March 10, 2023 - Executive Director Update: Executive Director Announcement

Last night, I announced to the ATRS Board of Trustees that I would be resigning soon. The following is the statement I gave:

“It was Halloween, October 31, 2018. This was the scariest Halloween of my life, for I had just been named as the next Executive Director of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. I had reluctantly applied for the position after a large number of the ATRS staff asked me to do so. I made a commitment to the ATRS staff, the ATRS members, and myself to serve in this position for the next 3 legislative sessions. The legislative package of bills sponsored by the ATRS Board is now officially Arkansas law.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve this board, the ATRS staff, and the thousands of ATRS members across the state of Arkansas.

I would like to announce that I will be resigning as Executive Director of ATRS for personal reasons.

The dedicated and talented senior staff have always maintained a high level of day to day operations. ATRS is in good hands. I look forward to working with the ATRS board and staff over the next couple of months as I transition to the next adventure in my life.

I’ve made many friends during this journey, and I hope to continue those friendships down the road.

My main focus in the future will be to spend time with my family, enjoy nature, and NOT take phone calls, texts, or emails.”

Kind regards,

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

March 8, 2023 - Executive Director Update: Legislative Session, Week 9

The 94th General Assembly - Joint Public Retirement & Social Security Committee (JRC)

The next JRC meeting will be held on Monday, March 13, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. in Room A of the MAC Building.

The bills in the ATRS Legislative Package do NOT reduce any benefits for any ATRS member or beneficiary. Visit the Legislation page on the ATRS  website for a summary.

Status of ATRS Package Bills

SB117 has been signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and is now Act 183. Act 183 will lower the number of months that a retiree must be terminated from employment before returning to the service of an ATRS employer. The separation period is reduced from 6 months to 4 months. I want to express my appreciation to Senator Kim Hammer for sponsoring this bill.

HB1186 has been signed by Governor Sanders and is now Act 170. Act 170 permits the member to nominate one or more beneficiaries, and adds clarity to the disability retiree surviving spouse benefit. I want to express my appreciation to Representative Andrew Collins for sponsoring this bill.

HB1187 has been signed by Governor Sanders and is now Act 171. Act 171 clarifies the language that defines the lump sum death benefit. It especially clarifies that the lump sum death benefit is extended to T-DROP participants. I want to express my appreciation to Representative Andrew Collins for sponsoring this bill.

All of the bills in the ATRS sponsored package are now law. I would like to again express my gratitude to the sponsors of these bills.

Reminders

As a reminder, the Joint Retirement Committee (JRC) meeting will be video streamed over the Internet each Monday morning during the session. Just visit the Arkansas Legislative Meetings and Events web page on Monday at 9:00 a.m. Look for the item “PUBLIC RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS-JOINT” and click on the “VIDEO” icon. The agenda for the meeting will be posted here at least 18 hours before the start of the meeting.

ATRS will try to keep its members informed about the bills that impact ATRS, its members and employers. For more information regarding the ATRS Bill Package and Bills that may impact ATRS visit the Legislation page on our website.

Stay in Touch with ATRS and View YOUR Account Information

The ATRS website allows members to have direct access to their account information and sign up to receive our executive director updates. Member account information can be accessed 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. Executive director updates are emailed periodically throughout the year to help keep members up-to-date on issues from retirement, to legislative updates that may affect ATRS, and any other time when information needs to be shared.

Join over 30,000 ATRS members who have registered for account access and updates by visiting us at: www.artrs.gov/registration. There you can join the mailing list for executive director updates and register to gain access to your member information.

ATRS is always striving to keep its members, employers, beneficiaries, government officials, and the public informed. It is always a great pleasure for ATRS to learn of more ways to provide information to ATRS members. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our communication you may e-mail them to info@artrs.gov for consideration.

As always, ATRS and its board are committed to providing a system that is member friendly and transparent. Remember that ATRS is here to serve you.

Kind regards,

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