Executive Director Update: 2026 Payment Schedule + 2025 Financial Update

I have good news to share regarding our System’s financial condition, but first I want to highlight our new payment schedule for 2026. Members have long asked ATRS to move benefit payments to earlier in the month and make payment dates more consistent. Our staff worked hard this last year to clear some obstacles, and I can now announce that all 2026 benefit payments will be made on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.  

For many, that will mean that your ATRS benefit arrives on the same day of the month as your Social Security benefit. It also ensures your ATRS benefit arrives ahead of the holidays in November and December.  

The payment dates for 2026 will be:

January 21	May 20	September 16
February 18	June 17	October 21
March 18	July 15	November 18
April 15	August 19	December 16

You can always find the current payment schedule by going to our website at https://www.artrs.gov/ and clicking on “Calendar.”

 

ATRS Financial Update for 2025

Earlier this month, the ATRS Board of Trustees heard our actuaries' preliminary report for the 2024-2025 school year. Even the actuaries will say that their reports are not exciting reading, but they are a critically important measure of our financial health.  

Retirement systems like ATRS are built on a simple but powerful promise: to provide lifetime benefits to all our members. That promise applies to those already enjoying retirement, as well as to those still working in our schools every day. Keeping that promise takes careful planning. We have to consider a lot of moving parts — like how the economy is doing, how our investments are performing, how changes in school salaries affect contributions, and even how long people are living.  

That’s where our professional actuaries come in. They crunch the numbers, analyze all those factors, and project what it will take to fund retirement benefits for decades to come. Every year, they update those projections to help us stay on track and make adjustments when needed — so we can keep our promise to every member, now and in the future.

There are three key takeaways from this year's report:

First, ATRS earned a 9.8% return on investment for the 2024-2025 year, which was enough to generate more than $2.1 billion of total investment profits. Even after deducting what was used to pay benefits and the returns that are assumed in our actuarial projections, the System still received $563 million more than expected. We ended the year at a total portfolio value of $23.7 billion (and since then we have crossed the $24 billion mark).  

Second, ATRS is 100% funded as to future benefit payments for all of our current retirees. In other words, ATRS has enough assets already on hand to fully pay out monthly benefits for life for every retired member. ATRS has consistently met this goal every year since 1980.  

Third, when we consider the future benefits that will be owed to members who are still working, ATRS is 84.4% funded. In other words, even if ATRS closed up shop and did nothing but send out checks to all of our members for the benefits they’ve already earned, we already have enough funds on hand to pay 84.4% of those benefits.  

This is a good, healthy number. Pension systems are often considered healthy if their funded position is 80% or greater, and if that funded position is stable or improving over time. The reason why it doesn’t have to be 100% is that this is a very conservative estimate. It doesn’t account for the member and employer contributions that ATRS will continue to collect in the coming years. It assumes a conservative investment return, and historically ATRS has earned more than that assumed rate.

What this means is that ATRS is financially strong and prepared to keep the promise of lifetime retirement benefits for all of our members.  

Some other interesting statistics:

• ATRS paid retirement benefits to 57,492 retirees and surviving beneficiaries, totaling nearly $1.5 billion in the 2024-2025 year. That’s about a 4% increase over the prior year. Just last month, ATRS distributed more than $124 million in payments to members.
• The average member retirement benefit was $25,330 annually.  
• Arkansas public schools and other covered employers reported 67,871 employees statewide receiving a total employee payroll of $3.644 billion.  
• We have 1,063 ATRS retirees who are age 90 to 94, and 300 retirees who are 95 and older.

The final actuarial valuation reports will be presented to the ATRS Board in February and then posted to the ATRS website on the Publications page.  

If you would like to know more about the finances and membership of ATRS, I have put together a four-page summary with charts and graphs to give you a snapshot of our financial condition. It’s based on the data through the end of last fiscal year, so it covers July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. You can access it here: https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/Annual_Financial_Snapshot/ATRS_2025_Snapshot.pdf   

 

Holiday Plans

The ATRS office, as with other state offices, will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. For our Active ATRS members working in Arkansas’s public schools, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas break and are able to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. And for all of our members, we at ATRS wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season!  

