Retirement Guide

3 months before retirement

Apply for Social Security & Medicare benefits (if applicable )

ETF Retirement Timeline

• 12 months before: Request an Official Estimate and Application (ET-4301)
• 6 months before: Set Up a Retirement Appointment (Not required)
• 6 weeks before: Submit application to ETF

Retirement Eligibility and Notification Requirements

Eligibility for retirement varies by the employee unit you are in immediately prior to your retirement date. Additionally, it is important to notify MMSD of your retirement no later than the dates outlined below. Failure to meet these dates will result in a resignation rather than retirement, voiding your ability to access MMSD’s retirement benefits.

Notify MMSD of Your Retirement

Income Sources

Wisconsin Retirement System Pension:

The Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) is the pension plan for public employees in Wisconsin.  WRS is administered by the state’s Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF).   As an employee of a public school district you and MMSD (and any other past public employers you’ve had) have contributed to your WRS pension.

Your pension benefit is referred to as an annuity and retirees are referred to as annuitants.  An annuity is a lifetime payment and is based on an individualized calculation using either the formula method or the money purchase method.  ETF calculates your annuity under both methods and automatically pays the higher amount.  The formula method is calculated using your final average monthly earnings, your total years of credit services, a multiplier for your service and employment category, and your age at retirement.  The money purchase method is calculated using your total contributions, plus accrued interest, and a factor related to your age.  For more information on these formulas, see ETF’s publication Calculating Your Retirement Benefits (ET-4107).  

ETF provides numerous options for your WRS annuity, including life options and joint survivor benefits.  Whichever option you choose will affect the amount of your monthly annuity and what benefits your beneficiaries receive following your death. See ETF’s Choosing an Annuity Option Guide (ET-41173) for descriptions of the various options available.   

ETF has a retirement calculator which allows you to estimate your annuity payment with different retirement dates and the various options available. Have your most recent WRS benefit statement available when using the calculator for the more accurate estimates.

When you are ready to retire, you should contact ETF for an official estimate and claim form.  It is best to contact ETF six to nine months prior (or as soon as possible) to your last day worked to request this estimate.  It can take up to two months to receive and another two months to process your official retirement after ETF receives your paperwork.  Contact ETF at 877-533-5020 for questions about their process.

Your WRS benefits are taxable as income.  You will complete the income tax withholding on your retirement application when you apply for your annuity.  You can also use ETF’s Income Tax Withholding Calculator to help you decide how much to have withheld. 

Once retired and collecting your pension, there are a few work limitations you will need to be aware of if you return to any employment through a public school district or state employer. First, annuitants must have a valid termination of employment and be separated from WRS employment for at least 75 calendar days before they can return to WRS-covered employment. If an annuitant does not separate for at least 75 days, the retirement will be considered invalid. If you are rehired and meet the current WRS eligibility standards (working 880 hours per rolling calendar year, or a 0.67 FTE position), your annuity will be suspended until you re-retire.

If you are rehired and you work less than 880 hours/0.67 FTE in your new position, what happens to your annuity depends on when you were first employed in a WRS position:  

• If you first began work under the WRS before July 1, 2011, and you return to work for a WRS employer in a position that is at least one-third of full time, you may elect whether you want to continue or stop your annuity.  

• If you first began work under the WRS on or after July 1, 2011, and you return to work for a WRS employer in a position that is less than 880 hours /0.67 FTE, you may not become a participating employee. Your annuity will continue.  

Social Security

When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. You need 40 credits (10 years of work) to be eligible to receive Social Security. Your Social Security benefit payment is based on how much you earned during your working career. Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits. If there were some years you didn’t work or had low earnings, your benefit amount may be lower than if you had worked steadily. 
 
You may start collecting your Social Security benefit as early as age 62. Depending on your date of birth, your full retirement age may be between 66 and 67 years. Starting your Social Security prior to your full retirement age will cause your monthly benefit to be reduced. Additionally, delaying your benefits after your full retirement age will increase your monthly benefit. For example, if you start receiving your benefit at 62, your monthly benefit will be 70% of your full social security benefit; or, if you start receiving your benefit at age 70, your monthly benefit will be 124% of your full social security benefit.  
 
You can use Social Security’s online Retirement Estimator to get immediate and personalized retirement benefit estimates to help you plan for your retirement. For more information, visit the calculator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.  

