Retirement handbook [2007]

Your dream is about to become a reality!
Retirement Handbook
Everything you need to know about and to apply for your retirement

what's inside

Everything You Need to Know About Applying for Retirement with TRS

letter from the director 2

retirement checklist

3

retirement factsheet

4

health & dental benefits

5

retirement plans

6

partial lump-sum option 9

types of creditable service 11

unused sick leave credit 14

working after retirement

16

glossary of terms

18

application for service retirement 23

special tax notice

27

plop rollover election form 31

designation of multiple beneficiaries 33

sick leave certification

35

retirement certification report 37

tax form information

40

state tax form G-4

41

federal tax form W-4P

43

TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
Two Northside 75 Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30318 (404) 352-6500 (800) 352-0650 www.trsga.com


coonnygoruar treutliaretmioennts

Y ou are about to embark on what we hope will be a long and happy retirement. It is finally time for you to enjoy the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) benefits for which you have worked so hard throughout your years of service. This retirement handbook contains the information and forms you need to apply for your TRS retirement benefit.
Please read through this handbook carefully and be sure to reference the Retirement Checklist before submitting your forms to TRS to make sure you have completed everything necessary for us to process your retirement. Should you need additional copies of any forms contained in this handbook, you can download them from our website at www.trsga.com or you may call our office to request copies.
We are pleased to have you as a member and look forward to providing you with guidance and benefits throughout your retirement. We are here to inform you about your benefits, to ensure that your benefits are paid accurately and on time, and to update you on new information about TRS and legislation that may impact your benefits.

You are always welcome to call or visit the TRS office if you have questions. We also attend various educational related association meetings throughout the state and would be happy to meet you and answer any questions you may have. Also, please visit our website at www.trsga.com periodically to manage/view your retirement account and receive the latest news about TRS.
Thank you for your many years of dedication to the education of our children. We look forward to working with you and your employer to ensure that your retirement is processed both accurately and timely. At TRS, our goal is to make your retirement as easy as possible, leaving you free to enjoy your retirement.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey L. Ezell Executive Director

Contacting the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia

The Teachers Retirement System of Georgia is proud to serve its members. Should you need to contact us for anything, you may reach us in a variety of ways.

Website: Phone: Fax: Email: Office:
Call Center Hours: Office Hours:

www.trsga.com (404) 352-6500 or (800) 352-0650 (404) 352-4885 inquiry@trsga.com Two Northside 75, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30318-7901 Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST



rechtiercekmliset nt
Below is a list, along with a description, of the forms you will need when applying for your TRS retirement benefit. You will find detailed instructions on each form. Please be sure to review the instructions carefully when completing each form. There are forms that you must complete and submit to TRS, as well as forms that you are responsible for having your employer complete and send to TRS, before your retirement can be processed. If you have any questions about the completion of these forms, please call TRS.
Please use this sheet as a checklist to make sure you have completed everything TRS requires to process your retirement. Please mail all forms to TRS in the enclosed envelope.
Application for Service Retirement
This form must be filled out completely and received in our office, along with the proper identification listed in the instructions, in order for TRS to process your retirement.
Partial Lump-Sum Option (PLOP) Rollover Election
This form must be completed and submitted to TRS if you elect to directly roll over all or a portion of a partial lump-sum distribution.
Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries
This form should only be completed if you want to designate more than one beneficiary to receive any funds remaining at the time of your death.
Sick Leave Certification
The retirement process requires TRS receive a Sick leave Certification form from each of your employers, past and present, for verification of any unused sick leave that may be used for service credit toward your retirement. You are responsible for ensuring all employers receive and complete a copy of this form and send it in to TRS. Please note: In most cases, sick leave credit will be determined after you are placed on a retirement payroll, and any benefit increase will be paid retroactively to your date of retirement.
For details on how sick leave is calculated when accurate records are not available, please refer to the Unused Sick Leave Credit section entitled "Calculation--When Records Don't Exist" in this booklet for details.
Retirement Certification
This form is to be completed by your employer and certifies your monthly salary and contributions, as well as your last date of employment. You are responsible for ensuring your last employer receives and completes a copy of this form and sends it to TRS. The processing of your application cannot be completed without this form.
Federal and State Tax Withholding Certificates
Form W-4P Federal Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments and Form G-4 State of Georgia Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate allow you to designate the taxes to be withheld from your monthly benefit. You only have to complete the bottom of the W4-P and the top of the G-4 forms, and submit to TRS. Please note: The instructions on the forms ask you to detach or cut a portion of the page for submitting. We ask that you please submit the entire page of the document. This allows our staff to expedite the imaging of the documents into your records.


refatcirteshmeeetnt
If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to visit our website for the latest retirement information and to access to your TRS account. Not only will you find detailed information about retirement, but you may generate various retirement scenarios using actual data from your TRS account.
To access this self-service website, go to www.trsga.com, click on the Active Member tab and then click the Account Management button. If you already have an account, log in and go to the Generate Benefit Estimate section to begin entering your information. If you are new to the site, you must register for an account before accessing this feature. Accessing your personal TRS account will also allow you to view your personal account information, update your mailing address and calculate the cost to purchase service.
Important information regarding the TRS retirement process is highlighted below. For more details, we encourage you to visit our website or contact a TRS Customer Service Representative.
1. Your effective date of retirement cannot be earlier than the first of the month following the final
month of your TRS covered employment. If you submit your retirement application after your date of retirement, your effective date of retirement will be the first of the month in which the application is received in the TRS office. An application for service retirement will be returned to you if it is received at TRS more than 180 days (6 months) in advance of your effective date of retirement.
2. Retirement applications are processed on a New Retirement Payroll during the middle of each
month. During the processing of your application, you will receive a letter indicating the payroll date we anticipate for your first check.
3. In order to complete the processing of your application, you must have a complete retirement file at
TRS. Your file is considered complete when you have done the following: 1) purchased or declined all allowable service; 2) submitted, and TRS has received, all retirement forms; and 3) resolved all inconsistent reporting, if any, of your salary and contributions with your employer. If your file is completed after the effective date of your retirement, your first check will contain monthly benefits retroactive to your retirement date. Note: The earlier you submit your application and complete your file, the more likely you are to be placed on payroll during the effective month of your retirement. Your retirement file must be complete no later than 30 days prior to your effective retirement date to be considered for payroll in the effective month of your retirement. If the processing of your retirement is delayed beyond your retirement date, it will be processed on another month's New Retirement Payroll and benefits paid will be retroactive to your effective retirement date.
If you anticipate a June or July retirement date, we request that you submit your application for retirement during January or February if possible. These months tend to be our busiest retirement processing months, and submitting them six months in advance allows TRS staff sufficient time to process your retirement paperwork prior to your actual retirement date.
Summer retirees should purchase any additional service and submit all retirement documents as soon as possible after January 1st. Summer payroll deadlines are listed on our website.
continued on next page


retirement
factsheet cont.
4. If you need to purchase additional service to be eligible for retirement, your retirement date will be
the first of the month after you have purchased the needed service credit. If you are eligible to retire and purchase additional service credit, you must purchase the service no later than the last business day of your retirement month; however, waiting until the last business day will delay the processing of your retirement paperwork. All service must be established by the member prior to retirement. Once your retirement becomes effective, you will no longer be eligible to purchase additional service credit. Beneficiaries of deceased members cannot purchase additional service credit.
5. Your first retirement benefit payment will be mailed to you as a paper check. The next payment will
be electronically deposited into your account and you will be notified of this transfer. After this, you will not receive a monthly checkstub. You may, however, review your payment history via your personal TRS account (in the Account Management section of the website) anytime. We will send you a "change notice" whenever a change occurs to your benefit or deductions.
6. TRS does not administer health or dental care benefits for retired members or determine eligibil-
ity to participate in a health or dental plan during retirement. TRS does not provide information regarding the filing of claims. Retiring members should direct all questions regarding health and dental insurance to their health or dental plan provider.
If you decide to continue your health care coverage in retirement with Georgia's State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP), the Department of Community Health will notify TRS of your eligibility and we will deduct the monthly premium from your benefit payment. TRS does not determine eligibility for participation in the SHBP and does not provide information on the filing of claims. Specific health plan questions should be addressed to the State Health Benefit Plan by calling (404) 6566322 or (800) 610-1863.
Employees of the University System under the Board of Regents (BOR), will need to contact their benefits office about health and dental coverage. TRS does not deduct monthly premiums for BOR retirees.
7. If you have any questions concerning anything in this booklet, please contact our office at (404)
352-6500 or (800) 352-0650. Additional forms and information are available on our website at www.trsga.com.


retiprleamnsent
When applying for retirement, you must designate a plan of retirement on the Application for Retirement form. Your choice will determine whether you receive the maximum benefit available to you, or if monthly benefits will be provided for your beneficiary(ies) after your death with a reduced benefit to you during your lifetime. This decision is extremely important because your plan of retirement is a permanent decision that cannot be changed after your effective date of retirement (except under very limited circumstances outlined in Georgia law). Please read each of the plan descriptions very carefully and be sure of your choice. To estimate your monthly lifetime benefit, you may use the Generate Benefit Estimate function on our website, www.trsga.com, or you may contact our office directly. TRS encourages our retiring members to direct all retirement questions, except for health and dental insurance, directly to our office. (Health insurance questions should be presented to the Department of Community Health and dental insurance questions to the Flexible Benefits Program.) To schedule an appointment or to speak with one of our Customer Service Representatives, please call (404) 352- 6500 or (800) 352-0650.
Under the provisions of Georgia law, if you die within 30 days of your effective date of retirement, you will be considered an active member at the time of your death. Your account will be settled as a death in service in accordance with the beneficiary and death payment designation(s) on file with TRS. Once your application is received by TRS, your beneficiary designation(s) will considered valid.
Plan A - Maximum Plan This plan provides you with the largest monthly benefit during your lifetime. Under this plan, the total of your contributions and interest at the time of your retirement will be reduced each month by your full gross monthly benefit. At your death, all monthly benefits stop. If your death occurs prior to your having been paid the total monthly benefits equal to your accumulated contributions and interest in TRS, the balance of your accumulated contributions and interest will be paid in a lump sum to the beneficiary(ies) designated on your retirement application. In most cases, your contributions and interest will be depleted within 18 months of retirement; however, your benefits will be continued throughout your life. If there is no surviving beneficiary(ies) on file at TRS at the time of your death, any applicable refund would be paid to your estate. If you select this plan, you may change your beneficiary designations at any time after retirement.
Plan B - Optional Plans (Survivorship) At retirement, TRS offers the ability to choose from six other plans in addition to the Maximum Plan. If you select one of the survivorship plans of retirement, you can only change your retirement plan and/or designation of beneficiary(ies) after retirement if: 1) your beneficiary(ies) predeceases you; 2) your spouse is listed as beneficiary and you get divorced; or 3) you terminate your retirement, become a member again, and subsequently retire again. Only under these circumstances, as stated in Georgia law, can you change your plan of retirement and/or beneficiary(ies) designation.
continued on next page


