Spring is in the air and several ATRS members are ready to begin a new phase of life as a new retiree or a new T-DROP participant. ATRS had 2,930 new retirees and 656 new T-DROP participants in the 2013 fiscal year. If you are enter either group for 2014, then ATRS is here to help you through the process and make it as simple as possible. First, ATRS thanks you for your dedicated service to the schools of Arkansas! Now, ATRS is ready to give you information that may be helpful as you enter this special time in your life. ATRS also hopes that each ATRS employer will consider forwarding this Executive Director update to all of its employees in order to assist the employees in the retirement process.
This is the annual Retirement Planner and T-DROP There is also helpful information for retirees, T-DROP participants, contributory members, noncontributory members, inactive vested members, and future members. Please read about the superior benefits and rights that you have as a member of ATRS. This should be a very positive and helpful planner for all ATRS members. On behalf of the ATRS Board, I want to thank all 2014 retirees for your dedicated service to education in Arkansas and wish you the best in retirement. Just as when you were an active member, ATRS will be here to serve you. New retirees can enjoy the third R of the 3R's of ATRS, the Reward for a career in public education.
Retirement and T-DROP Planner
Many ATRS members are contemplating whether July 1, 2014, should be their official date to enter T-DROP or to retire. Other members may be thinking about a retirement date in the future. It is time to pause, reflect, and understand that ATRS is here to help you make one of the most important decisions in your lifetime. ATRS is here to help in any capacity it can.
List of Attachments
- Employer Notice
- Retirement Planner
- Retirement FAQs
- T-DROP FAQs
Exciting Information for Members
If you are considering retiring or entering T-DROP this year, this update is full of detailed information. Even if you are not retiring or entering T-DROP you will find useful information about your retirement system. ATRS staff is here to serve you. You should always call, email, or come by ATRS when you have a question or concern. If you need more information, please feel free to call me on my direct line at (501) 682-1820, my cell at (501) 318-5998, or email me at georgeh@artrs.gov. In addition, if you use Twitter, you can follow events at ATRS and issues of interest by finding the Twitter ID of ATRS at https://twitter.com/ATRS or find George Hopkins in the Twitter directory.
Also remember that you can go to the ATRS website at: http://artrs.gov/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=registers and sign up to get updates from ATRS automatically on your public or private email address, or both. The update attached to this email is also available on the ATRS website under executive director updates. Over 4,100 people have already signed up to receive this type of email update and other ATRS information via this email list.
You can also get helpful ATRS information on the ATRS Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/arkansasteacherretirementsystem under the name of Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Approximately 1400 Facebook users get updates via the ATRS Facebook page. Go to the Facebook page and "like" ATRS to get daily updates. I try to go to the Facebook page every day to answer member questions about ATRS.
Respectfully,
George Hopkins
Click on the following document(s) for more information:
Employer Notice
Retirement Planner
FAQ: Retirement
FAQ: T-DROP