Social Security benefits may be subject to federal tax laws, depending on your annual income. Additionally, some states require state taxation of your Social Security benefit. Fortunately, if you live in Wisconsin, you will not be subject to state taxes for your Social Security benefit. Speak to your tax advisor to determine how much federal (and/or state) taxes should be withheld from your Social Security benefit.

You can work while you receive Social Security retirement (or survivors) benefits. When you do, it could mean a higher benefit for you in the future. Each year Social Security reviews the records for all working Social Security recipients. If your earnings for the prior year are higher than one of the years used to compute your retirement benefit, Social Security will recalculate your benefit amount and will pay the increase retroactive to January the year after you earned the money. If you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, your earnings may reduce your benefit amount. Please consult the Social Security Administration for more information on these reductions and limits  

Retirement Savings Plans (403b, 401k, IRA)

You will want to consider other avenues of income once retired. There are many different retirement plans you may have contributed to through your career: 403bs through school districts, 401ks through private employers or IRAs through your personal savings.

Through MMSD, you may have contributed to a 403b plan. You are not required to take any funds out of your 403(b) account when you retire. You can leave funds in your 403(b) account and they will continue to accumulate until you withdraw them or roll them over later. Note: your contributions to your 403b plan ends upon retirement from MMSD. 

However, if you do plan to make withdrawals – and you retire before age 55 – you will have to pay regular income taxes, plus a 10% penalty on the amount for at least five years or until you reach the age of 59½ (whichever is longer). If you are 55 or older when you retire, you can choose to withdraw some or all of your funds in a lump sum. 

When you turn 70½, you are required to start withdrawing funds from your account. There's a required minimum distribution that you must take annually, which is based on your age and the age of your spouse. If you fail to take the correct distribution one year, you will be subject to a 50% nondeductible excise tax. Most plan administrators provide for automatic calculation and distribution of Required Minimum Distributions annually.

You may wish to roll over part (or all) of your 403(b) to another account, such as a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA so that you have easier access to your funds, different and more varied investment options, or better money management during your retirement years.

To roll over your 403(b) account to another account, you’ll need to have the new financial institution email the necessary forms to hrcommunications@madison.k12.wi.us or fax them to (608) 204-0346.

TERP (Teacher Emeritus Retirement Program)

TERP is a retirement longevity program that provides those in the Teacher and Teacher Addendum groups a monthly payment that is available for 3 years (36 months) following retirement. These payments can either be received as cash (taxable) or used to pay for health & dental insurance premiums (pretax).

TERP is available to employees in the Teacher Unit whose age + years of service = at least 75 (or years of service of at least 30 years). Additionally, if you are currently working part-time, you must have worked at least one year in a full-time status in the previous 10 years prior to retirement. 

You will also continue to receive TERP if you return as a substitute or return as a regular employee. Please note: TERP benefits must begin immediately following retirement (it cannot be put on hold). 

You have 2 options on how TERP can be used. 

1. TERP can be taxed and direct deposited monthly into your checking and/or savings account. This option is helpful if cash-flow is important to you and/or you are not continuing MMSD’s insurance benefits immediately after retirement. 

2. TERP can be used to pay for your monthly family or single health and dental insurance premiums. This option allows for insurance premiums to be taken from your TERP payment pre-tax, similar to your current paychecks, extending the period of time insurance is paid for by MMSD. Any remaining income after insurance premiums have been paid will be taxed and then direct deposited into your checking/savings account. IF your TERP amount does not cover the entire premium amount, the remaining balance will need to come from your PIC account. This means that you CANNOT have the Health Reimbursement Arrangement account if your TERP payment will not cover the entire amount of your monthly insurance premiums.  

*Please note, TERP cannot be transferred to your Personal Illness Credits account balance to pay for future insurance premiums.  
 
You will have the opportunity to elect Option 1 or Option 2 during your retirement process and annually thereafter while receiving TERP. Your election will remain in-force through the calendar year and cannot be changed.  
 