retiprleamnseconnt. t
Plan B - Option 1 Plan B Option 1 offers a lifetime monthly benefit slightly reduced from the maximum amount. Under this plan, the total of your contributions and interest at the time of your retirement will be reduced each month by only the portion of your total gross benefit made up of your contributions and interest. At your death, all monthly benefits stop. However, any remaining employee contributions and interest will be refunded to your designated beneficiary(ies) or your estate. In most cases, your contributions and interest will be depleted within 10 to 14 years after retirement, but your benefits will continue throughout your life. You may change your beneficiary designation at any time after retirement. If you have named your spouse as beneficiary and you become divorced, you may change your plan of retirement.
Survivorship Plans Under Plan B, TRS offers the following five options that allow you to provide a continuing monthly benefit to a survivor(s) after your death. If you select a survivorship plan, the amount of your monthly benefit will be reduced actuarially to allow for the monthly payment for life, both to you, and then after your death, to your designated beneficiary(ies). The amount of the reduction in monthly benefits (cost of the option) depends on your age and the age of your beneficiary(ies). The age of the beneficiary(ies) will influence the amount of your retirement benefit under Options 2, 3, and 4. The younger the beneficiary(ies), the smaller the monthly benefit (the cost of the option is greater).
Plan B - Option 2 Plan B Option 2 offers a reduced monthly lifetime benefit based on your age and the age of your beneficiary(ies). This option guarantees that at your death, your named beneficiary(ies), if living, will receive a lifetime benefit equal to the monthly benefit you received at retirement, plus applicable increases received during your retirement prior to your death. You may designate multiple beneficiaries to receive lifetime monthly benefits and specify the percentage of available benefits to be paid to each beneficiary. If you select two or more beneficiaries, and one predeceases you, the percentage of available benefits you selected for the remaining beneficiary(ies) will not be adjusted. Should your beneficiary(ies) predecease you, your monthly benefit will remain under Option 2 unless you are eligible to change your plan of retirement and/or beneficiary(ies) as outlined herein.
Plan B - Option 2 Pop-Up Plan B Option 2 Pop-Up offers a reduced monthly lifetime benefit based on your age and the age of your beneficiary. If your beneficiary predeceases you, your monthly benefit will be increased to the original Maximum Plan amount plus all increases awarded to you during retirement. Under this option, you can only designate one beneficiary.
Plan B - Option 3 Plan B Option 3 offers a reduced monthly lifetime benefit based on your age and the age of your beneficiary(ies). This benefit guarantees that at your death, your named beneficiary(ies), if living, will receive a lifetime benefit equal to one-half of the benefit you received at retirement plus one-half of the applicable increases received during your retirement prior to your death.
continued on next page


retiprleamnsecontn. t
You may also designate multiple beneficiaries under this option and specify the percentage to be paid to each beneficiary. If two or more beneficiaries are designated to receive monthly benefits, the total amount payable to all beneficiaries cannot exceed one-half of the initial monthly benefit you received at the time of retirement, plus one-half of any cost-of-living increases you received up to the date of your death. Should your beneficiary(ies) predecease you, your monthly benefit will remain under Option 3 unless you are eligible to change your plan of retirement and/or beneficiary(ies) as outlined herein.
Plan B - Option 3 Pop-Up
Plan B Option 3 Pop-Up offers a reduced monthly lifetime benefit based on your age and the age of your beneficiary. If your beneficiary predeceases you, your monthly benefit will be increased to the original Maximum Plan amount plus all increases awarded to you during retirement. Under this option, you can only designate one beneficiary.
Plan B - Option 4 Plan B Option 4 offers a reduced monthly lifetime benefit in exchange for the flexibility to designate a specific dollar amount or a specific percentage of your monthly benefit to be paid to your beneficiary(ies) after your death. The beneficiary benefits you specify under this plan cannot cause your monthly benefit to be reduced below 50% of the maximum benefit available to you. If multiple beneficiaries are designated and one or more beneficiaries predecease you, the dollar amounts or the percentages are not adjusted. Beneficiaries also receive a prorated share of any cost-of-living increases you received up to the date of death.

Plans of Retirement: a summary of advantages and disadvantages.

Reduced Benefit is

Pop-Up Retiree May Change Guaranteed Total of

Plan of Monthly for Life of Monthly Benefit Option Beneficiaries After Member's Contributions

Retirement Benefit Retiree

to Survivor Available

Retirement

& Interest

A - Maximum No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

B - Option 1 Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

B - Option 2 Yes

Yes

Yes, 100% of

Yes

No*

Yes



Retiree's Benefit

B - Option 3 Yes

Yes

Yes, 50% of

Yes

No*

Yes



Retiree's Benefit

B - Option 4 Yes

Yes

Yes, as

No

No*

Yes



Designated by



Member

* For exceptions, please refer to page 7.



poaprttiioanl plulamn p(p-lsoupm)
In an effort to provide you with more choices, TRS offers a Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP) at retirement. In exchange for a permanently reduced lifetime benefit, you can elect to receive a lumpsum distribution in addition to a monthly retirement benefit. Your age and plan of retirement are used to determine the reduction in your benefit. A PLOP distribution will be made as a single payment at the time the first monthly benefit is paid. Based on the amount of the lump-sum distribution, the monthly retirement benefit is then calculated to be the actuarial equivalent of the retirement benefit without a lump-sum distribution.
Eligibility
You are eligible to participate in the Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan if you: 1. have 30 years of creditable service or 10 years of creditable service and attain age 60 (not early retirement). 2. do not retire with disability benefits.
Beneficiary Designations When applying for retirement, you may choose a retirement plan that provides for survivorship benefits. If you elect a survivorship option, you may also choose to receive a lump-sum distribution. Once the lumpsum amount is determined, the reduced monthly benefit will be calculated based on your age and the age of your beneficiary(ies). If you elect a survivorship option and a PLOP distribution, at your death, the beneficiary's benefit will be based on your reduced benefit.
Distribution Options At retirement, you may elect a lump-sum distribution in an amount between 1 and 36 months of your normal monthly retirement benefit. This amount will be calculated under Plan A - Maximum Plan of Retirement and will be rounded up and down to be a multiple of $1,000. If a PLOP distribution is elected, your monthly benefit is actuarially reduced to reflect the value of the PLOP distribution. The combination of both the PLOP distribution and the permanently reduced benefit are the same actuarial value as the unreduced normal benefit alone.
A PLOP distribution can either be rolled over to a financial institution or paid directly to you. Generally, 20% of the lump-sum distribution will be withheld for federal income taxes. However, you may be required to pay more taxes on the distribution depending on your age at retirement. To defer paying taxes on a lumpsum distribution, you may roll over all or a portion of the distribution to another qualified retirement plan or traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA). See the Special Tax Notice for more information (p.29).
Considerations
Before electing a PLOP distribution, TRS encourages you to consider the following:
1. How much will you receive in a lump-sum distribution? 2. How much will your monthly benefit be permanently reduced? 3. Will the reduced monthly benefit be sufficient to cover living expenses throughout retirement? If you are interested in electing a PLOP distribution, TRS encourages you to seek assistance from a financial advisor and tax professional. A lump-sum distribution used to enhance retirement income or savings may merit consideration. A PLOP distribution used to purchase depreciable assets or used for leisure should be given careful consideration as these purchases may compromise your long-term retirement income.
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poaprttiioanl plulamn p(p-sloupm) cont.

PLOP Reduced Benefit Table

Age Reduction per $1,000

A partial lump-sum calculation is determined

50

$6.54

by the following factors: your age at retire-

51

$6.60

ment, the retirement plan you've chosen, and,

52 53

$6.67 $6.73

if you've selected a retirement plan with a sur-

54

$6.81

vivorship option, the age of your beneficiaries.

55

$6.89

The adjacent table identifies the amount a

56

$6.97

57

$7.06

monthly benefit is permanently reduced for

58

$7.16

each $1,000 of a lump-sum distribution.

59

$7.26

60

$7.38

61

$7.50

62

$7.63

63

$7.77

NOTE: Amounts shown in this table are based

64

on Plan A - Maximum Plan of Retirement. If

65 66

you choose any of the other TRS retirement

67

$7.93 $8.09 $8.27 $8.47

plans, the amounts shown will vary.

68

$8.68

69

$8.90

70

$9.15

71

$9.41

72

$9.69

73

$10.00

74

$10.33

PLOP Distribution Example

75

$10.68

A 60-year-old member with a $3,300 monthly retirement benefit under the Maximum Plan elects to take a PLOP at retirement. The member is eligible to choose a PLOP distribution, in $1,000 increments, from $4,000 (1 x $3,300 rounded up to the nearest $1,000) - $118,000 (36 x $3,300 rounded down to the nearest $1,000). This member chooses a $50,000 lump-sum distribution.

Under the Maximum Plan, the cost per $1,000 of the PLOP for a member retiring at age 60 is $7.38 per month, as shown in the above table. This member's monthly cost for a $50,000 payment is $369 (50 x $7.38).

To determine the permanently reduced benefit, subtract $369 from $3,300. The member would receive $2,931 per month as a result of electing the PLOP distribution.

Estimate PLOP Benefit

Because many factors are used to calculate a lump-sum deduction and permanently reduced monthly benefit, TRS recommends that you use the Generate Benefit Estimate function in the Account Management section of our website, www.trsga.com, to get a more accurate calculation of your PLOP distribution and monthly benefit. This calculator allows you to enter the information needed to calculate the PLOP distribution range you are eligible to receive, as well as what your permanently reduced monthly benefit would be if you decide to receive a PLOP. For information on accessing the Account Management section, refer to the top of page 5.

