Later this week, ATRS will begin mailing 2024 Annual Statements to our Active members and Vested Inactive members. If you are not retired and not in T-DROP, and you earned service credit in the 2023-2024 school year by working for one of our covered employers, you should receive a 2024 Annual Statement in the mail.
Because we have more than 80,000 Statements to send, we will be mailing them in batches over the next several weeks. So, it may be late October before you receive your Statement.
This year’s Annual Statement will look a little different because we have redesigned it to be easier to read and understand. It will be printed in a larger typeface, so if you’re like me and rely on bifocals, you won’t be squinting as much. The new Statement is still one sheet of paper, but there will be information printed on both front and back.
The reason we send a Statement each year is so that you can verify that we correctly recorded all of your wages and service credit for the last school year. 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 are ready to retire, but they have discovered that some of their service was not reported to ATRS. Sometimes these problems can be fixed, but the longer you wait, the more troublesome it can be. When this happens, it can mean a delay before you can retire while we work to resolve the issue. And it can sometimes even result in a reduced retirement benefit. By reviewing your Statement, you can be assured that we have your correct wages and service credit for this most recent school year.
Your Statement will have a section with a heading that begins, “Service Recorded for Fiscal Year Ending.” There you will find the wages and service credit that your employer reported to ATRS for the last year that you worked for that employer. And on the back page, you will find up to 30 years of your ATRS credited service, with the most recent service listed first. 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.
A few other things to keep in mind about your Annual Statement:
Video Help: We have produced a video walk-through to help you understand your Annual Statement. When you receive your Statement, use your smartphone to scan the QR code at the top right of the Statement and it will take you to the video.
Beneficiaries: The Statement will list your designated beneficiaries for the lump-sum death benefit as well as for your account residue (residue means any accumulated member contributions remaining at your death that have not been used to pay your retirement benefits). 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:
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.
Milestones: 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, 2024, based on your status and how much credited service you have earned with ATRS.
Timing: You should expect to receive your Annual Statement by the end of October. If you have not received your Statement by November 1, 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 benefits received during 2024.
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. And if you have any concerns or questions about the System as a whole, please contact me at the email address or phone numbers below.
Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057