Executive Director Update: Social Security Changes + ATRS Security

The last few weeks have been a confusing time for Social Security recipients.

Last month, President Trump’s Administration announced that Social Security would no longer allow recipients to change their direct deposit information by phone. A few days later, they expanded the announcement to say that Social Security would also stop accepting benefit applications by phone. These announcements understandably caused a lot of concern and controversy among retirees.

Later the Administration changed course at least twice on what services they will or will not allow by phone. It is certainly possible that this may change again in the coming weeks and months.

Although we at ATRS don’t control Social Security, we know many of you receive Social Security benefits or will soon be applying for them. These federal changes to Social Security affect virtually all ATRS members. I want to explain what the new rules are and how they will affect you. If these rules change again, I will do my best to keep you informed. Please understand that these changes I’m describing are only for Social Security, they do not apply to your ATRS retirement benefits.

Changing Bank Info for Direct Deposit: You may no longer change your Social Security direct deposit information by phone.  If you are receiving Social Security benefits and need to make a change to your direct deposit information, you must go online and make the change through your “My Social Security” account. If you do not have an online account with Social Security, you must visit a Social Security office in person to change your direct deposit information. You can make or change an appointment for an in-person office visit to a Social Security office here: https://www.ssa.gov/manage-benefits/make-an-appointment

Applying for SSA Retirement Benefits: You can still apply for Social Security by phone. Social Security will be using new fraud detection tools, which may include things like asking you personal questions or looking at where you are calling from. If their systems detect any “irregularities,” they will require you to make an in-person visit to a Social Security office to complete your application. You can also apply for SSA retirement benefits online through your “My Social Security” account.

Creating an Online Account: If you don’t have an online account with Social Security in “My Social Security”, you will have to provide personal information and documents for them to verify your identity before you can establish that account. Using an online Social Security account requires you to have a second means of verification when you log in, such as having a security code sent to your cell phone or email (that’s what’s known as multifactor authentication).  

You can create a My Social Security account by clicking here: https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/. Also, if you have an online account with Social Security that was created before September 18, 2021, you will need to log in to your account and transition it to a new account.   

You can find more information on Social Security’s identity-proofing requirements at this link: https://www.ssa.gov/news/identity-proofing.html

 

ATRS SECURITY AND FRAUD DETECTION
As much controversy as these changes created, I understand concerns about fraud. Here at ATRS, we unfortunately see regular efforts by criminals to defraud our System and pose as legitimate members.

We are constantly evaluating our security procedures and adjusting them as needed to meet new threats. For example, we allow members who have accounts in our online portal to use multifactor authentication as an added protection. If you have not set this up for your online ATRS member portal account, I encourage you to do so. You can find instructions here: https://www.artrs.gov/mfa

Another change we have made is that we are now mailing written confirmation letters to members when they create an account or submit a beneficiary or address change in the online portal. If you receive one of these confirmation letters and you did not make the change yourself, please call us immediately at (501) 682-1517. And if you ever see anything related to your ATRS account that doesn’t seem right, don’t hesitate to call us or email us at info@artrs.gov.

RETIREMENT SEASON IS HERE
We are still accepting applications for July 1 retirements or T-DROP entry between now and the May 31^st deadline. If you are considering retiring or entering T-DROP at the end of this school year, now is the time for you to start reviewing your options. You can access our brand-new 2025 April Retirement Planner at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/ATRS_2025_April_Planner_Members.pdf

ATRS has made it easy and convenient for you to apply for retirement or T-DROP online via your member portal account as well.  You must be vested and at least age 60, or have 28 years of service credit, to apply online for retirement or T-DROP. Otherwise, you will need to submit a paper application.

Remember that you can create your own benefit projections in the ATRS member portal, as well as review and confirm your work and salary history. If you don’t have an ATRS member portal account, you can create one at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/registration

If you have any other questions, or if you would like to schedule time with one of our counselors to review your options, please email us at info@artrs.gov or call us at (501) 682-1517.

Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057

Executive Director Update: Stock Market Changes and Your Retirement

Are you worried about the U.S. stock market? This past week has been a tough one for investors. As of Thursday, the S&P 500 index was 10.1% below the peak that it reached last month. That puts the market in what experts call a "correction." Other indexes, including the NASDAQ and the Russell 2000, were in a correction as well.

For your family and friends who rely only on a 401k plan for their retirement, they may have been nervously checking their account balances all week. If someone was planning to retire this summer with a 401k, they may have to rethink and delay their retirement if their account lost thousands of dollars below where it was just a month ago.

But is this a worry for ATRS members? Absolutely not.

As a defined benefit retirement plan, ATRS promises its members a steady monthly payment that is not affected by the ups and downs of the stock market. And that payment is guaranteed for life.

Don't get me wrong, at ATRS we pay close attention to our investments in the stock market. We adjust them to adapt to changing market conditions. We don't like to see the value of the ATRS investment portfolio go down because of a stock market correction. We have an obligation to you to wisely invest the more than $20 billion in assets that fund your retirement benefits.

The ATRS investment portfolio is built to withstand the ups and downs that we saw last week. We diversify our funds among many different types of investments so that when one type is down, others are steady or up, helping to balance out the losses. We invest across the globe, so that our performance isn’t solely dependent on how the U.S. economy performs.

Most importantly, because we are investing for generations of Arkansas public school employees, we can spread the impact of losses like this across generations. That ensures we continue to pay each generation the full benefit they have earned in their careers.

So rest easy knowing that if you are an ATRS retiree, you will continue to receive your full benefit every month, no matter what the stock market does. And if you are not yet retired, you can trust that ATRS will still be here at your retirement, ready to pay you the guaranteed lifetime monthly benefit that you have earned.

If you would like to learn more about how ATRS invests your money, please take a look at an earlier Executive Director Update I did on that topic: https://www.artrs.gov/director-updates/executive-director-update-how-atrs-invests-contributions

 

RETIREMENT SEASON IS HERE

Speaking of retirement, we are now accepting applications for July 1 retirements or T-DROP entry. If you are considering retiring or entering T-DROP at the end of this school year, now is the time for you to start reviewing your options.

You can start by reading through our brand-new 2025 April Retirement Planner. We’ve completely revamped the Planner for this year, and I hope you find it helpful. You can find the 2025 April Planner at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/ATRS_2025_April_Planner_Members.pdf

Remember that you can create your own benefit projections in the ATRS member portal, as well as review and confirm your work and salary history. If you don’t have an ATRS member portal account, you can create one at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/registration

And if you have any other questions, or if you would like to schedule time with one of our counselors to review your options, please email us at info@artrs.gov or call us at (501) 682-1517.

 

BOARD ELECTION

ATRS is controlled by you, our members, because you elect 11 of the 15 members of the ATRS Board of Trustees. This year one of the Retired Trustee positions is up for election, Position #10. If you are an ATRS retiree, you are eligible to vote for this Position. Ballots have now been mailed and you should see them in your mailbox within the next week or so.

When you receive your ballot, please fill it out and mail it back to us. By participating in the Board Election, you will be signaling to legislators and others that you value the independence of our System. The more of our members who vote, the stronger the case will be that we should remain independent with a member-elected Board.

If you are a retired ATRS member and you do not receive a ballot by March 24, please send me an email with your name and mailing address to markw@artrs.gov.

All completed ballots must be received back by no later than April 15. Please complete and return your ballot as quickly as you can, to allow time for the mail to reach us. If you have any questions about the election process, please let me know.

Also, if you are a retired member receiving monthly benefits from ATRS, you should have already received your IRS Form 1099 for 2024. If you did not receive it, please let us know. And if you have an account on our member portal, you can download a copy of your Form 1099 directly from the portal.

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

The Legislature is continuing its work, and so far, no bills have passed that would be a threat to ATRS independence or our benefits. Also, the ATRS 2025 legislative package has passed and is now law. You can read more about what was in our legislative package here: https://www.artrs.gov/2025-legislative-package

If you would like to subscribe to my weekly email updates about the legislative session, go to the following link and enter your email address to subscribe:
https://www.artrs.gov/sign-up-for-legislative-updates

 

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.

Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057