10

types osef rcvriceeditable

To establish any service described in this section, you must have an active TRS account. To be considered an active member, you must have contributed to TRS for at least one year in the last five years. Additionally, beneficiaries of deceased members cannot establish additional service credit; it is the member's responsibility to establish all credit toward retirement. Also, all service credit must be established and paid for prior to retirement.
If you are eligible to establish any of the service types listed in this section, please contact TRS. The cost to purchase eligible service will be calculated and mailed to you.
1. Membership Service
Membership service is normal active service for which you were employed and for which you have made and are making contributions to TRS. Members who have at least nine months of service during a fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) will receive credit for one year of service. If you are employed on a 12-monthsper-year basis, you will receive credit for a year of membership service upon completion of at least nine months of service during the fiscal year ending June 30. You cannot receive credit for more than one year of service in any fiscal year. Members employed by the University System under a semester system will receive credit for one year of service if they have at least eight months of service during a fiscal year.
2. Unused Sick Leave Credit
Please refer to the Unused Sick Leave Credit section in this booklet.
3. Air Time
If you have at least 25 years of service credit established you may purchase up to three years of additional service credit. The cost to purchase the additional service credit is the full actuarial cost of the additional service. Because the cost of Air Time depends on the service you already have, TRS recommends purchasing all other types of service before purchasing Air Time. Should you decide to purchase another type of service credit after Air Time is purchased, you will be billed for any additional cost of the Air Time.

4. Out-of-State Service
After completing six years as a contributing member of TRS, you may establish one year of credit for service rendered in a public educational institution of another state. With the completion of each additional year in Georgia service, you may establish an additional year of Out-Of-State service to a maximum of ten years.
For more information about Out-of-State Service, please refer to the TRS website, www.trsga.com, in the Active Member section and/or the Member's Guide, also available on the TRS website under Publications.

5. Military Service

You can establish up to five years of retirement credit for periods of active duty military service in the armed forces of the United States. Credit can be established for qualified service during periods of national emergency (World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Era), for active duty military service rendered outside the periods of national emergency, for active duty from which you have been honorably discharged, for active duty rendered during any period when a military draft was in effect, and for ordered military duty such as service in "Operation Enduring Freedom."

For official dates and specific conditions that apply to each of the periods listed above, please refer to the

TRS website, www.trsga.com, in the Active Member section and/or the Member's Guide, also available on

the TRS website under Publications.

continued on next page

11

types osfercvriceedcoint.table
6. Private School Employment
You can establish up to 10 years of creditable service for previous employment in an accredited private school within the State of Georgia provided certain criteria are met. In order to establish creditable service for private school employment, you must provide satisfactory documentation to TRS that shows the period of employment and that shows the private school was accredited during that period of employment. For more information, please refer to the TRS website, www.trsga.com, in the Active Member section and/ or the Member's Guide, also available on the TRS website under Publications.
7. PSERS Credit
If you were a member of the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) and you are now a member of TRS, you may establish your PSERS service with TRS. To establish prior PSERS service, your employer must submit a completed Certification of Georgia Service form. Your cost to purchase PSERS service will be the total amount of the employee and employer contributions that would have been contributed had you been a TRS member, plus accrued interest, based on the salary you earned during your PSERS covered employment. Before PSERS service can be purchased, you must withdraw your funds from PSERS. You may not have service credit with TRS and PSERS for the same time period. For more information about PSERS credit, please refer to the TRS website, www.trsga.com, in the Active Member section.
8. Maternity Leave Credit
You can purchase credit for periods of absence from employment due to pregnancy prior to March 5, 1976. One and one-half months of credit may be awarded for each pregnancy with a maximum of six months allowable for all pregnancies. The cost to purchase this service will be the full actuarial cost.
9. Study Leave Credit You can establish Study Leave Credit for periods of full-time graduate study if: You were a full-time teacher in the public schools of Georgia or in the University System of Georgia im-
mediately (not more than six months) prior to the period of full-time graduate study. You returned to full-time employment as a teacher in the public schools of Georgia or in the University
System of Georgia for a minimum of five years following the period of graduate study. You submit a transcript or similar document to TRS as verification of the full-time graduate study period. Any period of eligible graduate study interrupted solely for a period of active duty military service during a period in which the military draft is in effect shall be deemed not to have been interrupted provided you go immediately (not more than six months) into active duty military service.
10. State of Georgia Employment
If you were a member of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) and withdrew your funds, you may purchase this service by paying the amount of contributions you would have contributed had you been a member of TRS, plus accrued interest. You are eligible to purchase your ERS withdrawn service after you have completed the required number of years of active TRS membership. If you have withdrawn:
continued on next page
12

types osfercvriceedcoint.table
10. State of Georgia Employment (cont.)
1, 2, or 3 previous accounts, you must complete 3 years of active membership; 4 previous accounts, you must complete 5 years of active membership; 5 or more previous accounts, you must complete 10 years of active membership. If you have not withdrawn your contributions from ERS, you may transfer your service credit to TRS. Since ERS members and TRS members pay different contribution rates, in order to receive your full service credit from ERS, you must pay the difference in the amount of contributions you would have paid had you been a member of TRS, plus accrued interest. If you transfer your funds from ERS and do not pay the difference, you only will receive credit with TRS for a pro-rata portion of your ERS credit.
11. Visiting Scholar Credit
A maximum of two years of service as a visiting scholar at a public college or university may be established as creditable service if you were granted a leave of absence from a unit of the University System of Georgia for such purpose. Such service must be included in the maximum of 10 years of service allowable under the out-of-state provision of TRS law, and it cannot be established if you are eligible for benefits based on the service from another source, except social security.
12. Withdrawn Accounts If you were a member of TRS and withdrew your funds, you also withdrew your service credit for those years. After you have returned to active TRS membership, you may repay your withdrawn account(s) and reinstate the service credit you withdrew. The cost to purchase withdrawn service is the total amount of money you withdrew, plus accrued interest. You are eligible to purchase your withdrawn service after you have completed the required number of years of active TRS membership. If you have withdrawn: 1, 2, or 3 previous accounts, you must complete 3 years of active membership; 4 previous accounts, you must complete 5 years of active membership; 5 or more previous accounts, you must complete 10 years of active membership
13. Workers Compensation Disability
You may be eligible to establish retirement credit for a temporary disability caused by a job-related disease or accident. The maximum period is twelve months and must be applied for within six months of returning to service following the temporary disability. Documentation for proof of the temporary disability will be required. In most cases, the required documents will be the Employer's First Report of Injury form and the Notice of Payment or Suspension of Benefits.
Payment of Service Purchases
You may pay for eligible service purchases with a personal check, money order, or with a direct rollover from another eligible retirement plan. TRS can accept a rollover from the following plans as defined in the Internal Revenue Code: a qualified retirement plan (401(a), 403(a), or 401(k)), a tax sheltered annuity 403(b), a governmental 457 plan, or a traditional or rollover IRA. TRS cannot accept a rollover from a Roth IRA. TRS has no knowledge of your eligibility for rolling money out of your particular fund. Service can be purchased by a lump-sum payment, in one-year increments, or partial-year increments if you only worked part of a year. No partial payments or monthly installments will be accepted.
13

unusedcrseidcikt leave

Eligibility
As a member of TRS, you may establish sick leave credit at the time of retirement provided that you have a combined minimum of 60 days of unused sick leave from your current and all previous Georgia employers, and that you earned the sick leave credit while in a TRS covered position.
Limitations Unused sick leave credit is allowed for Georgia teaching service. Eligible service includes withdrawn and repurchased Georgia teaching service as well as service purchased or transferred from local retirement plans. Georgia law, however, does not permit unused sick leave credit for the following service:

ERS (Employee's Retirement System) Military Service PSERS (Public School Employees Retirement System

Maternity Leave Out-of-State Study Leave

Creditable sick leave accumulates at a maximum rate of 1-1/4 days per month. If you have worked in a system that awards more than 1-1/4 days per month, your earned total will be reduced to meet this standard. If you have worked in a system that awards fewer than 1-1/4 days per month, no adjustment will be made. If you have questions regarding your sick leave rate of accrual, please contact your employer.
Sick leave cannot be used to achieve a vested status, but it can be added to your creditable service at the time of your retirement (it can be used to complete 30 years of credit). Total creditable service cannot exceed a maximum of 40 years.
Procedure
To have your unused sick leave credited toward your retirement you must complete the member section of the Sick Leave Certification Form (available in this booklet) and forward a copy to each Georgia employer at which you have worked and contributed to TRS for verification of any unused sick leave that may be used for service credit toward retirement. Each system is responsible for completing the form and returning it to TRS, either detailing your unused sick leave or verifying its lack of records.
Calculation--When Records Do Not Exist
For the years where records are not available, TRS will use an average for the periods when the system kept accurate records and apply that average to the periods when records are not available. If an employer did not maintain accurate sick leave records, the number of unused sick days reported will be divided by the number of years for which there are records. This provides an average number of days per year that you accrued, but did not use, sick leave. This average is multiplied by the number of years for which there are no records. Since this calculation is built on an average, it cannot be finalized until after retirement, using the final number of unused sick leave days. The estimated days are added to the reported number of days to determine a final number of unused sick leave days.
Example: John worked 26 years in a position covered by TRS. The first 10 years he worked for County A, where unfortunately, records were never kept. The last 16 years, he worked in County B that kept accurate

continued on next page
14

unused sick leave
credit cont.

Calculation--When Records Do Not Exist cont.
records. County B reports that over John's 16 years, he retained 100 days of sick leave. The TRS calculation to determine the first ten years of unused sick leave would be as follows:
100 days 16 years = 6.25 days/year 6.25 days/year x 10 years = 62.5 est. days 62.5 days + 100 days = 162.5 total days 162.5 days = 8 months of unused sick credit

Awarding of Credit Unused sick leave credit is awarded on the basis of one month of service for every twenty days of sick leave. Nine months of sick leave credit are equal to one year of service irrespective of the number of months worked per year.
TRS will calculate sick leave credit after receiving all Sick Leave Certification forms from your employers. Your last employer will submit its form after your last day of work.
You may receive a monthly benefit prior to the application of sick leave credit to your account. In this instance, your benefit will be adjusted retroactively to your retirement date after all sick leave forms have been received by TRS and the appropriate calculations have been completed.
Sick Leave Credit Chart

Days of Unused Sick Leave
0 - 59 60 - 69 70 - 89 90 - 109 110 - 129 130 - 149 150 - 169 170 - 189 190 - 209 210 - 229 230 - 249 250 - 269 270 - 289 290 - 309 310 - 329 330 - 349 350 - 369 370 - 389 390 - 409 410 - 429 430 - 449 450 - 469

Creditable Service
0 months 3 months 4 months 5 months 6 months 7 months 8 months 9 months 10 months 11 months 12 months 13 months 14 months 15 months 16 months 17 months 18 months 19 months 20 months 21 months 22 months 23 months

