Returning to Employment after Separation

If you had terminated employment with a TRS covered employer and refunded your TRS account balance, your tier would change once you resume employment.

Your tier is determined by:

• The date you entered your current TRS membership
• Your “grandfathered” status
• The amount of service credit you had on Aug. 31, 2014

More Resources:

• What Tier Am I?
• TRS Tier Placement Map
• TRS Benefit Handbook: Waiving Rights to Future TRS Retirement Benefits (pdf)

For assistance determining your tier, please contact TRS Benefit Counseling at 1-800-223-8778, Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

A service retiree must have at least 10 years of service credit in TRS at the time of retirement. This service credit may include up to five years of military service credit; but it may not include any other purchased special or equivalent service credit. In addition to the “10 years of service credit” requirement, you must meet one of the following requirements at retirement:

• the sum of your age and years of service credit in TRS equals or exceeds 80 (with at least 10 years of service credit), regardless of whether you had a reduction in the retirement annuity for early age (years of service credit can include all purchased service);

-OR-

• you have 30 or more years of service credit in TRS (including purchased service).
  • TRS-Care Eligibility and Enrollment

To reinstate withdrawn service credit after returning to a TRS reporting employer, you must resume membership in TRS — have an active account and account balance with TRS — and pay all costs for the withdrawn service credit to TRS. The only other way to purchase withdrawn service credit is to go to work for an ERS reporting employer.​ A member is eligible to purchase withdrawn service as soon as they become employed in a TRS covered position and TRS receives their first payroll posted.  We encourage you to purchase the withdrawn service as soon as possible because the longer you wait, the more expensive it will be.

For more information about returning to work after you have withdrawn your TRS Account Balance, visit:

• Service Credit Purchase Brochure (pdf)
• Purchasing Service Credit

If you terminated employment, but did not withdraw funds from your TRS account, your tier would not change.

It is important to keep your contact and beneficiary information current with TRS. You should review your beneficiary designation when significant life events occur such as:

• ​marriage,
• divorce,
• death of a spouse or designated beneficiary, or
• if the beneficiary becomes eligible for Medicaid or other "needs-based" assistance programs. 

A divorce does not automatically revoke your former spouse as beneficiary. 

You can update your beneficiary with TRS at any time by:

• Completing a TRS 15, Designation of Beneficiary (Form TRS15) and mailing it to TRS, or
• Log in to MyTRS to update your beneficiary.

Watch the short Naming A Beneficiary video to learn more about the importance of naming and updating your beneficiary.

You can update your address with TRS at any time by:

• Completing a Change of Address Notification Form (TRS 358) (pdf) and mailing it to TRS, or
• Sending your address to TRS in writing, or
• Log in to MyTRS to update your address.

TRS requires notification in writing when you change your name. There is no TRS form for submitting a name change.

• If you are working for a TRS-covered employer when your name changes, you must officially change your name in your employer's records to ensure that your employer's records and TRS records match.
• In addition, you must provide TRS a written notice when you change your name. The notice must contain your signature and include:
  • A Social Security card showing your new name,
  • A copy of a court order changing your name, or
  • A marriage license that authorizes your name change.

For more information about updating your information with TRS, visit:

Keep Your Information Current

If you resumed employment at a TRS covered employer, you may be able to enroll in TRS-ActiveCare, the health care program for active employees. If you were enrolled in TRS-Care before returning to work, you should cancel that coverage and enroll in TRS-ActiveCare as provided by your employer.

Please note that when you leave your new employment, you may be eligible to enroll in TRS-Care, the program for retired TRS members upon retiring. Visit the TRS-Care Eligibility and Enrollment page for more information.