 

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

 

Executive Director Update: Why ATRS Invests Your Money + Tax Savings for College

Ever Wonder Why ATRS Invests Your Retirement Funds?

It’s a question I hear from time to time, and it’s a good one. After all, contributions have already come out of your paycheck, so why is that not enough?

The short answer is this: your contributions alone aren’t enough to fund a lifetime of retirement benefits. That’s why modern pension systems — including ATRS — are built on three key sources of income:

1. What you contribute,
2. What your employer contributes, and
3. The investment returns we earn over time.

Here’s how it works: While you’re working, those contributions are invested to grow the fund. That way, when you retire, there’s enough money to pay you every month — for life.

Let me put it in perspective. Most ATRS members who retire with a straight annuity get back everything they personally contributed after about 3 years. By year 6, they’ve also received their share of the employer’s contributions.

But retirement usually lasts a lot longer than that — often 20 years or more. I’ve even talked to ATRS members who have been retired for more than 40 years. So where does the money come from after year 6? That’s where our investments step in. They fill the gap and keep your benefits flowing.

And here’s the best part: your monthly benefit is guaranteed for life, and it can never go down. That’s the value of ATRS. And that’s why investing is so important.

We don’t chase quick wins. Our investment strategy is built for the long haul — focused on steady growth and protecting the fund’s stability. Every decision made by the ATRS Board of Trustees is grounded in one goal: to protect and preserve your benefits for every year of your retirement, whether your retirement lasts 20, 30, or even 40 years.

 

Medicare Open Enrollment
If you are a retired ATRS member and you receive your healthcare coverage through the state, please know that Open Enrollment ends November 30. If you want to change your ARBenefits health insurance plan, most changes must be made during the Open Enrollment period by November 30. If you are satisfied with your plan or don't want to change, you don't need to do anything.

For assistance with your healthcare options or to make a change, please contact the state’s Employee Benefits Division by calling (877) 815-1017 or emailing ask.ebd@arkansas.gov, or go to their website at https://sas.arkansas.gov/employee-benefits/open-enrollment-resources-retirees/. Although we at ATRS can’t assist with Health Insurance or Medicare issues, we are happy to connect you with the folks at EBD who can.

 

Annual Statements
If you are a vested member who worked and earned service credit with ATRS during the last school year, and you have not yet retired, you should have already received your ATRS Annual Statement in the mail. If not, please email us at info@artrs.gov.

You can access an electronic copy of your Annual Statement by logging into the Member Portal on our website. Once you log in, click on “Member Portal” in the sidebar, then click on “Annual Statement,” and then click the button on the screen that says, “View Annual Statement.”

If you don’t have an account in our Member Portal, you can register for it at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/registration

 

Tax Deductions for College Savings
Are you looking for holiday gift ideas? Consider a gift that lasts far beyond the season: a contribution to a child or grandchild’s future education through the Arkansas Brighter Future 529 Plan.

These accounts offer tax-free savings and investment to pay educational expenses for college, graduate school, vocational and trade school, or apprenticeships. And when you contribute to a 529 plan, you can deduct up to $5,000 (or up to $10,000 for a married couple) from your Arkansas state income taxes.

The tax year is almost over, but you still have time to set up an Arkansas Brighter Future 529 Plan and make a deductible contribution. For more information or to get started, click on this link: https://brighterfuturedirect529.com/home/why-529.html

As ATRS Executive Director, it is my privilege to serve on the Section 529 Plan Review Committee which oversees this wonderful program. And the Plan is administered by State Treasurer John Thurston, who also serves on our ATRS Board of Trustees.

 

Next week, we will be expressing gratitude for all our blessings as we celebrate Thanksgiving. ATRS staff will be in the office and available to take your calls and emails Monday through Wednesday. Our office, as with other state offices, will be closed on Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th. I hope you and your families have a wonderful and restful holiday week.

 

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