15

worrektiirnegmaenftter
If you plan to work in a TRS covered position after you retire, it is important that you read the following information and notify TRS of your plans immediately. All employment of a TRS retiree must be reported by your employer to TRS prior to employment. You have the ability to be employed on either a full-time or part-time basis under certain terms and conditions stated below. TRS will review all work of a retiree on a monthly basis just as it does all active members. The following applies only to retirees under service retirement in TRS covered positions. There are no limits to your employment with an employer who does not participate in TRS.
No Working Immediately After Retirement Georgia law requires that you must have a break-in-service of at least one month (if your retirement date is July 1, you can begin working no earlier than August 1). If an employer does employ you during the month of your effective date of retirement, your employer must reimburse TRS for that month's benefit paid to you. If you fail to inform your employer of your effective date of retirement, then you will be required to reimburse your employer for the retirement benefit the employer has reimbursed to TRS.
Part time - Hourly and Salaried
If working part-time, the hourly rate or salary cannot exceed 49% of the compensation that would normally be paid to you if you worked on a full-time basis in the position. For hourly positions, TRS has published a schedule of maximum hours that you may work during each month of the fiscal year on our website, www.trsga.com. For salaried positions, you cannot exceed working 49% of the full-time status of the position.
Full-time - Temporary and Full-Time
You may be employed on a full-time temporary basis for three months in a fiscal year and continue receiving monthly benefit payments; however, the full time position must be paid at the normal contracted compensation.
Georgia law allows you to teach full-time if you retired on a service retirement prior to December 31, 2003 (your effective date of retirement must be December 1, 2003 or earlier). You may teach full-time (pre-kindergarten through grade 12) and continue to receive monthly benefit payments in the capacity of a full-time classroom teacher, principal, superintendent, counselor, improvement specialist or librarian. To learn more please refer to the Retirees section "Working in Retirement" on our website.
Contractual - Independent and Entities Doing Business with TRS
If you are engaged in an independent contracting relationship with a TRS covered employer in a position which would normally be held by a teacher or administrator as determined by the Board of Trustees, your compensation is limited to one-half of the average annual compensation used to calculate your retirement benefit or your final salary at the time of your retirement, whichever is greater. A copy of the contract must be submitted to TRS prior to the effective date of the contract. This amount will be adjusted by an annual cost-of-living adjustment. Compensation exceeding this limitation will result in reimbursement to TRS by the employer for all benefits wrongly paid. If you have any doubt about the amount of compensation you are receiving, please contact TRS.
If you are employed by an entity (e.g. partnership, corporation, etc) doing business with a TRS covered employer your compensation may be limited to one-half of the average annual compensation used to calculate your retirement benefit or the final compensation at the time of your retirement, whichever is greater. Documentation of your duties and responsibilities with the entity and the retiree's relationship with the TRS covered employer must be submitted to TRS.
Other - Paraprofessionals and Substitutes
You may be employed as a paraprofessional in a less than full-time capacity. The full-time status for a paraprofessional is determined by your employer.
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16

working after
retirement cont.

Other - Paraprofessionals and Substitutes (cont.)

If you retired on a service retirement, you may engage in unlimited substitute teaching in Georgia without suspension or reduction of your retirement benefits from TRS provided you are compensated as a substitute teacher at the daily rate of pay. In addition, private school teaching, out-of-state public school teaching, working in private industry, or employment by a Georgia state agency will not affect your retirement benefits.

Annual Audit of Employment of TRS Retirees

Department of Audits will be performing detailed audits of employment records searching for TRS retirees. Any discrepancies will be investigated and, if necessary, retirement benefits may be terminated and/or funds collected for benefits wrongly paid.

Stop Retirement - Return to Service

If you decide to return to work in any capacity other than what is listed in this section as acceptable employment, you may work one-half time or greater in a TRS-covered position and either suspend or terminate your retirement benefit.

If you choose to suspend your benefit:

Your benefit payments will stop.

Employee and employer contributions will not be made on your behalf and you will not accrue additional service credit.

Cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) will not be applied to your monthly benefit during the suspension period.

You may not change your plan of retirement or designated beneficiary.

Your monthly benefit payment will be reactivated and COLAs will begin again when you terminate your TRS covered employment.

If you choose to terminate your benefit:

You may choose to terminate instead of suspend retirement if it is to your advantage to accrue additional service credit and salary in an effort to increase your monthly benefit upon re-retirement.

You will become an active TRS member. Employer and employee contributions will be made to TRS based on your earnable compensation, and additional service credit will be accrued.

If you are re-employed in a TRS covered position for a minimum of four months, you must apply for re-retirement benefits. Your benefit will be calculated using your original benefit payment, plus a benefit based on the additional service and salary.

If you remain an active TRS member for at least two years, you will be eligible to repay all the monthly benefit payments you previously received, plus interest, and retire as though retirement benefits had not previously been received.

Cost-of-living-adjustments (COLA) will not be applied to your monthly benefit during the termination period.

Disability Retirement

If you retired under TRS disability retirement, you must notify your employer prior to hiring. If you work during retirement your employer is required to report the following to TRS:

All employment to TRS; this includes all positions covered and not covered under TRS.

All income for all jobs. Retirees have a restriction on their income. If income from another job(s) plus the TRS benefit is more than the pay received during retirement, then the TRS benefit may be reduced.

If you retired under disability retirement, you may have your disability status reviewed at any time. Contact the

TRS office for more information.

17

glossary
of terms
Active Member: person employed in a TRS covered position accruing service toward retirement. Active members must contribute to TRS at least one year in the last five consecutive years.
Annuity: annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member, the employer and earnings on those contributions.
Average Salary: the calculated average of a member's monthly salary for the highest consecutive twentyfour (24) months of membership service.
Beneficiary: upon the death of the member, person(s) designated to receive either a monthly retirement allowance or a lump-sum distribution from TRS (also see Primary and Secondary Beneficiary).
Benefit Options: the Plan of Retirement (one of seven available) selected by the member by which retirement benefits are paid to a retiree and/or beneficiary(ies).
Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA): an increase in monthly benefits tied to increases in the consumer price index (CPI), which is a statistical measurement prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a government agency, to measure changes in the price of goods and services bought by most people in the United States.
Covered Employment: positions eligible to participate in TRS. Positions include teachers, administrators, supervisors, clerks, teacher aides, secretaries, paraprofessionals, public school nurses and employees of the University System of Georgia.
Creditable Service: time accumulated by a member through covered employment with a TRS employer or other service purchased under the provisions of Georgia law.
Disability: a mental or physical impairment certified by a medical board that incapacitates the member from performance of duty in TRS covered employment.
Early Retirement: a reduced benefit payable to a member who retires prior to attaining the requirements for a full service retirement.
continued on next page
18

glossary
of terms cont.
Earnable Compensation: monies payable to a member for full, normal working time and may include monies paid to the member by an employer from grants or contracts made by outside agencies with the employer. All monies paid by an employer for a member or by a member into any plan of tax-sheltered annuity are included in earnable compensation. Earnable compensation shall not include overtime, travel allowances, or salary for a secondary position, such as night school.
Effective Date of Retirement: Not earlier than the first of the month following termination from TRS covered employment and receipt of a retirement application in the TRS office.
Employee Contributions: a percentage of earnable compensation contributed by members, through an automatic payroll deduction, to TRS.
Employer: the State of Georgia, the county or independent board of education, the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, or any other agency of and within this state by which a teacher is paid.
Employer Contributions: a contribution made by the employer to TRS calculated using a percentage of earnable compensation to the employee. The employer contribution helps fund TRS for current and future retirement benefits and is not part of any individual member's account.
Fiscal Year: for TRS, the period beginning July 1st of one calendar year and ending June 30th of the following calendar year.
continued on next page
19

glossary
of terms cont.
Full Service Retirement: a service retirement with no early retirement penalty applied. Membership Service: time accumulated by a member through employment with a TRS employer. Partial Lump-Sum Option (PLOP): at retirement, in exchange for a permanently reduced lifetime benefit, active members can elect to receive a lump-sum distribution in addition to a monthly retirement benefit. A member's age and plan of retirement are used to determine the reduction in benefit. Pension: lifetime monthly benefit payments to retired TRS members and/or their beneficiaries. Plans of Retirement: the method selected by the member by which retirement benefits are paid to a retiree and possibly the beneficiary(ies). Pop-Up: a benefit option that includes a survivor benefit to a beneficiary. If the beneficiary predeceases the retiree, the retiree's monthly benefit reverts to the Maximum Plan. Primary Beneficiary: a person designated by a member to receive a benefit, if available, upon the death of an active member under all plans of retirement. Only the primary beneficiary(ies) can receive a mothly benefit under a survivorship plan. Retiree: the recipient of a monthly retirement benefit from TRS.
continued on next page
20

glossary
of terms cont.
Rollover: a tax deferred distribution from a qualified retirement plan [401(a), 403(a), 401(k)]; a tax sheltered annuity 403(b); a governmental 457 plan; or a traditional or rollover IRA that is transferred directly to another qualified retirement plan or IRA. TRS accepts rollovers only for purchase of creditable service.
Secondary Beneficiary: the recipient of a refund of any remaining employee contributions and interest following the death of the retiree and the primary beneficiary. A secondary beneficiary is never eligible to receive a monthly benefit under any plan of retirement.
Service Purchases: payment for additional service credit as provided in Georgia law.
Service Retirement: a monthly benefit payable to a member who has met the requirements for retirement. The requirements are attainment of age 60 with at least 10 years of service or completion of 25 years of creditable service.
Substitute Teacher: a teacher employed in a TRS covered position as a temporary replacement for another teacher. Substitute teachers are considered temporary employees and are not eligible for membership in TRS.
Survivorship Plan: a plan of retirement that will provide a continuing monthly benefit to the surviving beneficiary(ies) after the death of the retiree. Under a survivorship plan, the amount of the monthly benefit will be reduced actuarially to allow for a monthly payment for life to the retiree and then, after his or her death, a monthly benefit for life to the designated beneficiary(ies). Teacher: as defined in Georgia law, a person employed half-time or more in a TRS covered position. Halftime or more is generally defined as twenty (20) or more hours per week. Termination: the end of TRS covered employment.
Vested: the right to a retirement benefit after ten (10) years of creditable service and attainment of age 60, provided the TRS contributions have not been withdrawn.
21

Retirement Forms
22

Application for Service Retirement

To Be Completed by Member -- please print clearly

Your Information
Please print or type all personal information. Incomplete information will delay the processing of your retirement benefit.

Social Security Number

__________ ____________________________ ________________ __________

Title (Mr, Ms etc.) Last Name

First Name

Middle Initial

(_______)__________________ ______________________

Phone Number (daytime)

Date of Birth (mm/dd/yy)

_________ Sex (M or F)

______________________________________________________________________ Street Address (home address)

_________________________ __________

City

State

___________ Zip Code

Your Date of Retirement
Please indicate the date you would like your retirement to be effective.

