.

Anyone who doesn't qualify for a 403b or 401k can get an IRA. Typically you can rollover retirement accounts to IRAs. A traditional IRA is deferring the income taxes until you take it out (it's pretax, like TRS contributions). A roth IRA is paying income tax on the money now, but not paying tax when you take it out later (it grows tax free - there are exceptions).


You can roll the TRS money into a traditional IRA without paying additional fees. A roth IRA would be different, and you'd have to pay all of the income taxes for that now. It likely doesn't make sense, but there are tons of reasons why it would.


I'm in TRS. If I were to leave the field today I would rollover mine to a traditional IRA. Each case is different.
EnviroAg96
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Howdy all: Help explain something to me. My wife works for an ISD in Texas. Are yall talking about the funds saved in TRS which basically takes the place of social security taxes? Or are we talking about the additional available retirement savings plans (she has a Roth 457 account thru the ISD we contribute to as well). If the former, I had no idea this could be withdrawn and placed into a "private, personal rollover IRA". Is that true?
gvine07
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Only if she were to leave. She's in TRS as long as she's with the ISD. But when she retires or leaves she can take a check to another retirement account (or pay a hefty penalty and taxes for cash).
South Platte
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Depending on how many years of service a person has in TRS and how close they are to retirement, leaving the funds in TRS and waiting for the pension to kick in could also be a solid strategy. My service will be worth about $25,000 a year, if no adjustments to the payout occur.

Once you pull funds out of your TRS, your service earned is gone. If you return to a TRS employer you start at 0 years of service.
BDJ_AG
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I think this is an important point, the formula is age plus years, so you can lay out for a while and then "retire" from the system later. The amount you would rollover from TRS is usually not a huge sum.

The other factor is that TRS has changed the formula on retirement several times, so if you are grandfathered into a more beneficial plan it may be smart to leave your money alone for a while until you are absolutely certain you will never return. My niece made this mistake because she needed the money, and it completely screwed her retirement dates.
investorAg83
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South Platte said:

Depending on how many years of service a person has in TRS and how close they are to retirement, leaving the funds in TRS and waiting for the pension to kick in could also be a solid strategy. My service will be worth about $25,000 a year, if no adjustments to the payout occur.

Once you pull funds out of your TRS, your service earned is gone. If you return to a TRS employer you start at 0 years of service.


This is a big point and something to discuss. TRS is a pension…great distribution asset but a terrible accumulation one. I had someone last year that could either cash out for about 100k or wait 2 years to take the guaranteed pension of 3k/mo. The math isn't hard to figure out the best option there.

What's the age of the OP?
Aggwife
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44, but I haven't contributed to TRS in over 12 years so my years of service aren't much. I should've rolled these funds over a long time ago.

Also, I plan to take 50% of my husband's SS which will be higher than any pension I get with TRS, so the age/service is a moot point, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
investorAg83
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Aggwife said:

44, but I haven't contributed to TRS in over 12 years so my years of service aren't much. I should've rolled these funds over a long time ago.

Also, I plan to take 50% of my husband's SS which will be higher than any pension I get with TRS, so the age/service is a moot point, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.


Geez, at 44 you're right on the cusp of really needing to crunch the numbers to figure it out. Log onto the TRS site and do the calculation for the projected pension payout. Then you can take the current cash out balance and figure out what you need to earn in order to generate that income at the same time down the road. If I'm just guessing, you might be better off, taking the guaranteed payout down the road and waiting to exercise that pension from TRS. Regarding the Social Security, the laws changed in January this year regarding Social Security and state pensions eliminating the windfall provision; I doubt it would impact your Social Security payout.

I agree you probably should've moved it out of the account a decade ago, but there's no sense in thinking about what could've been.
one safe place
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South Platte said:

Depending on how many years of service a person has in TRS and how close they are to retirement, leaving the funds in TRS and waiting for the pension to kick in could also be a solid strategy. My service will be worth about $25,000 a year, if no adjustments to the payout occur.

