Click here to make the text smaller
Once you decide to retire and meet the eligibility requirements for monthly benefits, there are certain steps which must be taken to begin the retirement process.
Monthly retirement benefits are effective the first day of any month; however, a retirement application must be signed, dated, and filed at least one day and not more than 120 days prior to the effective date of retirement.
Approximately 90 to 120 days before your planned retirement date, you should complete a Form 6, "Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit." Please see the guides on the Form 6 for additional detailed information about the retirement process.
If you contribute to the Retirement System during the six months before your effective date of retirement, your employer should complete the employer certification section (Section H) of the Form 6, "Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit," before the form is sent to the Retirement System.
If you have contributed to the Retirement System during the six months before your effective date of retirement and your employer has not completed the employer certification section, the Retirement System will then have to request this information from your employer, which will delay the processing of your application.
Upon receipt of your Form 6, "Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit," the Retirement System will send you an acknowledgment letter which will include instructions on your next steps in the retirement process. You will also be sent a Form 170, “Authorizing Direct Deposit,” and, if you are a Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System retiree, you will be sent a Form HM, “Selecting Health Coverage Through The State Health Plan.”
In addition, you will have an opportunity to elect coverage under the optional $10,000 Contributory Death Benefit for Retired Members. Your election must be made within 60 days from the effective date of your retirement. Information about the cost and coverage provisions will be sent to you shortly after the Retirement System receives your retirement application.
You will later receive an estimate of the maximum allowance you can receive and the payment options. Along with the estimates, you will receive a Form 6E: “Choosing Your Retirement Payment Option” (Form 6E sample) and "Choosing Income Tax Withholding Preferences" form (Form 290).
On the “Choosing Your Retirement Payment Option” form (Form 6E sample), you will choose your payment plan. Return the completed Form 6E directly to the Retirement System. Please note that the Retirement System will not be able to pay monthly retirement benefits to you until we have received your properly completed Form 6E. Please also note that if you elect not to respond within 90 days after preliminary option figures for retirement and Form 6E have been mailed to you, then your Form 6, “Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit," is void and a new Form 6 must be filed.
Finally, you will receive a Form 336, "Designating Beneficiary(ies) for the Guaranteed Refund as a Retiree."
Will I lose benefits if I am late filing my retirement application?
Monthly retirement benefits are effective the first day of any month. A retirement application must be signed, dated, and filed at least one day and not more than 120 days prior to the effective date of retirement.
A delay in filing the Form 6, “Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit,” could delay the first benefit payment. Since the Retirement System processes retirement applications based on the date they are received, the earlier that you file the Form 6 (within the 120-day period), the sooner you will receive the “Choosing Your Retirement Payment Option” form (Form 6E sample) from our office. In other words, even though you are eligible to file your retirement paperwork just one day prior to the effective date of your retirement, the likelihood of your receiving payment of your retirement benefit within the same month of your effective retirement is greatly diminished. If retroactive benefits are payable, your first benefit payment will then include the amount that you are retroactively entitled to receive as of your effective date of retirement. Therefore, we recommend that after you have made your decision to retire, that you file your Form 6 as close to the 120-day advance period as possible in order to increase the likelihood of receiving a retirement payment within the month for which your retirement is effective.
Please also note that if you elect not to respond within 90 days after preliminary option figures for retirement and Form 6E have been mailed to you, then your “Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit” form, Form 6 is void and a new Form 6 must be filed.
Which optional payment arrangement should I elect at retirement?
The optional payment arrangement you elect at retirement is a personal decision. In making this decision, you should consider your financial needs, the possible financial needs of your beneficiary, if any, your health and the health of your beneficiary. Your decision should never be based on what other members have previously done. For more information about the optional payment arrangements available to you, visit our “Estimate of Benefits” program.
May I change the beneficiary or optional payment plan I selected at any time during the retirement process or after retirement?
You can change your beneficiary for a monthly survivor benefit or payment option at any time prior to cashing your first retirement check but no later than the 25th of the month following the month your first check is mailed. After this time, you will not be allowed to change your beneficiary or payment option, unless: (i) you have elected a survivorship benefit and your beneficiary is your spouse from whom you become divorced after retirement, or (ii) you return to employment covered by the Retirement System from which you retired and contribute to a new retirement account for at least three years. Also, under Option 2 (100% survivorship) and Option 3 (50% survivorship), if at retirementt you designated your spouse for your survivor benefits and this spouse dies before you, and you subsequently remarry, you may name your new spouse as your beneficiary within 90 days of your marriage (and if this change is properly filed with the Retirement System within 120 days of remarriage) under the same option with an additional reduction in your benefit amount. As a retiree, you can change your beneficiary for the guaranteed refund at any time by completing and submitting Form 336. "Designating Beneficiary(ies) for the Guaranteed Refund as a Retiree" to the Retirement System.
I had been retired just a few months when the amount of my retirement benefit changed. Why?
Your retirement benefit is generally based, in part, upon the salary earned and reported to the Retirement System during your last 48 months of employment. Many times, verification of the salary paid for your final month of employment is not received in the Retirement Systems Division until after your first retirement payment has been issued. Consequently, your retirement benefit must be adjusted, either up or down, in the event projected salary figures (provided by your employer prior to your retirement) do not equal the actual payments of salary you received.