The benefit is direct-deposited by MMSD monthly, 12 months out of the year. The direct deposit will be made the 1st day of each month. Your TERP benefit is calculated by taking 19% of your highest base contract: 

Annual TERP Benefit Calculation Example
Highest Base Contract	$70,000
TERP Benefits	x0.19
Pre-Tax Annual TERP Benefit	$13,300
# Months Per Year	÷ 12
Per-Tax Monthly TERP Benefit	$1,108.33

TERP is taxable income that begins September 1 after your retirement date and continues for 3 years (36 months). As you can see in the above example, your tax bracket for your TERP benefit will be different than what you are in as a current employee (as the tax bracket calculation is based only on your TERP earnings and nothing else). For most people, TERP payments fall below the lowest tax bracket, therefore State and Federal taxes are not withheld. You may want to speak to a tax advisor to determine if you need to change your tax withholdings for your TERP payments. You will receive a W-2 in January for your TERP income.

ARP (Administrator Retirement Program)

ARP (Administrator Retirement Program) is a longevity incentive, open to Administrators and Professional-Instructional staff in MMSD. An individual qualifies for the program after having seven years of administrator service here at MMSD (those who move from an MMSD Teacher role to an administrator role will have Teacher years of service counted at a 3:1 ratio (3 teacher years = 1 admin year, up to 5 years). 

The ARP 403b lump-sum payment is available to employees in the Administrator and Professional-Instructional Units whose age + Administrator / PR-I years of service = at least 70. To be eligible for ARP, the Administrator / PR-I would need to be employed for at least 12 years and contributed a minimum of $50 per paycheck into a 403b for at least 5 years. 
 
The lump-sum payment is divided into two equal contributions, one in July of the year of retirement and the other in January of the year following retirement. The amount of the payment varies based on the years of service and years contributing to the plan. An individualized calculation of the payment will be provided to the eligible retiring Administrator / PR-I. 
 
If receiving ARP, you must keep your 403b account active and open through the 2nd contribution. You will be required to complete a form confirming your account information (including 403b plan name, account number and deposit information) prior to the contributions being made. This information request will be mailed to your home. 
 
Note, there is a non-competitive clause with ARP, requiring no other K-12 employment during the time in which the lump-sum payment is paid out.

Other Income

In addition to the income listed above, you may have other income sources you will want to consider, such as previous retirement plans, out-of-state pensions survivorship Social Security or even a part-time job. It’s recommended you speak to a financial planner about your total income and budget needs.

Insurance Continuation

MMSD Insurance Continuation Coverage

When you retire from MMSD, you have the ability to continue some of your insurance coverage into retirement. The information below only applies if you have MMSD insurance the day prior to your retirement date. 

You can elect to continue your coverage immediately following retirement or you can cancel your coverage and come back to MMSD’s plans later. Cancelling your MMSD coverage and enrolling in another plan is a great way to extend how long you have paid insurance coverage. This is usually possible if you or your spouse has insurance coverage available through another employer. If you decide to enroll in other coverage, you can only re-enroll in MMSD’s plan within 30 days of when the other coverage ends. 
 
As a retiree, you can continue the following coverage as a single or family policy (including child(ren)).   

Health Insurance

You may continue your MMSD health insurance when you retire or you can end it at retirement (and reenroll at a later date if you experience a qualifying life event). MMSD’s retiree health insurance coverage can continue for you and any covered family members Some retirees cancel their MMSD coverage when retiring and enroll in a spouse’s insurance coverage until that coverage ends (this is allowable as a “Qualifying Life Event”).  

Health insurance can continue for covered members through Dean or Quartz. You may elect to enroll in the HMO, POS or PPO (for those who live outside of Southern Wisconsin) plan. The plan you elect will continue for the calendar year in which you retire and you may switch to another plan during Open Enrollment (October-November). 

You and/or your spouse and children can stay on the District’s group insurance plan until you and/or your spouse turn 65 and/or your child(ren) turn 26.  Once you or your spouse turn 65, you must sign up for Medicare Parts A and B.  You will then be eligible for a Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage plan.  You can enroll in one of the Medicare plans offered through Dean, Group Health Cooperative, WPS, or Quartz, or you can enroll in a Medicare plan offered by any other licensed insurer.  These plans are considered individual plans and are not part of the District’s group plan.  See the section on paying for insurance in retirement for more information on your options for paying premiums for these plans. 

The Dean and Quartz HMO, POS and PPO insurance premiums increase annually on July 1. Medicare Supplement insurance premiums increase annually on January 1. As a retiree, you will be notified by MMSD when the premium increases occur, as long as MMSD is paying for your retiree insurance coverage. If you are paying the premiums directly to Dean, Group Health Cooperative, Quartz or WPS, they will notify you of premium increases.

