Executive Director Update: 2025 Annual Statements + T-DROP Incentive Interest Rate Increase

ATRS is now mailing 2025 Annual Statements to our Active members and Vested Inactive members. If you are not retired, not in T-DROP, and you worked for a covered employer during the 2024-2025 school year, you should receive an Annual Statement in the mail.

Because we are sending more than 80,000 Statements, we are mailing them in batches over several weeks. You may not receive yours until late October.

We send these Statements each year so that you can check that your wages and service credit for the past school year are correct. It is critically important that you let us know if your Statement does not show your correct service credit and wages.

Every year, we hear from members who want to retire but discover that some of their service was not correctly reported to ATRS. These problems can usually be fixed, but the longer you wait, the more troublesome it can be. When this happens, it can mean delaying your retirement while we work to resolve the issue. And it can sometimes result in a reduced retirement benefit. By reviewing your Statement now, you can be assured that we have your correct wages and service credit.

Please carefully review the information on both sides of the page. If anything looks to be wrong or missing, please call us at (501) 682-1517 or email us at info@artrs.gov

As you review your Statement, there are three specific things you should look for.

First, your Statement will have a section with the heading, “Service Recorded for Fiscal Year Ending 06/30/2025.” This shows the wages and service credit that your employer reported to ATRS for last year. On the back page, you will find up to 30 years of your ATRS credited service, with the most recent service listed first. If you see anything that is wrong or missing, please contact us right away.

Second, the Statement will list the beneficiaries you have designated. As an ATRS member, you can name:

• Beneficiaries for the lump-sum death benefit
• Beneficiaries for your account residue (residue means any member contributions remaining after your death)

For each, you can name both primary and contingent beneficiaries.

If you need to designate or change a beneficiary, you can do so through the member portal on our website. To access and log in to the portal, go to this link: https://www.artrs.gov/login

Or, if you don’t have a portal account yet, you can register for one at this link: https://www.artrs.gov/registration

Once you are in the member portal, look to the left and click on “Member Portal” and then “Member Data” and you will see the button to designate or change a beneficiary.

Third, at the bottom of the first page of your Statement you will see a list of membership milestones. This is a quick indication of the benefits you are eligible for as of June 30, 2025, based on your status and how much credited service you have earned with ATRS.

You should expect to receive your Annual Statement by the end of October. If you have not received your Statement by Monday, November 3, please call us at (501) 682-1517 or email us at info@artrs.gov

And remember, if you are a retired ATRS member, you will not receive an Annual Statement this fall. Instead, you will receive a Form 1099 early next year showing your 2025 benefits.

Increase in T-DROP Incentive Interest Rates
Last month, the ATRS Board of Trustees approved an additional 0.5% incentive interest rate for participants in the Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Program (T-DROP) for this year.

We have been concerned that participation in T-DROP has dropped over the last decade, and we want to see more members take advantage of this wonderful savings opportunity. T-DROP allows retirement-eligible members to begin accruing retirement benefits even as they continue to work in public education. We hope that this additional incentive interest rate will encourage more ATRS members to enter and remain in T-DROP.

For T-DROP participants who are in their first 10 years of working in T-DROP, the additional incentive rate increases their interest rate paid on their balances from 3% to 3.5%. For T-DROP participants who are still working but have been in T-DROP more than 10 years, it increases their interest rate from 4% to 4.5%. And for members who have exited T-DROP and retired and who have funds in a Cash Balance Account (CBA), it provides a 0.5% bonus for the year in addition to the 2.5%-4% variable interest rate that is paid monthly.

If you want to learn more about T-DROP and what it could mean for your retirement savings, please go to this link: https://www.artrs.gov/teacher-deferred-retirement-option-t-drop

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 

Executive Director Update: What Sets ATRS Apart From Most Private Retirement Plans

Retirement is a frequent theme in social media content and news media stories. Some talk about how much money people need to retire, others focus on worries about the stock market and economy, or how much retirees can safely spend each year. Most of this advice is aimed at people with private retirement plans, where the employee takes on all the risk and responsibility.

With the new school year starting, many new members are joining ATRS. This is a great time to highlight what sets ATRS apart—and why we stand out compared to many private plans. The biggest difference is that ATRS provides a guaranteed monthly benefit for life. That benefit will never go down, and it is backed by the more than $23 billion in investments that ATRS manages for members.

ATRS provides a pension plan, also known as a "Defined Benefit Plan". This is when an employer promises to pay a set monthly benefit for retirement. The employee and employer each contribute to a shared fund, and a pension manager (like ATRS) invests that money to help it grow over time. When the employee retires, that shared fund pays a set monthly benefit for the rest of the employee's life. The benefit amount is based on how much the employee earned in salary and how long they worked for the employer.

ATRS has offered a Defined Benefit Plan for Arkansas educators since 1937. It has remained strong through many economic ups and downs, thanks to support from state leaders who understand how important retirement security is for our public school employees.

Back in 1960, nearly half of all private-sector employees in the U.S. had a pension like ATRS. But over the last 50 years, many private employers have moved to something called a "Defined Contribution Plan." These plans – like 401(k)s and IRAs -- don't promise a lifetime benefit. Instead, the employee is expected to save and invest a portion of their income for retirement. Sometimes, the employer matches part of those savings, but the employee is responsible for managing the money and taking on all the risk.  

Private employers like these plans because they shift the risk away from the employer and to the employee. But that means if the stock market drops or an employee makes a poor investment choice, they could lose a big part of their retirement savings—with no guaranteed income to fall back on.

That’s not a worry for ATRS. Our investment portfolio is built to withstand the ups and downs of the stock market. Even when there are losses, we can spread them across generations to protect the security of your monthly retirement benefit.  

This benefit is available to any ATRS member once they are vested, meaning they have at least 5 years of credited service. Once a member is vested, they are guaranteed a monthly retirement benefit when the reach age 60 or have 28 years of credited service. And they can also build up additional savings by participating in T-DROP. 

T-DROP stands for Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Plan. It allows a member to defer retirement and continue working while benefits accumulate in a cash (savings) account. When the member retires, that savings balance can be rolled over into another retirement account and invested, it can be paid out directly to the member, or it can be used to increase the member’s monthly retirement benefit.

If you’re interested in the T-DROP program, you can find out more on our website at https://www.artrs.gov/teacher-deferred-retirement-option-t-drop. 

And if you would like to learn more about your retirement options through ATRS, you can check out our Retirement Planner here: https://www.artrs.gov/Publications/ATRS_2025_April_Planner_Members.pdf. 

Email us at info@artrs.gov or call us at (501) 682-1517 if you have questions about your retirement options. We’re here to help you feel confident about your future.  

 

Highlighting an ATRS Member

Did you know that ATRS has more than 900 retirees who are age 91 and above? And 15 retirees who are age 101 and above?   

One of those members is Ms. Etoyle Mouser. She is a retired teacher who will turn 100 in November. Our staff sat down with Ms. Mouser to talk about her childhood and her career in public education (plus her time working at the Arkansas Ordnance Plant in Jacksonville in World War II). You can watch and listen as she discusses her life and the impact ATRS has had on her retirement here:  

https://youtu.be/jxeDZYLm7lI?si=q4ZZjlIyFFlVHWUB 

 

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