how a teacher retirement system trs works
a trs typically provides a defined benefit pension plan which guarantees a monthly benefit based on plan specific features most pensions that use the trs name are qualified retirement plans under the employee retirement income security act erisa 2as with many pensions trs plans typically award benefits based on a pension factor that is multiplied by your age or years of service in the plan which is then multiplied by your final average salary or an average of your highest earning years of employment 23in addition to a trs pension plan many teachers are eligible for a 403 b plan a 403 b operates much like a 401 k which allows participants to defer some of their own salaries into the plan offering an effective way for teachers to save in addition to their trs pension plan 4a teacher retirement system may offer disability and death benefits to its members 56calls for reformexperts say the plans are in dire need of reform in a recent study 20 state teacher retirement systems received an f grade while none received an a grade the situation is not improving it s getting worse new teachers are facing benefit cuts in order to make up the shortfall for older workers this means that new hires need to work more years before they can receive benefits 7reports also indicate that only 50 of teachers remain in a trs long enough to receive minimum benefits 7