Dental Insurance

You may continue your MMSD dental insurance when you retire or you can end it at retirement (and reenroll at a later date if you experience a qualifying life event). MMSD’s retiree dental insurance coverage can continue for you and any covered family members – single or family coverage. Some retirees cancel their MMSD dental coverage when retiring to enroll in a spouse’s insurance coverage until their coverage ends (this is allowable as a “Qualifying Life Event”) or they cancel coverage completely and pay for dental services out-of-pocket.

Dental insurance can continue for covered members through Delta Dental of Wisconsin. The Delta Dental of Wisconsin Network utilizes the national Delta Dental network, giving you access to more than 155,000 dentists nationally.  

Coverage may continue indefinitely for you and your spouse; coverage for your child(ren) ends when they turn 26.  

The Delta Dental insurance premiums increase annually on July 1. As a retiree, you will be notified by MMSD when the premium increases occur, as long as MMSD is paying for your retiree insurance coverage.  If you are paying the premiums directly to Delta Dental, Delta Dental will notify you of premium increases. 

Life Insurance

The District offers two life insurance plans to employees.  Only one of these plans, the Basic + Retirement plan, provides coverage in retirement  and this plan is closed to new enrollees as of January 1, 2019.  If you were enrolled in the Basic + Retirement plan as of December 31, 2018, you are eligible to continue coverage into retirement as long as any required premiums continue to be paid.

The Basic + Retirement plan includes two types of benefits.  The Basic benefit is equal to one times your annual salary rounded up to the nearing $1,000.  This benefit is payable for the rest of your life, as long as your premiums continue to be paid. This policy is considered paid in full starting at 65, meaning no more premiums are due.  However, the benefits are reduced starting at age 65 according to the following schedule:

•    Up to age 65: 100% of pre-retirement policy value
•    Age 65 – 67: 75% of pre-retirement policy value
•    Age 68-71: 50% of pre-retirement policy value
•    Age 72 and older: 25% of pre-retirement policy value
  
While employed, you can purchase Voluntary, or supplemental, coverage for yourself, your spouse and/or your dependents and continue these benefits until retirement or age 65, whichever is later, as long as premiums continue to be paid.     

Long Term Care

You may continue your Long Term Care insurance for yourself and/or your spouse into retirement by continuing to pay for premiums.  Contact UNUM at 688-679-3054 to file a claim when benefits are needed.

Coverage Not Continuing into Retirement

Federal regulations (COBRA) require MMSD to notify you of your rights to continue vision coverage through MMSD after your retirement. You will be responsible for 100% of the premium to continue COBRA. This premium cannot be taken from your MMSD retirement benefits. More about your COBRA continuation rights will be mailed to your home after retirement.  

Disability

If you have short-term disability or long-term disability when you retire, your coverage will end and cannot be continued into retirement. Disability coverage is not eligible for COBRA.

When Does My Insurance End as an Employee?

Once you retire, your employee insurance will continue for a short period of time before changing to retiree coverage.  Below is a chart to help you determine when coverage your ends as an employee and then transitions to retiree coverage.  

SCHOOL BASED EMPLOYEE (TE, EA, BRS, Food Service, Security Assistants, SEE Unit (9/10 months) units and Extended Long-Term Substitutes

I am resigning/retiring on the last day of the school year:
Health Insurance Ends	8/31
Dental Insurance Ends	8/31
Vision Insurance Ends	8/31
Flex Spending Ends	6/30 (90 days to submit claims for services incurred by June 30)
Long Term Care Insurance Ends	6/30
Life Insurance Ends	Last day worked
Short- and Long- Term Disability Ends	Last day worked
I am resigning/retiring any other time of the year:
Health Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Dental Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Vision Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Flex Spending Ends	End of the month of your last day worked (90 days to submit claims incurred by the end of month of last day worked)
Long Term Care Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Life Insurance Ends	Last day worked
Long Term Disability Ends	Last day worked

YEAR ROUND EMPLOYEE (CU, PR/PR-I, Admin, NUC, TRADES, SEE (12 month) units

Regardless of when I am  resigning/retiring:
Health Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Dental Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Vision Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Flex Spending Ends	End of the month of your last day worked (90 days to submit claims incurred by the end of month of last day worked)
Long Term Care Insurance Ends	End of the month of your last day worked
Life Insurance Ends	Last day worked
Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance Ends	Last day worked

Payment of Post-Retirement Insurance

When you retire at MMSD, your Personal Illness balance is converted into credits than can be used to pay for retiree insurance. This account can only be used for insurance premiums and cannot be taken as a cash benefit. Additionally, this account does not earn interest. If you do not continue MMSD’s insurance immediately following retirement, your Personal Illness Credits will remain retained indefinitely. Please note, if you pass away, any remaining funds in your Personal Illness bank will be transferred to your spouse and cannot be transferred to any other beneficiaries. 

