Retirement is a frequent theme in social media content and news media stories. Some talk about how much money people need to retire, others focus on worries about the stock market and economy, or how much retirees can safely spend each year. Most of this advice is aimed at people with private retirement plans, where the employee takes on all the risk and responsibility.
With the new school year starting, many new members are joining ATRS. This is a great time to highlight what sets ATRS apart—and why we stand out compared to many private plans. The biggest difference is that ATRS provides a guaranteed monthly benefit for life. That benefit will never go down, and it is backed by the more than $23 billion in investments that ATRS manages for members.
ATRS provides a pension plan, also known as a "Defined Benefit Plan". This is when an employer promises to pay a set monthly benefit for retirement. The employee and employer each contribute to a shared fund, and a pension manager (like ATRS) invests that money to help it grow over time. When the employee retires, that shared fund pays a set monthly benefit for the rest of the employee's life. The benefit amount is based on how much the employee earned in salary and how long they worked for the employer.
ATRS has offered a Defined Benefit Plan for Arkansas educators since 1937. It has remained strong through many economic ups and downs, thanks to support from state leaders who understand how important retirement security is for our public school employees.
Back in 1960, nearly half of all private-sector employees in the U.S. had a pension like ATRS. But over the last 50 years, many private employers have moved to something called a "Defined Contribution Plan." These plans – like 401(k)s and IRAs -- don't promise a lifetime benefit. Instead, the employee is expected to save and invest a portion of their income for retirement. Sometimes, the employer matches part of those savings, but the employee is responsible for managing the money and taking on all the risk.
Private employers like these plans because they shift the risk away from the employer and to the employee. But that means if the stock market drops or an employee makes a poor investment choice, they could lose a big part of their retirement savings—with no guaranteed income to fall back on.
That’s not a worry for ATRS. Our investment portfolio is built to withstand the ups and downs of the stock market. Even when there are losses, we can spread them across generations to protect the security of your monthly retirement benefit.
This benefit is available to any ATRS member once they are vested, meaning they have at least 5 years of credited service. Once a member is vested, they are guaranteed a monthly retirement benefit when the reach age 60 or have 28 years of credited service. And they can also build up additional savings by participating in T-DROP.
T-DROP stands for Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Plan. It allows a member to defer retirement and continue working while benefits accumulate in a cash (savings) account. When the member retires, that savings balance can be rolled over into another retirement account and invested, it can be paid out directly to the member, or it can be used to increase the member’s monthly retirement benefit.
If you’re interested in the T-DROP program, you can find out more on our website at https://www.artrs.gov/teacher-deferred-retirement-option-t-drop.
And if you would like to learn more about your retirement options through ATRS, you can check out our Retirement Planner here: https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/ATRS_2025_April_Planner_Members.pdf.
Email us at info@artrs.gov or call us at (501) 682-1517 if you have questions about your retirement options. We’re here to help you feel confident about your future.
Highlighting an ATRS Member
Did you know that ATRS has more than 900 retirees who are age 91 and above? And 15 retirees who are age 101 and above?
One of those members is Ms. Etoyle Mouser. She is a retired teacher who will turn 100 in November. Our staff sat down with Ms. Mouser to talk about her childhood and her career in public education (plus her time working at the Arkansas Ordnance Plant in Jacksonville in World War II). You can watch and listen as she discusses her life and the impact ATRS has had on her retirement here:
https://youtu.be/jxeDZYLm7lI?si=q4ZZjlIyFFlVHWUB
Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057