I hereby apply for service retirement effective on the first day of __________________ ____________, 20 ____________, and elect to have my monthly retirement allowance payable as indicated under "Your Retirement Plan."
Note: To be eligible for retirement for the date listed above, you may not work at any time during that month. Working one day during the month you plan to retire will postpone your retirement until the following month.

Your Retirement Plan
Before you select ONE PLAN , please reference the TRS Member's Guide available at www. trsga.com under the Publications section or at the TRS office.
If you are interested in the amount of benefits you are eligible for under the various plans of retirement, please contact TRS for an estimate.
It is very important that you understand the retirement plan you are selecting, because once your first payment is deposited, you cannot change your plan of retirement except under very limited conditions.
*SRA*

PLANS for monthly benefit to member and a refund only to beneficiaries (no monthly benefit to beneficiary(ies)): Plan A Plan B Option 1
PLANS for monthly benefit to member and monthly benefit only to beneficiaries. (You may have multiple beneficiaries, but no adjustment is made to the benefit if any or all beneficiaries predecease you.) Plan B Option 2 Plan B Option 3 Plan B Option 4
In accordance with my selection of Option 4, I designate a dollar amount of $ _____________ OR percentage of ___________% to be paid to the beneficiary(ies) listed in the Selection of Beneficiary sections. (Select either a dollar amount or percentage, not both.)
PLANS for monthly benefit to member and monthly benefit only to a single beneficiary. (You may have only one beneficiary and the benefit is adjusted if the beneficiary predeceases you.) Plan B Option 2 - Pop Up
Plan B Option 3 - Pop Up
page 1 of 4

23

Application for Service Retirement cont. Your Social Security Number

Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP)
Eligible members may elect to receive a PLOP distribution in exchange for an actuarially reduced lifetime benefit. If you elect a PLOP, a lumpsum distribution will be made as a single payment at the time your first monthly benefit is paid to you.
For details about the lump-sum distribution, please refer to the PLOP section of the TRS website at www. trsga.com.
A pension calculator on the TRS website is available to calculate an estimate of your monthly benefit with or without the election of a PLOP distribution.

If you are eligible for and elect a partial lump-sum distribution, please refer to the Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions. If you have any questions or do not understand the federal tax law provisions, please contact the IRS or a tax professional for advice.
I do not elect a PLOP lump-sum distribution. I understand that this one-time option is only available to me at retirement. Once I receive my first monthly retirement benefit, I cannot elect to receive a PLOP.
I elect a PLOP lump-sum distribution in the amount of $___ ___ ___,000.
I elect to receive the total PLOP distribution amount paid directly to me.
I unders tan d that this one-time deduction, payable as a single payment at the time my first monthly allowance is paid, will leave me with an actuarially reduced lifetime benefit. I also understand that once a PLOP distribution is made, the election is final. A mandatory 20% federal tax will be withheld from the taxable portion of the payment. I understand that this mandatory withholding may not represent my actual tax liability and that this payment may be subject to an additional tax equal to 10% of the taxable portion if the payment is received after separation from service, but before age 55. I wish to have an additional $ ________________ federal tax withheld from the taxable portion. I wish to have 5% GA tax withheld from the taxable portion. I wish to have an additional $ _________________ GA state tax withheld from the taxable portion.
I elect a direct rollover/transfer distribution of either the total amount or a partial amount of my PLOP lump-sum distribution to another qualified retirement plan. I have completed the Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan Rollover Election form.
The Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan Rollover Election form is required if you plan to rollover all or a partial amount of the lump-sum distribution to a qualified retirement plan.
I elect to waive the 30-day notice period. I acknowledge that I have received the Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions.

Selection of Primary Beneficiary
If you have more than one primary beneficiary, please complete the Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries (MB-1) form.
Beneficiary(ies) designations made on this form supercede any other beneficiary(ies) designations on file with TRS.
Selection of Secondary Beneficiary A secondary beneficiary is eligible to receive a refund of remaining contributions and interest, but not a monthly benefit, upon the death of the member and primary beneficiary(ies).
If you have more than one secondary beneficiary, you will need to complete the Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries (MB-1) form.

In accordance with the retirement plan selected, I hereby designate my primary beneficiary (please check only one):
below OR on the attached Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form (MB-1)

________________________________ Name of Beneficiary

____________________ ______________

Relationship

Sex (M or F)

________________________________ Social Security Number

____________________ Date of Birth (mm/dd/yy)

_________________________________________________________________________ Street Address (home address)

________________________________ City

____________________ _____________

State

Zip Code

In accordance with the retirement plan selected, I hereby designate my secondary beneficiary (please check only one):
below OR on the attached Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form (MB-1)

________________________________ Name of Beneficiary

____________________ ______________

Relationship

Sex (M or F)

________________________________ Social Security Number

____________________ Date of Birth (mm/dd/yy)

_________________________________________________________________________ Street Address (home address)

________________________________ City
24

____________________ _____________

State

Zip Code page 2 of 4

Application for Service Retirement cont. Your Social Security Number

Emergency Contact Information
In an effort to protect the distribution of your retirement benefit, TRS requests that you provide an emergency contact person (someone other than your beneficiary(ies) whom you trust to handle your affairs) should all persons on file be unavailable.

________________________________ Name of Emergency Contact

____________________ ______________

Relationship

Sex (M or F)

________________________________ Social Security Number

____________________ Date of Birth (mm/dd/yy)

_________________________________________________________________________ Street Address (home address)

________________________________ City

____________________ _____________

State

Zip Code

Payment Method
With the exception of your first monthly check, which will be mailed to your home address, your subsequent monthly checks will be electronically sent to your financial institution. Please check only one option.
Please be sure to tape your voided check or deposit slip in the box on the right.
TRS will send your financial institution a notification (prenote) that will alert them that your retirement pay will arrive electronically in the following month.

Your monthly benefit checks are automatically deposited into your banking account via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). I wish to deposit my benefit checks into my CHECKING account. My VOIDED CHECK
is attached below. I wish to deposit my benefit checks into my SAVINGS account. My VOIDED DEPOSIT
SLIP is attached below.
(Please use transparent tape across top edge of check or deposit ticket. Do not staple or glue.)
To have funds deposited to your:
Checking Account: Please tape a VOIDED CHECK inside this box.
Savings Account: Please tape a VOIDED savings account DEPOSIT SLIP inside this box.

Your net retirement benefit will be deposited into your account on the first business day of each month. A change in your account number will require your benefit to be mailed to your home address until the first business day of the month following the issuance of another prenote to your financial institution.

On the first business day of the month when your EFT services are scheduled to start, you should verify that your financial institution received your deposit. If your deposit has not been made by the second business day of the month, call TRS immediately. Please notify TRS immediately if your financial institution changes your account number and/or routing number.

You will receive notice from TRS only when there is a change in your monthly net benefit. Should any change occur, TRS will send you a notice of the change(s) and the new amount deposited to your account.

Important Information Your employer(s) must complete a Retirement Certification Report for you and submit it to TRS. Your retirement
application is not considered complete until these forms arrive in the TRS office. Once you have submitted your retirement application to TRS, you will be sent a general acknowledgment letter. If your
application is not acknowledged as being received by TRS within 30 days of your mailing, contact our office immediately.
page 3 of 4
25

Application for Service Retirement cont. Your Social Security Number

Your Initials Please read this information and initial next to each heading that you understand and comply with the following TRS regulations.
TIP If you have questions about any of
the statements listed, please contact TRS by calling (404) 352-6500 or (800) 352-0650.

Payment Method: With the exception of my first monthly check, which will be mailed to my home address, I understand that my subsequent monthly benefit checks will be electronically sent to my financial institution.
Required Identification Documents: In accordance with the requirements for retirement application, I have attached photocopies of personal identification containing the date of birth for myself and my beneficiary(ies). Acceptable forms of ID are: driver's license, passport, certified birth certificate, immigration papers, or a state ID issued in lieu of a driver's license. My application will not be processed without this identification.
Service Credit for Retirement: I understand that it is my responsibility to purchase all available service credit PRIOR to the effective date of my retirement. It is my responsibility to contact TRS to purchase this service credit. Should I not purchase such service prior to the effective date of my retirement, I understand that I MAY NOT purchase additional service after my retirement date is effective (no exceptions allowed).
Changing Retirement Plans: Once my monthly benefit payment has been deposited, I cannot change my plan of retirement except under the limited conditions specifically stated in Georgia law.
Changing Beneficiaries: I understand that if I have selected Plan A or Plan B - Option 1, I may change my designation of beneficiary(ies) at any time prior to my death. If I have selected Plan B - Option 2 or 2 Pop Up, Option 3 or 3 Pop Up, or Option 4, I cannot change my beneficiary(ies) except under the limited conditions specifically stated in Georgia law.
Active Membership: I understand that should my death occur within 30 days of my effective retirement date, I will be considered an active member at the time of my death in accordance with Georgia law. My account will be settled as a death in service in accordance with the active member beneficiary designation(s) I have selected on this retirement application.
Re-activating Membership: I understand that should I return to work in a position covered by TRS, I must notify TRS immediately.
Taxes: As required by federal regulations, TRS will withhold federal taxes, based on married and 3 allowances, from the taxable portion of your monthly benefits unless you complete and submit to TRS a federal form W-4P where you may indicate not to have withholding apply or to have withholding apply at a different rate. Georgia law also considers your benefits taxable but does not require withholding. I understand that I may elect to have Georgia taxes withheld by completing Georgia tax form G-4 and submitting it to TRS. Failure to withhold may result in tax penalties.

Your Signature
Please sign and date verifying the information provided on all four pages of this application is accurate.

By signing below,
I verify that the information provided on all four pages of this Application for Service Retirement is accurate;
I acknowledge that I have read and understand the plans of retirement and the provisions for optional allowances available to me. Once my first benefit payment has been deposited, I cannot change my plan of retirement except under the limited conditions stated in Georgia law;
I understand that the beneficiary designation(s) I have listed on this application supercede any other beneficiary designation(s) on file with TRS. Once this application is received by TRS, my beneficiary designation(s) is considered valid; and
I understand that if I elect to receive a lump-sum distribution, once the distribution is made, the election is final.

