Make Sense of Your Retirement
Understanding your retirement can be hard. There’s a lot to learn and understand. This page will give you some tools to help you plan smarter and be ready when the day comes.
Dependent on your employer, you may have a choice between the TRF Hybrid Plan or the TRF My Choice Plan. If you are choosing you must choose within 60 days of your employment. What's the difference between the two plans?
Hybrid Plan Overview
The TRF Hybrid Plan consists of two separate retirement accounts: a defined benefit (DB) account and a defined contribution (DC) account. Let's explore these.
Defined Benefit (DB)
- The DB or pension, is a guaranteed monthly benefit for vested, qualified retirees.
- 10 years of creditable or eligibility service, or a combination are required to become vested.
- Vested members may receive full pension benefits at:
- Age 65 with 10 years of service
- Age 60 with 15 years of service
- Age 55 with 30 years of service*
*"Rule of 85" Member must be at least 55 and age plus years of service total 85.
Defined Contribution (DC)
- Mandatory 3% of gross wages contributed by you, your employer, or both
- Available as lump sum, direct rollover to another account, systematic withdrawal, or a monthly annuity
- Available upon separation from employment
Retirement Options
Early Retirement: Age 50 to 59 with 15 years of service
Disability Retirement: Disability Retirement: Requires 5 or more years of creditable service, be determined disabled by the Social Security Administration, and be receiving salary and/or employer-provided income protection benefits as of the onset date established by the Social Security Administration.
Retirement while continuing to work: Age 65 with 20 years of service (Millie Morgan) | Age 55 with 20 years of service for elected officials
My Choice Plan Overview
The TRF My Choice Plan Is a defined contribution (DC) only plan. Your balance consists of both employer share and member share contributions.
Members' share contributions are a fixed rate of 3% of gross salary and are 100% vested.
Employer Contribution: Normal cost employer share contribution is 6% (until 6/30/24) for participating employers. Available upon separation of employment and based on full years of participation:
- 1 year = 20% vested
- 2 years = 40% vested
- 3 years = 60% vested
- 4 years = 80% vested
- 5 year = 100% vested
Members are fully vested in the My Choice Plan with 5 years of service and are eligible for retirement at age 62
Retirement Options
Available as a lump sum, a direct rollover to another plan or a lifetime monthly annuity (minimum account balance required).
Disability: Full withdrawal of 3% mandatory contributions and vested percentage of employer contributions.
See More
How is a Pension Calculated
Let's use an example to see how a pension benefit is calculated. We'll follow a member from getting hired through retirement. Let's say that member's name is INPRSon. Now, let's see how our friend does.
Meet INPRSon
INPRSon: By the Numbers
High 5 salary
(Average of 5 highest salaries)x
Years of Service
x
State Law Mandated 1.1%
Annual Amount Divided by 12 months
Monthly Benefit
Enter INPRSon's numbers into the calculator
INPRSon Calculator
State mandated 1.1% is included in this calculation. Calculations are for demonstration purpose only. For a more accurate retirement calculation go to our calculator page.
INPRSon gets hired & has 60 days to decide between Hybrid or My Choice plan.
INPRSon reads the documents found here.
INPRSon chooses the Hybrid Plan so they have both a DB and a DC account.
INPRSon stays engaged by logging into their personal account and reading quarterly and annual statements.
INPRSon retires at age 55 with 30 years of service and has accumulated additional money in a DC account.
INPRSon retires with an average salary of $73,500 for the last 5 years.
Summary of TRF Membership
The Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF) was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 1921. Members of TRF include teachers in a public school corporation, certain INPRS employees, and some employees in charter schools, innovation schools, turnaround schools, and public universities. The purpose of TRF is to provide retirement income for the exclusive benefit of eligible employees of participating employers and their designated beneficiaries. TRF Hybrid benefits are made of two parts: a defined benefit (DB) and a defined contribution (DC) account. The TRF My Choice Plan is the DC account-only alternative to the TRF Hybrid plan and is available for members who become first-time participants in TRF at a school corporation or a state agency.
Below are common resources for TRF Hybrid and My Choice Plan members.
TRF Hybrid Plan
Joining TRF under the Hybrid Plan
Working as a member of the Hybrid Plan
Collecting Retirement Benefits under the Hybrid Plan
TRF My Choice: Retirement Savings Plan
Joining TRF under the My Choice Plan
Working as a member of the My Choice Plan
Leaving Your My Choice Plan-covered Job
Collecting Retirement Benefits under the My Choice Plan
Top TRF Membership FAQs