You have the option to put your Personal Illness bank into an Escrow Account or Health Reimbursement Arrangement Account (HRA). This election can be changed if you have a life event (such as Medicare eligible, dependent aging out, etc). Once your Personal Illness Credits have been exhausted, you will have the ability to continue your retiree insurance coverage by paying your premiums directly to the insurance carrier(s).

Escrow Account

An Escrow Account is an account where MMSD pays your insurance premiums directly to the insurance carriers.  The Escrow Account will pay for the following District provided benefits in retirement:

• Health Insurance: 
  • Dean HMO, POS, PPO, and Medicare supplement plans,
  • Quartz HMO, POS, PPO, and Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage plans,
• Dental Insurance:
  • Delta Dental Basic Plan
• Life Insurance:
  • Basic+Retirement Life Insurance
• Long-Term Care:
  • Long-Term Care insurance provided by Unum Life Insurance Company.

Health Reimbursement Arrangement

An HRA is a federally regulated account which is managed by Employee Benefits Corporation (EBC). If you select this option, your personal illness credits are deposited in your HRA account and you seek reimbursement from EBC for allowable costs you paid.  Claims for reimbursement can be submitted to EBC through its mobile app or on-line at ebcflex.com. 

An HRA is a more flexible option for your personal illness credits because you can be reimbursed for other health-related costs besides insurance premiums, such as select deductibles and copays, over-the-counter medicine, prescription eyewear and dental expenses.  Also, if you find another insurance option that better meets your needs than the plans offered by the District, you can use your HRA to reimburse yourself for those premiums rather than enrolling in one of the District’s options.  Unfortunately, an HRA can only be used to reimburse premiums for health, dental, and long-term care insurance.  It cannot be used to reimburse premiums paid for life insurance. 

Retirement Process

Congratulations on deciding to retire from MMSD! We appreciate your hard work, dedication and commitment to MMSD’s students and families. Now that you’ve made the decision to retire, there are a few things you’ll need to do. It is imperative you follow the deadlines below. Failure to meet these deadlines will result in delayed benefits and possibility the inability to retire from MMSD.

4 months – 2 weeks before retirement (depending on employee type)

• Submit your Retirement Notice at https://hr.madison.k12.wi.us/separation

  • January 15th for Administrators and Professional-Instructional employees

  • February 15th for employees in the Teacher Unit

  • At least 4 weeks prior to retirement for employees in the Custodians & Supportive Educational Employee Unit

  • At least 2 weeks prior to retirement for employees in all other Units

7- 10 months before retirement

• Contact Wisconsin Retirement System for a Retired Annuitant Estimate at 877-533-5020 or ETF.wi.gov "Online Retirement Estimate Request"
• If eligible for Social Security, request estimate 1-866-770-2262 or SSA.gov

3 months before retirement

• Send in WRS Retired Annuity Election to Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS)
• If eligible, apply for Social Security at SSA.gov

1 - 3 months before retirement

• Enroll in Medicare, Medicare Supplement/Advantage and/or Medicare Part D if age 65, or soon to be age 65

Download a pdf version of this checklist

WRS Limits

If you plan on working for a WRS employer after retirement, you must have a 75 calendar-day break in employment before you can return to work.  This includes working as a substitute, coaching or working for MSCR.  If you do not take a 75 day break, WRS will recuperate all of the pension paid to you.

While collecting your WRS pension, there are also restrictions in the amount of hours you can work when you return to a WRS employer (such as MMSD, MSCR, Madison College, UW Madison, etc.).  You are restricted to working less than 880 hours per WRS employer within a 12 month rolling period of time.   When calculating the 880 hours, the first 12 months is measured from your first pay check date to 12 months later.  At that time, WRS will look at your hours worked to see if you are under 880 hours.  If you are under, then your calendar becomes a rolling 12 months.  This means that the newest paycheck hours are added to the total and the oldest are subtracted.