___________________________________________ Signature
26

________________

Date

page 4 of 4

Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions
This notice explains how you can continue to defer federal income tax on your retirement savings in the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) and contains important information you will need before you decide how to receive your TRS benefits.
This notice is provided to you by the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (the Plan or the Plan Administrator) because all or part of the lump sum payment that you might elect to receive from the Plan may be eligible for rollover by you or the Plan Administrator to a traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan. A rollover is a payment by you or the Plan Administrator of all or part of your benefit to another plan or IRA that allows you to continue to postpone taxation of that benefit until it is paid to you. Your payment cannot be rolled over to a Roth IRA, a SIMPLE IRA, or a Coverdell Education Savings Account (formerly known as an education IRA). An "eligible employer plan" includes a plan qualified under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, including a 401(k) plan, profit-sharing plan, defined benefit plan, stock bonus plan, and money purchase plan; a section 403(a) annuity plan; a section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity; and an eligible section 457(b) plan maintained by a governmental employer (governmental 457 plan).
An eligible employer plan is not legally required to accept a rollover. Before you decide to roll over your payment to another employer plan, you should find out whether the plan accepts rollovers and, if so, the types of distributions it accepts as a rollover. You should also find out about any documents that are required to be completed before the receiving plan will accept a rollover. Even if a plan accepts rollovers, it might not accept rollovers of certain types of distributions, such as after-tax amounts. If this is the case, and your distribution includes after-tax amounts, you may wish instead to roll your distribution over to a traditional IRA. If an employer plan accepts your rollover, the plan may restrict subsequent distributions of the rollover amount or may require your spouse's consent for any subsequent distribution. A subsequent distribution from the plan that accepts your rollover may also be subject to different tax treatment than distributions from this Plan. Check with the administrator of the plan that is to receive your rollover prior to making the rollover.
Summary
There are two ways you may be able to receive a Plan payment that is eligible for rollover: (1) Certain payments can be made directly to a traditional IRA that you establish or to an eligible employer plan that will accept it and hold it for your benefit ("DIRECT ROLLOVER"); or (2) The payment can be PAID TO YOU.
If you choose a DIRECT ROLLOVER: (1) Your payment will not be taxed in the current year and no income tax will be withheld. (2) You choose whether your payment will be made directly to your traditional IRA or to an eligible employer plan that accepts your rollover. (3) Your payment cannot be rolled over to a Roth IRA, a SIMPLE IRA, or a Coverdell Education Savings Account because these are not traditional IRAs. (4) The taxable portion of your payment will be taxed later when you take it out of the traditional IRA or the eligible employer plan. Depending on the type of plan, the later distribution may be subject to different tax treatment than it would be if you received a taxable distribution from this Plan.
If you choose to have a Plan payment that is eligible for rollover PAID TO YOU: (1) You will receive only 80% of the taxable amount of the payment, because the Plan Administrator is required to withhold 20% of that amount and send it to the IRS as income tax withholding to be credited against your taxes. (2) The taxable amount of your payment will be taxed in the current year unless you roll it over. Under limited circumstances, you may be able to use special tax rules that could reduce the tax you owe. However, if you receive the payment before age 59-1/2, you also may have to pay an additional 10% tax. (3) You can roll over all or part of the payment by paying it to your traditional IRA or to an eligible employer plan that accepts your rollover within 60 days after you receive the payment. The amount rolled over will not be taxed until you take it out of the traditional IRA or the eligible employer plan. (4) If you want to roll over 100% of the payment to a traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan, you must find other money to replace the 20% of the taxable portion that was withheld. If you roll over only the 80% that you received, you will be taxed on the 20% that was withheld and that is not rolled over.
Your Right to Waive the 30-Day Notice Period. Generally, neither a direct rollover nor a payment can be made from the Plan until at least 30 days after receipt of this notice. Thus, after receiving this notice, you have at least 30 days to consider whether or not to have your withdrawal directly rolled over. If you do not wish to wait until this 30-day notice period ends before your election is processed, you may waive the notice period by making an affirmative election indicating whether or not you wish to make a direct rollover. Your withdrawal will then be processed in accordance with your election as soon as practical after it is received by TRS.
page 1 of 4
27

Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions cont.
Payments that Can and Cannot be Rolled Over
Payments from the Plan may be "eligible rollover distributions." This means that they can be rolled over to a traditional IRA or to an eligible employer plan that accepts rollovers. Payments from the Plan cannot be rolled over to a Roth IRA, a SIMPLE IRA, or a Coverdell Education Savings Account.
After-tax Contributions. If you made after-tax contributions to the Plan, these contributions may be rolled into either a traditional IRA or to certain employer plans that accept rollovers of the after-tax contributions. The following rules apply: (a) Rollover into a traditional IRA. You can roll over your after-tax contributions to a traditional IRA either directly or indirectly. If you roll over after-tax contributions to a traditional IRA, it is your responsibility to keep track of, and report to the IRS on the applicable forms, the amount of these after-tax contributions. This will enable the nontaxable amount of any future distributions from the traditional IRA to be determined. Once you roll over your after-tax contributions to a traditional IRA, those amounts CANNOT later be rolled over to an employer plan. (b) Rollover into an Employer Plan. You can roll over after-tax contributions from an employer plan that is qualified under Code section 401(a) or a section 403(a) annuity plan to another such plan using a direct rollover if the other plan provides separate accounting for amounts rolled over, including separate accounting for the after-tax employee contributions and earnings on those contributions. You can also roll over after-tax contributions from a section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity to another section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity using a direct rollover if the other tax-sheltered annuity provides separate accounting for amounts rolled over, including separate accounting for the after-tax employee contributions and earnings on those contributions. You CANNOT roll over after-tax contributions to a governmental 457 plan. If you want to roll over your after-tax contributions to an employer plan that accepts these rollovers, you cannot have the after-tax contributions paid to you first. You must instruct the Plan Administrator of this Plan to make a direct rollover on your behalf. Also, you cannot first roll over after-tax contributions to a traditional IRA and then roll over that amount into an employer plan.
The following type of payment cannot be rolled over: Required Minimum Payments. Beginning when you reach age 70-1/2 or retire, whichever is later, a certain portion of your payment cannot be rolled over because it is a "required minimum payment" that must be paid to you.
Direct Rollover
A DIRECT ROLLOVER is a direct payment of the amount of your Plan benefits to a traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan that will accept it. You can choose a DIRECT ROLLOVER of all or any portion of your payment that is an eligible rollover distribution as described previously. You are not taxed on any taxable portion of your payment for which you choose a DIRECT ROLLOVER until you later take it out of the traditional IRA or eligible employer plan. In addition, no income tax withholding is required for any taxable portion of your Plan benefits for which you choose a DIRECT ROLLOVER.
Direct Rollover to a Traditional IRA. You can open a traditional IRA to receive the direct rollover. If you choose to have your payment made directly to a traditional IRA, contact an IRA sponsor (usually a financial institution) to find out how to have your payment made in a direct rollover to a traditional IRA at that institution. If you are unsure of how to invest your money, you can temporarily establish a traditional IRA to receive the payment. However, in choosing a traditional IRA, you may wish to make sure that the traditional IRA you choose will allow you to move all or part of your payment to another traditional IRA at a later date, without penalties or other limitations. See IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements, for more information on traditional IRAs (including limits on how often you can roll over between IRAs).
Direct Rollover to a Plan. If you are employed by a new employer that has an eligible employer plan, and you want a direct rollover to that plan, ask the plan administrator of that plan whether it will accept your rollover. An eligible employer plan is not legally required to accept a rollover. Even if your new employer's plan does not accept a rollover, you can choose a DIRECT ROLLOVER to a traditional IRA. If the employer plan accepts your rollover, the plan may provide restrictions on the circumstances under which you may later receive a distribution of the rollover amount or may require spousal consent to any subsequent distribution. Check with the plan administrator of that plan before making your decision.
Change in Tax Treatment Resulting from a Direct Rollover. The tax treatment of any payment from the eligible employer plan or traditional IRA receiving your DIRECT ROLLOVER might be different than if you received your benefit in a taxable distribution directly from the Plan.
page 2 of 4
28

Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions cont.
Payment Paid to You
If your payment can be rolled over and the payment is made to you, it is subject to 20% federal income tax withholding on the taxable portion. The payment is taxed in the year you receive it unless, within 60 days, you roll it over to a traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan that accepts rollovers. If you do not roll it over, special tax rules may apply.
Income Tax Withholding:
Mandatory Withholding. If any portion of your payment can be rolled over and you do not elect to make a DIRECT ROLLOVER, the Plan is required by law to withhold 20% of the taxable amount. This amount is sent to the IRS as federal income tax withholding. For example, if you can roll over a taxable payment of $10,000, only $8,000 will be paid to you because TRS must withhold $2,000 as income tax. However, when you prepare your income tax return for the year, unless you make a rollover within 60 days (see "Sixty-Day Rollover Option" below), you must report the full $10,000 as a taxable payment from TRS. You must report the $2,000 as tax withheld, and it will be credited against any income tax you owe for the year. There will be no income tax withholding if your payments for the year are less than $200.
Voluntary Withholding. If any portion of your payment is taxable but cannot be rolled over, the mandatory withholding rules described above do not apply. In this case, you may elect not to have withholding apply to that portion. If you do nothing, 10% will be taken out of this portion of your payment for federal income tax withholding.
Sixty-Day Rollover Option. If you receive a payment that can be rolled over, you can still decide to roll over all or part of it to a traditional IRA or to an eligible employer plan that accepts rollovers. If you decide to roll over, you must contribute the amount of the payment you received to a traditional IRA or eligible employer plan within 60 days after you receive the payment. The portion of your payment that is rolled over will not be taxed until you take it out of the traditional IRA or the eligible employer plan. You can roll over up to 100% of your payment that can be rolled over, including an amount equal to the 20% of the taxable portion that was withheld. If you choose to roll over 100%, you must find other money within the 60-day period to contribute to the traditional IRA or the eligible employer plan to replace the 20% that was withheld. On the other hand, if you roll over only the 80% of the taxable portion that you received, you will be taxed on the 20% that was withheld.
Example: The taxable portion of your payment that can be rolled over under the "Payments that Can and Can't be Rolled Over" section is $10,000, and you choose to have it paid to you. You will receive $8,000, and $2,000 will be sent to the IRS as income tax withholding. Within 60 days after receiving the $8,000, you may rollover the entire $10,000 to a traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan. To do this, you roll over the $8,000 you received from TRS, and you will have to find $2,000 from other sources (your savings, a loan, etc.). In this case, the entire $10,000 is not taxed until you take it out of the traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan. If you roll over the entire $10,000, when you file your income tax return you may get a refund of part or all of the $2,000 withheld.
If, on the other hand, you roll over only $8,000, the $2,000 you did not roll over is taxed in the year it was withheld. When you file your income tax return, you may get a refund of part of the $2,000 withheld. (However, any refund is likely to be larger if you roll over the entire $10,000.)
Additional 10% Tax if You Are Under Age 59 1/2. If you receive a payment before you reach age 59-1/2 and you do not roll it over, then, in addition to the regular income tax, you may have to pay an extra tax equal to 10% of the taxable portion of the payment. The additional 10% tax generally does not apply to (1) payments that are paid after you separate from service with your employer during or after the year you reach age 55, (2) payments that are paid because you retire due to disability, (3) payments that are paid as equal (or almost equal) payments over your life or life expectancy (or your and your beneficiary's lives or life expectancies), (4) dividends paid with respect to stock by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) as described in Code Section 404(k), (5) payments that are paid directly to the government to satisfy a federal tax levy, (6) payments that are paid to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, or (7) payments that do not exceed the amount of your deductible medical expenses. See IRS Form 5329 for more information on the additional 10% tax.
The additional 10% tax will not apply to distributions from a governmental 457 plan, except to the extent the distribution is attributable to an amount not rolled over to that plan (adjusted for investment returns) from another type of eligible employer plan or IRA. Any amount rolled over from a governmental 457 plan to another type of eligible employer plan or to a traditional IRA will become subject to the additional 10% tax if it is distributed to you before you reach age 59-1/2, unless one of the exceptions applies.
Special Tax Treatment If You Were Born before January 1, 1936. If you receive a payment from a plan qualified under
page 3 of 4
29

Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions cont.
section 401(a) or a section 403(a) annuity plan that can be rolled over and you do not roll it over to a traditional IRA or an eligible employer plan, the payment will be taxed in the year you receive it. However, if the payment qualifies as a "lump sum distribution" it may be eligible for special tax treatment. A lump sum distribution is a payment, within one year, of your entire balance under the Plan that is payable to you after you have reached age 59-1/2 or because you have separated from service with your employer. For a payment to be treated as a lump sum distribution, you must have been a participant in the Plan for at least five years before the year in which you received the distribution. The special tax treatment for lump sum distributions that may be available to you is described below.
Ten-Year Averaging. If you receive a lump sum distribution and you were born before January 1, 1936, you can make a one-time election to figure the tax on the payment by using "10-year averaging" (using 1986 tax rates). Ten-year averaging often reduces the tax you owe.
Capital Gain Treatment. If you receive a lump sum distribution and you were born before January 1, 1936, and you were a participant in the Plan before 1974, you may elect to have the part of your payment that is attributable to your pre-1974 participation in the Plan taxed as long-term capital gain at the rate of 20%.
There are other limits on the special tax treatment for lump sum distributions. For example, you can generally elect this special tax treatment only once in your lifetime, and the election applies to all lump sum distributions that you receive in that same year. You may not elect this special tax treatment if you rolled amounts into this Plan from a 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity contract or from an IRA not originally attributable to a qualified employer plan. If you have previously rolled over a distribution from this Plan (or certain other similar plans of the employer), you cannot use this special averaging treatment for later payments from the Plan. If you roll over your payment to a traditional IRA, governmental 457 plan, or 403(b) taxsheltered annuity, you will not be able to use special tax treatment for later payments from the IRA, plan, or annuity. Also, if you roll over only a portion of your payment to a traditional IRA, governmental 457 plan, or 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, this special tax treatment is not available for the rest of the payment. See IRS Form 4972 for additional information on lump sum distributions and how you elect the special tax treatment.
Surviving Spouses and Other Beneficiaries
This section applies to the refund of contributions and interest and not to the Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP) In general, the rules summarized above that apply to payments to employees also apply to payments to surviving spouses of employees. If you are a surviving spouse, you may choose to have a payment that can be rolled over paid in a DIRECT ROLLOVER to a traditional IRA or to an eligible employer plan or paid to you. If you have the payment paid to you, you can keep it or roll it over yourself to a traditional IRA or to an eligible employer plan. Thus, you have the same choices as the employee. If you are a beneficiary other than a surviving spouse, you cannot choose a direct rollover, and you cannot roll over the payment yourself. If you are a surviving spouse or another beneficiary, your payment is generally not subject to the additional 10% tax, even if you are younger than age 59-1/2. If you are a surviving spouse or another beneficiary, you may be able to use the special tax treatment for lump sum distributions. If you receive a payment because of the employee's death, you may be able to treat the payment as a lump sum payment distribution if the employee met the appropriate age requirements, whether or not the employee had 5 years of participation in the Plan.
Obtaining Additional Information
This notice summarizes only the federal (not state or local) tax rules that might apply to your payment. The rules described are complex and contain many conditions and exceptions that are not included in this notice. Therefore, you may want to consult with a professional tax advisor before you take a payment of your benefits from the Plan. Also, you can find more specific information on the treatment of payments from qualified employer plans in IRS Publication 575, Pensions and Annuity Income, and IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements. These publications are available from your local IRS office, on the IRS's Internet Web Site at www.irs.gov, or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORMS (toll free).
page 4 of 4
30

Partial Lump-Sum Option Plan (PLOP) Rollover Election

This form must be completed if you elect to receive a PLOP either as a partial or total direct rollover to another qualified retirement plan. Be sure to indicate your PLOP election on the Application for Service Retirement.

To Be Completed by Member -- please print clearly

Your Information
Please print or type all personal information.

Social S ecurity Number

__________________________ Date of Birth

_____________________________________ Last Name

_______________________ First Name

______________ Middle Initial

PLOP Payment Selection
If you are eligible for and have elected a PLOP distribution, please refer to the Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions explaining Internal Revenue Service (IRS) laws included with this form. If you have any questions or do not understand the provisions of the federal tax law, we urge you to contact the IRS or a tax professional for advice.

I have elected a PLOP distribution as a direct rollover/transfer on the TRS Application for Service Retirement, and I elect to have the applicable lump-sum distribution paid in the following manner (select only one):

100% Direct Rollover/Transfer of Taxable Distribution.
TRS is directed to mail the taxable portion of my distribution to my Trustee/Custodian who has signed the Agreement of Trustee/ Custodian. The non-taxable distribution, if any, should be mailed directly to me.

Check one: 401(a)



Qualified Plan

401(k) Qualified Plan

403(a) Qualified Annuity

403(b)

408(a)

408(b)

TSA Traditional IRA IRA Annuity

457Deferred Comp.

100% Direct Rollover/Transfer of Taxable and Non-taxable Distribution.
TRS is directed to mail the taxable and non-taxable portion of my distribution to my Trustee/Custodian who has signed the Agreement of Trustee/Custodian and has agreed to separately account for the taxable and non-taxable portions of the rollover. I understand that the non-taxable amount may not be rolled over into a defined benefit plan, 457, or 403(b) plan.

Check one:

401(a) Qualified Plan

401(k) Qualified Plan

403(a) Qualified Annuity

408(a) Traditional IRA

408(b) IRA Annuity

Partial Direct Rollover/Transfer of Taxable Distribution.
TRS is directed to mail $___________________ of my taxable distribution to my Trustee/Custodian who has signed the Agreement of Trustee/Custodian. The remainder of the taxable distribution, less the mandatory 20% federal withholding tax, plus the non-taxable distribution, if any, should be mailed directly to me. I wish to have an additional $_________________ federal tax withheld from the taxable portion that is issued directly to me.

Please withhold 5% GA tax from the taxable portion. I wish to have an additional $ _________________ GA State tax withheld from the taxable portion.

Check one: 401(a)



Qualified Plan

401(k) Qualified Plan

403(a) Qualified Annuity

403(b)

408(a)

408(b)

TSA Traditional IRA IRA Annuity

457Deferred Comp.

Agreement of Trustee/ Custodian to Accept Rollover of a PLOP
The Trustee/Custodian of the qualified retirement plan to which you are transferring your lumpsum distribution must complete this section.

____________________________________________________________________________________ Trustee/Custodian Name

__________________________________________________ Account Number

____________________________ Telephone Number

____________________________________________________________________________________ Mailing Address

__________________________________ City

________ State

____________________________ Zip Code

Member Authorization
Please sign and date verifying the information provided is accurate.
*plso*

__________________________________________________ Trustee/Custodian Signature
I elect to waive the 30-day notice period

____________________________ Date

I acknowledge that I have received the Special Tax Notice Regarding Lump-Sum Distributions and written notice of the estimated amount of my partial lump-sum distribution, as well as my monthly benefit that is reduced due to my election of a PLOP distribution.

Applicant Signature: ________________________________________
31

Date: __________________

Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank. Back of PLOP form. Leave blank.
32

Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries

To Be Completed by Member -- please print clearly

Your Information
Print or type all personal information below.

S ocial S ecurity Numb er



___________________________________

_______________________

Last Name

First Name

____________ Middle Initial

Beneficiary Designation Please designate your primary and/or secondary beneficiaries. The total percentage for primary beneficiaries should equal 100%. The total percentage for secondary beneficiaries should equal 100%. For example, if you have 3 primary beneficiaries, you need to make sure that the percentages allotted equal 100% (e.g., 40%, 30%, 30%).
*mb-1*
Your Signature Please sign and date verifying the information provided above is accurate.

PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES

1. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. _______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid ________%

2. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. _______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid ________%

3. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. _______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid ________%

4. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. _______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid ________%

5. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. _______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid ________%

SECONDARY BENEFICIARIES

1. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. ______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid _________%

2. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. ______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid _________%

3. _______________________________ _______________ __________

Name of Beneficiary

Date of Birth

Sex (M or F)

_______________ Relationship to Me

____________________________________ Address

______________ _______

City

State

_____________ Zip Code

Soc. Sec. No. ______________________ Percentage of available benefits to be paid _________%

__________________________________________________ Signature
33

__________________ Date

Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank. Back of Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries form. Leave blank.
34

Sick Leave Certification-Final
To Be Completed by Member -- please print clearly

Your Information
Print or type all personal information. When listing your name, please include all names under which you may have been employed.



S ocial Secur ity Num ber



___________________________________ Last Name

_______________________ First Name

____________ Middle Initial

(_______)__________________________ Telephone Number (home)

(_______)________________________________ Telephone Number (work)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address (home address)



_______________________________ City

_____________ State

__________________________ Zipcode

Employment Information
Your date of retirement cannot be earlier than the 1st of the month following your last date of employment.

_________________________________________ Anticipated Last Date of Employment

______________________ _________________

Current Employer

Start Date/End Date

______________________ _________________

Previous Employer

Start Date/End Date

__________________________________ Anticipated Date of Retirement

_____________________ ________________

Previous Employer

Start Date/End Date

_____________________ ________________

Previous Employer

Start Date/End Date

Sick Leave Credit

1. I do not wish to pursue sick leave credit. I understand I cannot establish sick leave credit at a

#2--if you do not wish to

later date.

receive credit for only a portion of your service time, list the

2. I do not wish to submit sick leave verification for the following employer ___________________

employer's name and period

________________________________________________________________ for the following

of time you do not want to

date(s)______________________________. I understand I cannot establish sick leave credit at

include.

a later date.

