2026 Annual Statements for our active members and vested inactive members have been printed and are on their way to members. If you are not retired or in T-DROP, and you worked for a covered employer during the 2025-2026 school year, you should receive an Annual Statement in the mail.
Because we are sending more than 80,000 Statements, we are mailing them in batches over several weeks. You may not receive yours until mid-November.
As you may have seen in the news lately, the U.S. Post Office has been taking some cost-cutting measures that have slowed down mail service. My wife recently mailed something Priority Mail, dropping it off in Bryant for delivery in Little Rock. Amazingly, that envelope didn’t arrive at its destination in Little Rock until a week later. Over the course of that week, the tracking information showed that envelope in Memphis, TN; Louisville, KY; Cincinnati, OH; Evansville, IN; Memphis, TN, again; and then finally back to Little Rock. And I’m afraid that some of our annual statements are going to take similar routes before they end up in your mailboxes.
We send these Statements each year so that you can check that your wages and service credit for the past school year are correct. It is critically important that you let us know if your Statement does not show your correct service credit and wages.
Every year, we hear from members who are ready to retire, but they have discovered that some of their service was not reported to ATRS. The longer you wait, the more difficult it can be to correct these issues. When this happens, it can mean a delay before you can retire while we work to resolve the issue. And it can sometimes even result in a reduced retirement benefit. By reviewing your Statement, you can be assured that we have your correct wages and service credit for this most recent school year.
Please carefully review the information on both sides of the page. If anything looks to be wrong or missing, please call us at (501) 682-1517 or email us at info@artrs.gov. And if you don’t receive your Annual Statement by November 16, please let us know.
As you review your Statement, there are three specific things you should look for.
First, your Statement will have a section with the heading, “Service Recorded for Fiscal Year Ending 06/30/2026.” This shows the wages and service credit that your employer reported to ATRS last year. On the back page, you will find up to 30 years of your ATRS credited service, with the most recent service listed first. If you see anything that is wrong or missing, please contact us right away.
Second, the Statement will list the beneficiaries you have designated. As an ATRS member, you can name:
- Beneficiaries for your lump-sum death benefit (if you have at least 10 years of actual service credit with ATRS)
- Beneficiaries for your account residue (meaning any of your member contributions remaining after your death)
For each type, you can name both primary and contingent beneficiaries.
If you need to designate or change a beneficiary, you can do so through the member portal on our website. To access and log in to the portal, go to this link:
Or, if you don’t have a portal account yet, you can register for one at this link:
https://www.artrs.gov/registration
Once you are in the member portal, look to the left and click on “Member Portal” and then “Member Data” and you will see the button to designate or change a beneficiary.
Third, at the bottom of the first page of your Statement you will see a list of membership milestones. This is a quick indication of the benefits you are eligible for as of June 30, 2026, based on your status and how much credited service you have earned with ATRS.
Again, you should expect to receive your Annual Statement by the end of October. If you have not received your Statement by Monday, November 16, please call us at (501) 682-1517 or email us at info@artrs.gov.
And remember, if you are a retired ATRS member, you will not receive an Annual Statement this fall. Instead, you will receive an IRS Form 1099 early next year showing the benefits you received during 2026.
Increase in T-DROP Incentive Interest Rates
Last month, the ATRS Board of Trustees approved an additional 0.5% incentive interest rate for participants in the Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Program (T-DROP) for this year.
We have been concerned that participation in T-DROP has dropped over the last decade, and we want to see more members take advantage of this wonderful savings opportunity. T-DROP allows retirement-eligible members to begin accruing retirement benefits even as they continue to work in public education. We hope that this additional incentive interest rate will encourage more ATRS members to enter and remain in T-DROP.
If you want to learn more about T-DROP and what it could mean for your retirement savings, please go to this link:
https://www.artrs.gov/teacher-deferred-retirement-option-t-drop
As always, if you ever have a question about your retirement options or need information or advice, please reach out to our counselors by calling (501) 682-1517 or e-mailing info@artrs.gov. And if you have any concerns or questions about the System as a whole, please contact me at the email address or phone numbers below.
Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057