Once you pull funds out of your TRS, your service earned is gone. If you return to a TRS employer you start at 0 years of service.
My wife left teaching after 7 or so years when we had our first child. I don't remember why but we took the balance out when she quit and I probably bought hunting and fishing stuff with it. Was like $7,000 or so and an amount that small didn't result in much of a tax hit. She was a stay at home mom until our third child started 1st grade, then she went back to teaching. A couple of years before she retired we got a letter from TRS that discussed a pending increase in the cost to buy back prior years of service. We bought back those 7 years for something like $29,000. Not only did that mean she could retire around 3 years earlier, it nearly doubled her monthly pension.
South Platte
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one safe place said:

South Platte said:

Depending on how many years of service a person has in TRS and how close they are to retirement, leaving the funds in TRS and waiting for the pension to kick in could also be a solid strategy. My service will be worth about $25,000 a year, if no adjustments to the payout occur.

Once you pull funds out of your TRS, your service earned is gone. If you return to a TRS employer you start at 0 years of service.
My wife left teaching after 7 or so years when we had our first child. I don't remember why but we took the balance out when she quit and I probably bought hunting and fishing stuff with it. Was like $7,000 or so and an amount that small didn't result in much of a tax hit. She was a stay at home mom until our third child started 1st grade, then she went back to teaching. A couple of years before she retired we got a letter from TRS that discussed a pending increase in the cost to buy back prior years of service. We bought back those 7 years for something like $29,000. Not only did that mean she could retire around 3 years earlier, it nearly doubled her monthly pension.
Right. I just wanted to make sure people saw both sides. For example, my cash balance is $80,000 after 11 years of service. If I rolled that into an investment account when I turn 65 it would be worth about $250,000 or so. But if my health is good, and I get paid $25,000 each year from 65 to 85 and die at 85, that's worth $500,000 in gross distributions. Plus, I get 1/2 of my Medicare premium covered because I got to 10 years of service.
JR2007
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Is that $25,000 per year if you stayed or left TRS?

Also not sure your age, but $80,000 for a 35 year old invested for 30 years at 8% return is more like $800,000.
South Platte
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JR2007 said:

Is that $25,000 per year if you stayed or left TRS?

Also not sure your age, but $80,000 for a 35 year old invested for 30 years at 8% return is more like $800,000.
I'm 50. My annual gross pension will be $25,000 starting at 65 if I leave the money in TRS, plus at least $100/month toward Medicare premium. Also, I might return to a TRS job someday, who knows.
62strat
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Aggwife said:

I am not teaching anymore and do not plan to return. I understand that if I pull all of it out there is a 20% penalty; however, I am unsure of what happens if I roll it all into a Roth IRA. Do I pay a 10% penalty or is that only if I turn around and pull it out of the IRA?

Any help is appreciated!
After being in CO for a few years, I pulled out my wife's 7 years of TRS in 2015 with no penalties. We rolled in to a fidelity IRA along with ~3 years of a sports authority 401k.. I bought a bunch of stock (cost, aapl, nflx and a few mutual funds) and that $50k has gone 6X since then.
Kenneth_2003
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BTW.

If you go the IRA route, remember you effectively shut the door on the Backdoor ROTH as you engage the Pro Rate rule.

Just another variable. Maybe not a big deal for half of a couple... But it slammed that door closed for me (single) when I did the same with a 401(k) from a decade long employer.
Jack Pearson
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My sister took a break from teaching this year. She has 20 years of service and ~110k in TRS that she wasnt planning on moving but something to think about. She did roll over her 457 to a IRA and Roth IRA as the company the district was using for management was taking out $200 a month in fees.
investorAg83
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Jack Pearson said:

My sister took a break from teaching this year. She has 20 years of service and ~110k in TRS that she wasnt planning on moving but something to think about. She did roll over her 457 to a IRA and Roth IRA as the company the district was using for management was taking out $200 a month in fees.


