It is crucial to consider how you will position yourself to live a prosperous and healthy life as you plan your work and retirement. Nonetheless, teachers in the state of Arkansas give less weight to these factors. Teachers in Arkansas are better equipped to handle health and retirement difficulties because of a comprehensive support structure that offers many advantages. The state of Arkansas guarantees the strength of its teacher workforce by providing them with a multitude of options for their retirement system and health care.
Arkansas Teacher Retirement
After being hired by an Arkansas public school or institution, teachers are automatically enrolled in Arkansas’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS). The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System was created in 1937 as a defined benefit plan to provide teachers with lifetime income support.
In Arkansas, retirement eligibility is determined by your age and number of years of service:
- 28 years or more of service, regardless of age
- 25 to 27 years of service, regardless of age (benefits lowered)
- At age 60, five to twenty-four years of service
Teachers can select a contributing or non-contributory benefit path through the Arkansas TRS. Teachers who choose the contributing path pay 6% of their income into the state retirement fund, which increases in value over time. Although their employers match this amount, the percentage stays the same.
Upon retirement, the contributed funds are placed in a diverse portfolio of fixed assets and stocks, with the option to access them as a lifetime annuity.
Teachers who choose the non-contributory plan earn a lower annuity but do not have to contribute a percentage of their wages to the retirement fund. The payout method is a key distinction between annuities with a contribution fund and those without one. Benefits are distributed to contributory and non-contributory members using the same formula:
Formula for Distributing Benefits
Credit for Years of Service
Multiplied by
Final Average Pay (Highest Three Years)
Multiplied by
(2.15% Contributory) Multiplier (1.39% Non-contributory)
For instance, your anticipated retirement income would be $1,866.67 if you were a contributed member who worked for 25 years and retired with an average salary of $40,000. The ATRS has a retirement calculator you can use to see how different factors can affect your monthly salary.
The Arkansas Employee Benefits Division oversees retiree health insurance benefits; the ATRS does not handle them. ARBenefits Retiree is the insurance benefit scheme synchronizing coverage with Medicare A and B. The Employee Benefits Division offers more details on the specifics of these perks.
Obtaining Reasonably Priced Health Insurance
Teachers in Arkansas are eligible for the benefits program, which offers them a variety of health insurance policies to select from. Teachers with different qualifications are given access to three main schemes. Instructors select one of the following plans:
ARBenefits Gold
It has the highest monthly premium cost for the member but offers the greatest benefits with the lowest co-pays, co-insurance, and $0 deductible. Health Advantage provides this plan’s network.
ARBenefits Silver
Offers a monthly premium that is less with a $750 deductible. This plan, which combines the elements of the Gold and Bronze plans, gives teachers a substantial yet affordable option. This plan’s network is provided by Qualchoice.
Bronze ARBenefits
The lowest rate, most economical health insurance plan with a $1500 deductible. Prescriptions and medical treatments are subject to the deductible; there are also no co-pays with this plan. This plan’s network is provided by Health Advantage.
Think about a reasonably typical medical service, like delivering a newborn, as an example. ARBenfits Gold Plan will pay about $5,782 of the $7,540 total cost if you go to the hospital for a birth. The patient would only have to pay $1,750 under this plan. But with the Bronze plan, the insurance would only cover $4,840 of the total; the remaining $2,450 would be your responsibility.
Medical Procedures The ARBenefits Program Covers
- Vaccination
- Medical Services
- Inpatient Stays and Outpatient Treatment
- Coverage for Prescription Drugs
- Services for Behavioral and Mental Health
- Rehabilitating
- Emergency Medical Attention
Every plan covers most emergency treatment but typically excludes additional health services like dental and eye care.
The Benefits program does not provide coverage for the following services:
- The use of acupuncture
- Cosmetic Surgery
- Dental Health
- Treatment for Infertility
- Extended-Duration Care
- Individualized Day Nursing
- Period of Termination and Separation
Act 743 of 2009 defines the Termination Separation time, which is a fairly restrictive legal period that the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System carefully enforces. You must remain separated from ATRS employment until the separation period applicable to your situation has ended starting on the effective date of retirement, which is typically July 1st. The effective date of retirement is not when you left your Arkansas Teacher Retirement System-covered employer; rather, it is the first day of the month you receive your first retirement check.
Public schools in Arkansas (including charter schools), state agencies with an interest in education, colleges, universities, and post-secondary institutions are among the employers covered by the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.
Working is not the only thing that termination separation implies. Until the Termination Separation time ends, you are not permitted to sign any contracts or make any agreements. During the term of Termination Separation, you are not permitted to apply for a position with an Arkansas Teacher Retirement System -covered employer. Regarding future employment, you cannot have any understanding or agreement with the district. It is illegal for you to perform indirect labor for an organization that is part of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System via an LLC, Partnership, Corporation, Independent Contractor, or any other Legal Entity in which you maintain significant influence over the relationship between the employer and employee. You cannot substitute one day or one hour!
Arkansas Teacher Retirement: FAQs
How long must you teach in Arkansas before you can retire?
Depending on your age and number of years of service, you may retire in Arkansas: 28 years or more of service, regardless of age. 25 to 27 years of service, regardless of age (benefits lowered) at 60 years old, five to 24 years of service.
Who is eligible for retirement from teaching in Arkansas?
Act 107 of 2023 will take effect on July 1, 2023. The age of 65 with five or more years of credited service, OR if the member is at least sixty years old and their age plus their total years of credited service add up to 98 or more, is considered the normal retirement age.
If I resign, what would happen to my retirement as an Arkansas teacher?
You are entitled to a reimbursement of your contributions plus interest if you leave a covered employer. Accepting these monies, however, will result in the cancellation of ALL beneficiary designations, ALL membership privileges, and ALL service credits—both contributory and noncontributory.
Do educators in Arkansas pay Social Security payments?
The total amount contributed is adequate; companies contribute 6.44% and employees contribute 6% toward retirement. Teachers in Arkansas are also enrolled in Social Security. Teachers who have dedicated their careers to teaching have good replacement rates.
In Conclusion Arkansas Teacher Retirement
Enforcing the termination separation standards is something that the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System takes very seriously. In their capacity as administrators for the members of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Details on the termination separation period are provided below. It is highly recommended that you get formal approval from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System if you have any questions so that mistakes are avoided.
Since the member must reapply for retirement and repay any benefits from the voided retirement, failing to properly terminate and adhere to the termination separation time can have a severe financial impact on the member.
Yet more, you must receive formal authorization from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System before returning to work.
