September 29, 2020 - Executive Director Update: Vacancies on ATRS Board, Applications Welcome

At the September 28, 2020 meeting of the ATRS Board of Trustees, two vacancies on the board were recognized. The two positions are Trustee Position #2 – Congressional District #2 and Administrator Trustee Position #5. The ATRS Board of Trustees has authority to appoint successor trustees by majority vote of the Board of Trustees. The ATRS Board voted on September 28, 2020 to take applications from qualified members to fill the vacancies by appointment. The ATRS Board intends to fill the Position #2 vacancy with an appointment through June 30, 2022. The ATRS Board intends to fill the Position #5 vacancy with an appointment through June 30, 2024.

To be eligible for Position #2, the candidate must be an active member with five or more years of service or a T-DROP member who is accruing monthly deposits. The candidate must be employed by an ATRS employer located in Arkansas congressional district #2. The candidate must be employed in a position requiring state teaching licensure or the equivalent under ATRS Rule 4.

To be eligible for Position #5, the candidate must be an active member with five or more years of service or a T-DROP member who is accruing monthly deposits. This trustee may be employed by any ATRS employer. The candidate must be employed as a licensed administrator as defined in ATRS Rule 4. The candidate does not have to be employed as a superintendent or an educational cooperative director.

The Board has set a deadline of November 2, 2020 for applications of qualified members to be submitted to ATRS. The ATRS Board intends to take up the appointments at a special called meeting in November, 2020.

If you are interested in serving on the ATRS Board, then the ATRS Board welcomes your application. If you know of a qualified member who is interested in serving on the ATRS Board, then please share the applications and content of this email with them. The ATRS Board welcomes applications from all qualified members. Membership on the ATRS Board is a very important way to serve ATRS members and the State of Arkansas.

The ATRS Board and ATRS staff acknowledge the dedicated service of Janet Watson and Dr. Richard Abernathy on the ATRS Board. The ATRS Board and staff wish Ms. Watson and Dr. Abernathy well in the future.

ATRS Employers: Please forward this executive director update email to all employees. ATRS wants to get this information to as many ATRS members as possible.

Stay in Touch with ATRS and View YOUR Account Information

The ATRS website allows members to have direct access to specific member account information. Now, approximately 22,460 members have direct account access to individualized account information. Here is the link to the instructions to sign up: www.artrs.gov/registration.

You can also sign up to obtain these executive director updates through your private email address. Updates are made throughout the year such as at retirement season and other times when information needs to be shared. Now, over 24,900 people have signed up to receive this executive director update by direct email delivery. It is always a great pleasure for ATRS staff to learn of more ways to provide information to ATRS members, employers, beneficiaries, government officials, and the public. The ATRS Board is committed to providing a system that is member friendly and transparent. Remember that ATRS is here to serve you.

If you have questions or need more information, please feel free to call me on my direct line at (501) 588-4367, my cell at (501) 291-1623 or email me at clintr@artrs.gov

Best regards,

Clint Rhoden
Executive Director ATRS
Office: (501) 588-4367
Mobile: (501) 291-1623
clintr@artrs.gov

Attachments:

1. Application for Trustee Position #2 - Congressional District #2

2. Application for Trustee Position #5 - Administrator Trustee

September 22, 2020 - Retirement Workshops

Due to the ongoing public health crisis, and for the safety of our members and staff, our Retirement Workshops have been cancelled for the 2020-21 school year.

Additionally, school visits have been suspended until further notice.

To better assist those members who are thinking about retirement this year, we have provided video recordings of the information normally presented at the retirement workshops. These recordings are available by visiting our website at https://www.artrs.gov/preretirement-workshops-and-counseling. 

The following presentations are available for viewing at your convenience: Entering T-DROP, Retiring (NOT in T-DROP) and Retiring (IN T-DROP).

If you have any questions about retirement or your benefits, counselors are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m at 501.682.1517 or info@artrs.gov.