Check Date	Hours
1/02/2018	80	Total 659.2
2/01/2018	56		Total 671.2
3/01/2018	116
3/30/2018	56
5/01/2018	83.2
6/01/2018	80
6/15/2018	60
10/1/2018	16
11/1/2018	39.2
11/30/2018	72.8
1/02/2019	92

If you decide to return to work for a WRS employer, it will be your responsibility to track your hours.  If you are paid hourly, your hours will be reported to ETF on each of your pay stubs.  If you are paid in quantities of days, each day is assumed to be 8 hours for WRS purposes.

403(b) Distributions

Through MMSD, you may have contributed to a 403(b) plan while you were an active employee.  You are not required to take any funds out of your 403(b) account when you retire.  You can leave funds in your 403(b) account and they will continue to accumulate until you withdraw them or roll them over to another account later.

However, if you do plan to make withdrawals – and you retire before age 55 – you will have to pay regular income taxes, plus a 10% penalty on the amount for at least five years or until you reach the age of 59½ (whichever is longer).  If you are 55 or older when you retire, you can choose to withdraw some or all of your funds in a lump sum.  When you turn 70½, you are required to start withdrawing funds from your account.  There’s a required minimum distribution that you must take annually, which is based on your age and the age of your spouse.  If you fail to take the correct distribution one year, you will be subject to a 50% nondeductible excise tax.  Most plan administrators provide for automatic calculation and distribution of required minimum distributions annually.  

To request a distribution or to roll your account into an IRA, reach out to your 403b plan provider and request the appropriate forms for the distribution/rollover.  MMSD is required to sign your completed form before being returned to the plan provider for processing.   Please send an email to hrcommunications@madison.k12.wi.us to have these forms signed.  

TERP (Teacher Emeritus Retirement Program)

You will begin receiving your TERP payment on September 1st following your retirement date.  TERP will be paid for 3 years or 36 months. Your payment will be direct-deposited into the checking or savings account you have on file with MMSD.  As a reminder, TERP usually falls below all tax brackets, meaning taxes are normally not withheld, but the income is taxable.  If you’d like to have taxes withheld, please complete a State W-4 and Federal W-4 requesting an additional flat dollar amount, to be withheld.  The W4’s should be returned to MMSD’s Payroll Department.

If you requested to have insurance premiums withheld from TERP, they will be deducted pre-tax.  If your TERP payment cannot cover the entire insurance premium, the remainder of the premium will automatically be taken from your Escrow account.

You can decide to have insurance premium taken from TERP on an annual basis.  Every fall, you will receive a TERP election from which designates how you would like to designate TERP.  Please complete and return this form to MMSD.   

Survivor Benefits

In the unfortunate event that you pass away, your health and dental coverage may be continued for your spouse and dependent(s).  Coverage will continue under the same rules your coverage follows.  Your spouse and/or dependent(s) will have access to any remaining Escrow / HRA Account funds to continue to pay for the insurance premiums.

If you have a MMSD retiree life insurance policy, your beneficiaries have up to 1 year following your death to file a life insurance claim.  They will want to contact MMSD Human Resources to start the claim process.  If the claim is started after the 1-year timeframe, any claim benefits will be denied. 

Your family needs to notify ETF as soon as possible after your death to determine your pension payouts.  Call 877-533-5020 with the following information about you:

• Full name
• Address
• Date of death
• Social Security Number

WRS will then stop your monthly payments and recover any payments issued after your death.  They will then determine whether any death benefits are payable from the annuity (dependent on the option you selected when you first received your pension).  If any death benefits are payable, they will send the death benefit estimates and application to the eligible beneficiaries.  This process can take up to 90 days.

Use the checklist below to guide you through the retirement process. Following these steps will help ensure a seamless and efficient transition into retirement. You can also download a copy of the retirement checklist for your convenience.

Download a pdf version of this checklist

Retirement Application Example

Download Summary Plan Document

Download Direct Deposit Form

Download Claim Form

Download Recurring Claim Form

Download the HRA Reimbursement Form

Download Summary Plan Document

Download Direct Deposit Form

Download Claim Form

Download Recurring Claim Form