Career and Technology Teacher Service Credit

​​​​​​Certain career and technology teachers may purchase one or two years of additional TRS service credit. Specifically, such service credit must be for work experience (outside of public education) in a career or technological field for which members are entitled to salary step credit per the requirements of the Texas Education Agency. The law (Section 823.404, Government Code) sets forth certain requirements for establishing work experience service cred​it, including the following:

First, to be eligible, one must currently be a TRS member with at least five years of membership service. Second, one must pay the actuarial present value of the additional annuity benefit that is attributable to the work experience credit.

The law stipulates that members are required to fully fund the cost of this additional benefit and does not differentiate as to levels of experience. The actuarial cost of the enhanced benefit has been determined by TRS’ outside actuary and adopted by the TRS Board of Trustees, as required by law.

The tables used to establish the cost of purchasing service credit reflect increased costs the closer one comes to the date of retirement (i.e., payment of the retirement benefit). Likewise, the cost decreases the farther removed one is from retirement. Like a savings program, early deposit allows one to accumulate value in order to achieve one’s desired savings goal at the time of retirement. However, when one defers a savings program until a time closer to retirement, a much larger payment is required to achieve the same goal. The purchase price for work experience credit, based on the actuarial present value, is similarly higher the longer one defers paying for such service. An illustration of this is listed below.

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