Your Signature
Please sign and date verifying the information provided above is accurate.

__________________________________________________ Signature

__________________ Date

To Be Completed by Employer -- please print clearly
Sick Leave Status
Please verify the information on this form is the member's final sick leave status by checking this box.

Sick Leave Verification
1. Please verify the Final Balance of Sick Leave subject to the qualifications listed on the back of this form. The number of sick days should be the balance prior to any lump sum payment at retirement. If applicable, list dates of missing records.

1. Our personnel/payroll records show a final sick leave balance for this member of _______________ days for the dates of ___________________ to ___________________.
2. The total listed above reflects sick leave accrued at 1 1/4 days or less per month of service, OR The total listed above reflects sick leave accrued at a rate higher than 1 1/4 days per month of service. Sick leave was awarded at _________________ days per month of service. Please attach an explanation of accrual rate(s).
3. We do not have sick leave records for the dates of________________________________ to ____________________________.

Sick Leave Lump-Sum Payments

The employee elected to receive ____________ days of unused sick leave in a lump-sum payment upon termination; AND/OR the employee received ____________ days of unused sick leave in a lumpsum payment as an attendance incentive or for any other program. Describe program on back of form.

Your Signature
Please sign and date verifying the information provided above is accurate.

I certify that this information conforms to the personnel/payroll records of this system for this individual and the requirements outlined in the legislation and the TRS procedures for determining the amount of accumulated sick leave to be used for retirement purposes. I further certify that the above information is complete from all existing records for this person in this system.

_________________________________________ Approving Authority's Signature

_______________________ Title

*sickleave* _________________________________________ System Name

_______________________

Date

continued on back

35

Sick Leave Certification-Final cont.
EMPLOYERS: The accumulated sick leave that a TRS member may use for retirement credit may or may not be the final total showing on the employee's last pay stub or in your records. Policies such as forfeited leave, a leave bank, annual payments of leave, and other situations in your system may require you to recalculate the final balance for the determination of allowable retirement credit. The dates you list don't have to cover the entire employment time if records are not available. The following considerations should be observed when entering the Final Balance of Sick Leave on this form. The Final Balance of Sick Leave should: reflect the days earned based on the policies of your system for this individual employee. not exceed 1 1/4 days per month of service. If your policies call for days awarded in excess of 1 1/4 days per month of service, you
may recalculate the total based on the limit of 1 1/4 days, or you may indicate your basis for accumulation on the form in the area provided. include all days forfeited due to your policy limitation of accrued leave. include all days to be paid in a lump-sum payment at retirement. not include the days for which the employee was paid when absent. reflect the reduction for any sick leave days used for personal leave. not include the days for which the employee was paid in a lump sum at the end of each year. reflect the reduction for any sick leave days donated to a sick leave bank and used from a sick leave bank which exceed the days donated. (For example, if an employee donates 2 days to a sick leave bank and uses 5 days sick leave from the bank, then the 2 days donated should be deducted from the Final Balance of Sick Leave.) not include days granted by special action of your governing body. not include days transferred from another system. However, if you do include any transferred days, you must indicate in the section below the number of transferred days included in the total and the system from which the days were transferred.
Number of sick days transferred included in total _______________________________________________________________
System from which the sick days were transferred ______________________________________________________________
This form must be submitted AFTER the employee has terminated. Since the employee could use sick leave just prior to his or her retirement date and, as a result, receive less sick leave credit, TRS will not adjust a member's benefit for sick leave credit until after the member has terminated.
You must also report ALL lump-sum payments to the member on the the front side of this form, which includes any attendance incentive pay that is paid out to the member at termination. Failure to report any lump-sum payments related to sick leave will result in reduced sick leave credit and a reduced retirement benefit to the member. If applicable, please describe the conditions of your attendance-incentive pay program or other program: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEMBERS: After you have filled out your portion of the form, you will need to make a copy of it for each employer you listed on the reverse and send the copy to them for your sick leave verification. Your sick leave credit cannot be calculated until forms from all employers are received at TRS. It is up to you to follow up with your employers to make sure they have submitted the form to TRS. Your retirement will be processed without your sick leave credit. Your credit will be calculated after you are on retirement payroll with TRS and your monthly benefit will be adjusted retroactively to your date of retirement.
*Under O.C.G.A Section 45-11-1, the falsification of state records by any public officer or other person is a felony subject to a fine and imprisonment. **The law requires you to keep the sick leave records for your past, present and future TRS covered employees for a period of 50 years.
page 2 of 2
36

Retirement Certification Report

To Be Completed by Retiring Member's Employer -- please print clearly

Member Information
If this is the first TRS-8 for the member, please mark the "estimated" box on the right. If you are submitting changes to a TRS-8 already sent to TRS, mark the "corrected" box. Also, please indicate the retiring member's data. The position and contract dates should be the ones in force for the final year of employment.

Estimated

Corrected

Social Security Number

_____________________________________ Last Name

________________________ First Name

__________ Middle Initial

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Title or Position

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Contract Dates

Contract Type & Pay Method
If the member has had changes in position and/or his or her contract during the last three years (semester changes NOT included), please attach an explanation.

1. Contract Type (please check one)

9 or 10 month

Semester

11 month

12 month

Other ______________

2. Payment Method (please check one)

12 Equal Monthly Payments

10 Equal Monthly Payments

9 Equal Monthly Payments

9 Equal Monthly Payments and 1 Month Summer pay

Biweekly Other ________________

Note: In the event you need to check more than one contract type or payment method, please attach an explanation of the changes during the year.

Explanation of Salary & Contributions
This section should include, as accurately as possible, all information for the member's last year of employment including that which has already been reported, and any future salary and contributions. Please read instructions on the back for more details.

Month/
Year
07/_______ 08/_______ 09/_______ 10/_______ 11/_______ 12/_______ 01/_______ 02/_______ 03/_______ 04/_______ 05/_______ 06/_______ 07/_______ 08/_______

Total
Salary
____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

Total
Contributions
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

Regular
Contributions
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

Pro-rata
Summer Pay
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

Summer
School
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

Paid
Leave
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

Other
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

Explanation of OTHER contributions listed above:______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Colleges and Universities: please list semester dates
Fall ___________________________ Winter ________________________ Spring _________________________ Maymester _____________________ Summer _______________________

2. All Other School Systems: please list regular and summer school year dates
Regular School Year _________________________ Summer School _____________________________
3. Health Insurance: indicate the month the last health insurance deduction is to be made Last Month of Deduction ______________________

4. Termination Dates: indicate the last date that the member will be at work, the last day of the contract and the last month of contributions you will be submitting.
Last Day at Work _________________________
Last Day in Contract ______________________
Last Month of Contributions_________________

Signature of Approving Authority
Please sign and date verifying the information provided above is correct and submit form to TRS.
*TRS-8*

I certify that the above named individual has left or will leave the service of this public school system or educational institution as indicated and that the information reported on this form conforms to the payroll records of this system for this individual. I also agree that if any changes to the information occur, I will submit a corrected Retirement Certification Form immediately.

__________________________________________________ Approving Authority's Signature

______________________________ Title

__________________________________________________ System Name
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______________________________

Date

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Retirement Certification Report cont.
Explanation of Salary & Contributions Instructions
TOTAL SALARY should include only those salaries from which TRS contributions should be made. Salary subject to TRS contributions includes:
regular contract salary (half-time or more employment) summer employment pay all pro-rata summer pay (including less than half-time employment) salary adjustments if part of the regular contract sick leave paid on a daily basis prior to retirement with a termination date at the conclusion of the payment of the sick leave Not Included: annual or vacation leave at the end of employment (terminal annual leave), retirement incentive payments, or lump
sum payments for sick leave If you have any questions regarding allowable salary subject to TRS contributions, please visit the TRS website or contact your assigned TRS representative in the Employer Services Division. TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS withheld or to be withheld should be listed in this column. If the total contributions withheld for a particular month include a composite of contributions, please list the breakdown of the contributions in the proper column. If you show contributions in the "Other" column, please explain in the place provided. If more space is needed, please attach an explanation to this form before submitting to TRS. HEALTH INSURANCE: When indicating the month from which the last health insurance deduction should be made, it should be the last month in which salary is paid. For example: if the last month of salary is paid in March and a health insurance premium is deducted, you would indicate March as the last deduction, even though the premium will cover the member's health insurance for April. TERMINATION DATES: An eligible member's retirement cannot be effective until the first of the month following his/her last date of employment. If his/her last date of employment is April 30, do not show May 1 on this form. This will cause the effective date of the retirement to be June 1. If the last month of contributions are after the termination date and they are not already explained in the spaces provided, please attach an explanation on a separate sheet of paper. (examples include: last pay due to system's payroll schedule, bi-weekly employee, etc.)
Fluctuations in Salary and Contributions
If the member has had any unusual fluctuations in the salary and contributions during the last three years that you have not already explained, please attach an explanation on another sheet.
page 2 of 2
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Tax Forms
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intafoxrmfoartmion
When filling out the G-4P State of Georgia Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, please read below before completing the form.
Items 1 - 6: located at the top of the form must be completed.
Item 3: please interpret subsection B, "both spouses working", to mean that both you and your spouse are actually receiving an income. This would include your TRS retirement benefit, as well as any retirement pension that your spouse is receiving. Subsequently, please interpret subsection C, "one spouse working", as only one of the two of you are receiving an income.
Please ensure that you sign and date the form in the appropriate spaces located directly under item 7 on the front page.
Please do not cut the form as stated on the form. We ask that you please submit the entire page of the document. This allows our staff to expedite the imaging of the documents into your records.
Page 2: In the event you need to have an additional amount withheld above the amount to be deducted based on the tax tables, please use Schedule A on page 2 of this form to determine the appropriate additional withholding allowances and/or amount. Additional allowances should be entered in Item 5 on page 1 of this form. Additional withholdings should be entered in the designated space at the bottom of Schedule A where a signature is also required. Please be advised that you are able to specify a fixed amount of taxes to be withheld. If you choose to do this, you will need to mark through the word "additional" at the bottom of Schedule A and insert the word "Total" before the word "Withholding." A signature is required at the end of that section in order for your request to be processed.
If you encounter any difficulty in completing this or the federal W-4P forms, please contact your accountant, the State of Georgia Department of Revenue or the Internal Revenue Service for assistance.
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notes
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Two Northside 75, Suite 100 Atlanta, Georgia 30318 (404) 352-6500 (800) 352-0650 www.trsga.com