Do the calc before moving it out…
Jack Pearson
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investorAg83 said:

Jack Pearson said:

My sister took a break from teaching this year. She has 20 years of service and ~110k in TRS that she wasnt planning on moving but something to think about. She did roll over her 457 to a IRA and Roth IRA as the company the district was using for management was taking out $200 a month in fees.


Do the calc before moving it out…
I ran the cacl and the full TRS starting in 2040 which is 15 years from now would be about 3k a month. So 36k a year until death vs putting into the market now.

She is 45 with 20 years of service. To get to 80 point she would have to wait 15 years vs moving the 110k into an IRA and then an total stock market index fund. I find it hard to believe she wont come ahead with pulling and putting into the market?
investorAg83
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Jack Pearson said:

investorAg83 said:

Jack Pearson said:

My sister took a break from teaching this year. She has 20 years of service and ~110k in TRS that she wasnt planning on moving but something to think about. She did roll over her 457 to a IRA and Roth IRA as the company the district was using for management was taking out $200 a month in fees.


Do the calc before moving it out…
I ran the cacl and the full TRS starting in 2040 which is 15 years from now would be about 3k a month. So 36k a year until death vs putting into the market now.

She is 45 with 20 years of service. To get to 80 point she would have to wait 15 years vs moving the 110k into an IRA and then an total stock market index fund. I find it hard to believe she wont come ahead with pulling and putting into the market?


I find it hard to believe that 110k would grow to 900k (which is the balance it would need to grow to so you could apply the 4% rule). One is a pension payout…the other isn't guaranteed. Up to you.

10% per year would hit about 400k in that time frame.
gvine07
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To my knowledge, TRS averages a person's highest 36-month earnings for monthly payout calculations.

If she ever goes back to anything paying into TRS and makes more money, that would increase her monthly payout. Teachers are making ~$10k+ more than they did 15 years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if you see the same in 10 years.
62strat
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gvine07 said:

To my knowledge, TRS averages a person's highest 36-month earnings for monthly payout calculations.

which is why it's common to see a teacher do something else for 3 years that has a higher pay shortly before retirement.

My cousin is 3-4 years from retirement, and so a few years ago he went to get his masters and just graduated, and he's switching into SPED for his last 3 years. Salary is like 50%+ more than what he was making.

Some may transfer into admin.. etc.
Your Mom And Them
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TRS formula is number of years of experience multiplied by 2.3. That provides the percentage of the average of five highest years of earnings for your pension.

EX:

30 years experience x 2.3= 69

Average of five highest years= $70,000

$70,000 x 69%= $48,300 per year of TRS pension

62strat
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Your Mom And Them said:

TRS formula is number of years of experience multiplied by 2.3. That provides the percentage of the average of five highest years of earnings for your pension.

EX:

30 years experience x 2.3= 69

Average of five highest years= $70,000

$70,000 x 69%= $48,300 per year of TRS pension


it's been a while since I looked, but I thought it was a factor of age and years of service

and if it's anything like PERA, they change the chart every handful of years, so you have know what chart you are on.
Aggie Planner
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62strat said:

Your Mom And Them said:

TRS formula is number of years of experience multiplied by 2.3. That provides the percentage of the average of five highest years of earnings for your pension.

EX:

30 years experience x 2.3= 69

Average of five highest years= $70,000

$70,000 x 69%= $48,300 per year of TRS pension


it's been a while since I looked, but I thought it was a factor of age and years of service

and if it's anything like PERA, they change the chart every handful of years, so you have know what chart you are on.
Years + Service credits is what qualifies you for the benefits. This is where rule of 80 comes into play. Once you reach, then you are eligible for full benefits from TRS.

Once you are eligible for full benefits, that is when the formula above comes into play.
Backyard Gator
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Jack Pearson said:

My sister took a break from teaching this year. She has 20 years of service and ~110k in TRS that she wasnt planning on moving but something to think about. She did roll over her 457 to a IRA and Roth IRA as the company the district was using for management was taking out $200 a month in fees.
JFC!!!
Jack Pearson
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This is the company

https://tcgservices.com/
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