email : Webview : Annual Member Statements, Social Security Benefits, Elections, & more!

September 2023

Get a roadmap for retirement with your latest member statement

Whether this is your first year of teaching or your 20th, it’s always a good time to start planning for your retirement. Member statements for 2023 are now available in Member Access, and they’re a great roadmap for navigating your future retirement.

Member statements are packed with details, including your salary, contributions, and service credit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023. You will also see your beneficiary designations, accumulated funds and total service credit.

Here’s what else you’ll find:

If you have at least five years of service credit and have not entered DROP, your statement will include projected years of service, retirement benefits and date of retirement eligibility based on the current fiscal year.
If you participated in DROP and continued working, your statement will provide an estimate of your retirement benefit, including your after-DROP supplement.

Accessing your member statement is convenient and easy with TRSL’s secure Member Access.

If you haven’t signed up for Member Access, visit www.TRSL.org to register. Click on the “Member Access” button at the top of the page and follow the instructions for new users.
Once you’re logged into Member Access, select “Member Statements” from the “My Account” drop-down menu.
Need Help? Contact TRSL’s Help Desk at helpdesk@trsl.org or 225-925-6460. Help Desk hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

Important tip: Check your statement for accuracy

Find an error in salary, contributions or service credit? Contact your employer. They may need to submit a correction to us.

Need to update your name, address or beneficiary? Submit the appropriate form. If you’re an active member who hasn’t entered DROP, you can complete name and address changes through Member Access.

RETIREMENT CORNER: Take a crash course on Social Security offsets

Members often ask us how their Social Security benefit will be impacted once they start receiving their TRSL retirement benefit.

Here’s the skinny: If you’re eligible for Social Security benefits through your spouse or another job, these benefits may be reduced or even eliminated upon receiving a TRSL retirement benefit. This is because of federal reductions known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Only the Social Security Administration can answer questions about how your Social Security benefit will be impacted, but we’ve put together resources to help you navigate the issue.

For a deeper dive on this topic, we teamed up with a Social Security Administration representative for an informative webinar that’s available on demand. You’ll get a crash course on the reductions, an online calculator that can help you determine the impact, and more. Visit our YouTube Channel to start watching.

With TRSL’s online resources, you can be confident about planning for your retirement.

Heads up on a cost increase for actuarial calculations

Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, there will be a slight increase in the actuarial calculation fee needed for most purchases of service credit. The fee for a single calculation will increase from $150 to $200. Each additional calculation will still cost $50.

This will be the first fee increase for actuarial calculations in a number of years.

TRSL members can purchase service credit for certain types of teaching service and leaves of absence. Learn more in our guide to Purchases & Transfers of Service Credit.

Fall webinars are here

We know your time is golden, but so is retirement information. Grab a pumpkin latte and your list of retirement questions. We’re offering webinars throughout the fall so you can get all the answers you need to plan a secure financial future.

Join us to learn about DROP, retirment options, and more. See you soon!

Back-to-school checklist: Updating your beneficiary

Welcome to a new school year! It’s that magical time of year when the pencils are freshly sharpened and the dry erase boards are squeaky clean. It’s also a great time to make sure your information with TRSL is current before the busyness of the school year consumes you.

Did you get married over the summer or welcome a child? You may want to update your beneficiary(ies). Don’t worry. It’s easy to cross this one off your back-to-school checklist.

Here’s how to do it in two simple steps:

Fill out a Beneficiary Designation for Non-Retired Members (Form 3)
Mail the form to our office at the address listed on the top of the form.

Tip: Include ALL beneficiaries you want to designate, not just the new one you're adding. Each form received will take the place of any previously submitted beneficiary forms.

2023 legislative session recap

The 2023 Regular Legislative Session resulted in the passage of landmark legislation that aims to help protect the purchasing power of your future TRSL retirement benefit.

Act 184, sponsored by Sen. Ed Price and co-sponsored by Senate President Page Cortez, creates a more predictable and straightforward way of funding future permanent benefit increases (PBIs), also known as cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).

Under the new law, future PBIs will be funded directly through the contribution rate of TRSL-participating employers rather than based on the retirement system’s investment performance.

The change was made because of concerns that the current method of funding PBIs is both unpredictable and complicated. A complete primer on the changes is available online.

Payments toward UAL

Through Act 397 by Rep. Jerome Zeringue, $50.7 million was appropriated to TRSL’s initial unfunded accrued liability (IUAL)—retirement debt that existed as of June 30, 1988 and must be paid off by 2029.

In other legislation aimed at paying down debt, Act 107 by Rep. Richard Nelson is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require at least 25% of nonrecurring state revenue to be appropriated to the unfunded accrued liabilities (UALs) of the four state retirement systems. It will go before voters in a statewide election set for Oct. 14, 2023.

Social Security offsets

House Concurrent Resolution 67 by Rep. Mike Johnson asks Congress to review federal Social Security benefit reductions—the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) —and eliminate or reduce them by supporting H.R. 82 and S.597 of the 118th Congress and all similar legislation.

House Concurrent Resolution 69 by Rep. Mike Johnson requests the Senate and House retirement committees study benefit options for future state employees to avoid federal GPO/WEP Social Security benefit reductions.

Investments

House Concurrent Resolution 70 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu requests the state treasurer and the state’s public retirement systems report on their investment advisors/companies known to discriminate against the fossil fuel industry through environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.

House Concurrent Resolution 110 by Rep. Blake Miguez requests the boards of the state’s public retirement systems uphold their fiduciary duty when making financial decisions and not allow ESG policies to influence investment decisions.

Public meetings

Act 393 by Sen. Sharon Hewitt requires certain public bodies to adopt rules and procedures to allow individuals with disabilities or their caregivers to participate in meetings electronically, if requested prior to the meeting; and members of the public body with disabilities to electronically participate and vote in meetings. The new law also provides the option for certain public bodies to hold meetings by electronic means, subject to certain restrictions and requirements.

What’s new with the TRSL Board of Trustees?

Several active member seats were up for election this year.

In District 3, Tia T. Mills, Ed. D., was re-elected without opposition to her seat representing active members employed in Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.

Voting results will be announced soon for District 2 (Orleans, St. Tammany and Washington parishes) and District 4 (Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Webster parishes).

Special election: This fall, West Feliciana Parish Superintendent Hollis Milton will be sworn in as the board representative for active members employed as city or parish school superintendents. Milton will serve the remainder of former Tensas Parish Superintendent Paul E. Nelson’s term. Milton was elected without opposition in a special election called after Nelson’s retirement.

Head’s up for next year! In 2024, there will be elections for the following active member seats on the TRSL Board of Trustees:

District 5: Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Franklin, Jackson, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Union, West Carroll, and West Feliciana parishes
District 6: Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Evangeline, Grant, Jefferson Davis, LaSalle, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Landry, St. Martin, Vernon, West Baton Rouge, and Winn parishes

Think you might be interested in running for the TRSL Board of Trustees? We’ve compiled resources to answer questions you may have about serving on the board. Check out our webinar and FAQ for candidate eligibility requirements, financial information and monthly meeting expectations.

Feel good about your retirement plan

Are you ready for some really good news? As a member of TRSL, you’re on the path to a secure financial future. With every paycheck you’re saving for a retirement that will provide you with a reliable source of income once you’re eligible to retire.

Remember... your TRSL retirement is a very important part of your total employment compensation package. Watch our YouTube video to learn more about the value of your TRSL retirement.