Educate Yourself

I'm Ready To Retire

The Retirement Process

Well in advance of your date of retirement, we recommend you contact TRS for a retirement benefit estimate and to discuss the various plans of retirement. If you are considering retiring within the next two years, we recommend that you speak with one of our retirement counselors. We also encourage you to use the self-service Account Management website to generate benefit estimates using real data from your TRS account.  It’s easy, you can generate multiple retirement scenarios, and you get results immediately!

Apply for Retirement Online--NOW AVAILABLE

To make our services faster, friendlier, and easier, you may now apply for retirement online via your TRS account. Completing and submitting the application online will expedite the processing of your retirement. We encourage you to begin the retirement process six (6) months prior to the date you wish to retire (TRS will accept applications no earlier than six (6) months and no later than the end of the month in which your retirement is to become effective).
 
Your effective date of retirement can be no earlier than:

• the first of the month following the establishment of enough service credit required for retirement eligibility, or
• the first of the month following your termination from your TRS covered employment.

Your employer will have to submit several forms to our office as part of the retirement application process, all of which must be completed accurately and completely before your application can be processed. TRS will conduct a final audit of your account once your online application has been submitted and all employer forms are received to verify the accuracy of salary and contributions reported to TRS.  Once these steps have been completed, your application for retirement will be accepted. If your first benefit payment is processed in a month later than the month of your retirement, the payment will be made retroactive to your date of retirement.

Service Credit
If you need to purchase additional service to be eligible for retirement, your retirement date will be the first of the month after you have purchased the needed service credit. If you are eligible to retire and purchase additional service credit, you must purchase the service no later than the last business day of your retirement month; however, waiting until the last business day will delay the processing of your retirement paperwork.

All service must be established by the member prior to retirement. Once your retirement becomes effective, you will no longer be eligible to purchase additional service credit. Beneficiaries of deceased members cannot purchase additional service credit.

Summer Retirement
Due to the large volume of retirements at the end of each school year, the deadlines for summer retirements are:

Of course we recommend getting your application to TRS six (6) months prior to your date of retirement to avoid any delays.

Health and Dental Benefits
If you are currently enrolled in the State Health Benefit Plan or have dental coverage through the Georgia Flexible Benefits Program, you may continue coverage under these plans after retirement. Visit Health/Dental Coverage for more information. TRS does not determine eligibility or administer health and dental benefits, but merely deducts these payments from your retirement benefit.

TRS Retirement Handbook
To help make the retirement process as easy as possible, we have created the TRS Retirement Handbook. This handbook contains all of the information you need to know and to apply for retirement, including the forms necessary to process your retirement. You may also obtain just the forms necessary for retirement, if you do not want to download the entire Retirement Handbook.