Executive Director Update: Retirement Saving Options + Announcements & Updates

I’m pleased to announce that the Public Pension Coordinating Council has awarded ATRS the 2025 Public Pension Standards Award for Funding and Administration. This award is given annually to public pension systems like ATRS that certify that they meet standards and best practices in the areas of funding adequacy, investments, comprehensive benefits, actuarial valuations, audits, and member communications. This is the second year in a row that ATRS has received this Award.  

At ATRS our mission is to provide retirement security for Arkansas’s past, present, and future public education professionals. This Award demonstrates the strong leadership provided by our ATRS Board of Trustees and the great work of our dedicated staff. We dedicate every workday to ensuring a secure retirement for our more than 140,000 members. 

I’m also happy to announce that we have published a new update to our Member Handbook. The Handbook answers many of the questions that you might have about retirement, your ATRS membership, and the System. This 2025-2026 version of the Member Handbook is available on our website in the Publications section here:
https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/ATRS2526Handbook.pdf

  

Updates for Retirees

We recently mailed check stubs to our members who received a payment from ATRS in December. If you itemize your tax deductions, you will want to keep that check stub. It documents how much was withheld from your ATRS benefits for medical insurance premiums last year.

In the next few weeks, if you received any payments from ATRS at any time in 2025, you will be receiving an IRS Form 1099 in the mail. You can also view your 1099 Form through the member portal on our website, beginning January 26.  If you don’t have a member portal account, I encourage you to take this opportunity to sign up for one.  You will need this Form when you file your taxes for 2025.  

If you don’t receive a 1099 Form by February 16, please contact us and let us know. You can always email us at info@artrs.gov or call us at (501) 682-1517 for assistance.

 

Retirement Savings for Working Members

Our members do vital work in public education. Your future deserves the same attention and care you give your students. By being a member of ATRS, you’ve taken the most important step toward retirement security: guaranteed lifetime income. Social Security will add another layer when you retire, but one piece remains—personal savings.

Why does this matter? Even though your ATRS benefits and Social Security may cover your normal day-to-day expenses, life happens – things like car repairs, medical bills, or a busted water heater. A savings cushion can make all the difference when the unexpected hits.  

Here are a few ways to start (or grow) your nest egg:

403b or 457b Plan: Many ATRS employers allow employees to contribute additional pre-tax dollars to a retirement account that is separate from ATRS. These savings will grow tax-deferred. You can begin withdrawing from them when you retire, and in some cases as soon as you stop working for that employer. Check with your employer for more information.   

Traditional or Roth IRA: Anyone with earned income can open and contribute to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) account, even when you are also covered by ATRS as your retirement plan. Traditional IRAs may offer tax deductions, while Roth IRAs provide tax-free growth. Additional info is here:
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/traditional-and-roth-iras
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc451 

T-DROP: ATRS offers actively-employed members with at least 28 years of credited service the ability to build savings in the Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Plan (T-DROP). When you enroll in T-DROP, you accumulate a portion of monthly retirement benefits in a cash savings account, even as you continue to work. And once you are in T-DROP, you no longer have to make member contributions, which means that 7% of your salary will be going straight to you. Additional info is here:
https://www.artrs.gov/teacher-deferred-retirement-option-t-drop 

Keep in mind that the tax advantages and tax implications of these different plans may vary depending on your unique situation. Consider talking with a financial advisor or tax expert as you make decisions on how to save for retirement.   

As always, if you ever have a question about your retirement options or need information or advice, please reach out to one of our experienced 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

Securing your Future: The ATRS 2025-2026 Member Handbook

New Year. New Knowledge. Stronger Retirement. The new 2025-2026 Member Handbook is HERE.