Retirement Planning

WRS is a retirement pension benefit for most State, Local and School District employees in Wisconsin. WRS requires that participants contribute a mandated percentage of their income to WRS on a pre-tax basis (50% contributed by the employee and 50% contributed by MMSD).  As of January 1, 2026, the WRS contribution rate is 14.4% of an employee's salary (7.2% paid by the employee and 7.2% paid by MMSD).

There are a few ways to be enrolled into WRS:

• At the start of your employment, the FTE and/or combined FTE’s must be 2/3 or greater (1/3 or greater for those contributing before July 1, 2011)
• Become re-hired within 12 months of a separation with MMSD, when you contributed
• Work 365 days and have worked 880 hours or more (440 hours or more for those contributing before July 1, 2011)

Once enrolled, you must have five years of credible service to be vested in the plan.  For more information about the Wisconsin Retirement System, visit the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds Retirement website or view the WRS Benefit Handbook. 

Vesting

WRS requires an employee to be vested to receive the employer contribution when they retire.  To be vested, you must have at least five years of creditable service.  Teachers, Substitute Teachers and Administrators receive one year of creditable service with at least 1,320 hours worked per year; all other employees receive 1 year of creditable service with at least 1,904 hours worked per year.

Variable Fund

WRS consists of two fund options, the Core Fund (which is the default fund) and the Variable Fund.  Your contributions will go into the Core Fund, unless you elect to participate in the Variable fund.  If you elect to contribute to the Variable Fund, 50% of your future WRS contributions will be deposited to the Variable Fund and 50% will be deposited to the Core Fund.  You are able to cancel your Variable Fund participation effective December 31st of the year the cancellation form is received by ETF.   See these ETF resources on the Variable Fund to learn more.

• How Participation in the Variable Trust Fund Affects Your WRS Benefits
• Election to Participate in the Variable Fund
• Latest WRS Investment Performance

Additional Contributions

You may make additional contributions to WRS annually.  You must submit the payment directly to ETF by December 31st of every calendar year and include the Additional Contributions Remittance.  Additional contributions are not taken pre-tax.  To read more about additional contributions,  visit ETF's site on Additional Contributions.

Understanding the Annual Statements of Benefits

ETF sends WRS participants a statement each year via U.S. mail, usually in mid-April. These statements include the participant’s current WRS balance and estimated benefit, based on contributions through December 31st of the prior calendar year.   Starting in 2025, WRS statements are also available on-line.
 
To help understand the Annual Statement of Benefits, ETF provides the following tools:  

• How to Ready My Statement of Benefits
• Statement of Benefits website

Questions about WRS?

If you have specific questions, please contact Joe Kis at (608) 663-5380 or at jkis@madison.k12.wi.us.  You can also contact ETF directly at 877-533-5020.

You have the opportunity to save for retirement by participating in MMSD's 403(b) plan at any time. You may participate by making pre-tax contributions or post-tax Roth contributions through one of the vendors available through MMSD.  All employees are eligible to participate with the exception of non-resident aliens, or those who do not have sufficient earnings to contribute a minimum of $200 per year.

Why contribute to a 403(b) plan?

Participating in a 403(b) plan provides a number of benefits, including:
 
Lower taxes today: Your pre-tax contribution is taken from your paycheck before income taxes are calculated which means you lower your current taxable income.   For example: If your federal marginal income tax rate is 25% and you contribute $100 a month to a pre-tax 403(b), you’ve reduced your federal income taxes by roughly $25. In effect, your $100 contribution costs you $75.

Lower taxes later: If you elect Roth contributions, you contribute from your paycheck after your income taxes are calculated. . This allows you to contribute with taxable income now, but you will not pay taxes when you withdraw the money in retirement. Not all vendors with MMSD’s 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan allow Roth 403(b) contributions. 

Tax-Deferred growth and compounding interest: In a 403(b) plan, your interest and earnings accrue tax deferred. That means interest on your contributions also grows tax deferred.

You take the initiative: Your WRS, and if applicable, Social Security, rarely fully replace a person’s final salary upon retirement. Consider contributing to a 403(b) plan to ensure you have sufficient income during retirement.

How much can I contribute?

As little as $200 per year, or up to the federal maximum.  In 2026, the standard maximum contribution is $24,500 Additional, or catch-up contributions, are allowed starting in the year you turn 50 years of age.  Contact your financial planner or 403(b) vendor to determine your eligibility for catch-up contributions.

How can I start contributing?

You can start contributing at any time. To start your contributions, you must open an account with one of the approved District vendors below:

• Fidelity (Plan 54944)
• WEA Member Benefits
• Equitable

 After opening an account, complete the District Salary Reduction Agreement form and email it to Payroll at Payroll@madison.k12.wi.us.

• You can change your contributions or stop contributing at any time. 
• Starting in 2026, hardship withdrawals are allowed and subject to the requirements in the plan.  Loans from your plan are no longer allowed starting in 2026.  

How do I learn more about 403(b) plans?

You can visit 403(b)wise, a resource website, not associated with MMSD.

When you retire, your Personal Illness balance is converted into credits that can be used to pay for insurance in retirement. These credits can only be used to pay for insurance premiums and cannot be taken as cash and do not earn interest.  

When you complete your retirement application, you will choose whether your Personal Illness Credits are deposited in an Escrow Account (administered by MMSD) or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)(administered by Employee Benefits Corp). This election can be changed if you have a life event (such as Medicare eligible, dependent aging out, etc). 

Under federal law, Rehired Annuitants are not eligible to have their Personal Illness Credits in the HRA. If you have an HRA and return to MMSD employment, any available credits in your HRA will automatically be moved to an Escrow Account administered by MMSD and your insurance premiums will be billed to MMSD and paid by MMSD from your Escrow Account.  

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).

For more information on insurance continuation in retirement, see the MMSD Retirement Guide.

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. 

There are two ways to receive your TERP payment: 

• Your entire TERP payment can be paid post-tax and be deposited monthly into your checking and/or savings account. 
• Alternatively, your TERP payment can be used to pay for your monthly family or single health and dental insurance premiums pre-tax.  Any remaining TERP payment will be taxed and deposited monthly into your checking/savings account. 

For more information on TERP, refer to Section 11.1 of Appendix A of the Employee Handbook or the MMSD Retirement Guide.

If you retire and come back to work for MMSD, you are considered a Rehired Annuitant.  There are limits on how many hours you can work in a year as a Rehired Annuitant without affecting your WRS pension benefit.  For more information,  visit MMSD’s Working After Retirement site or ETF’s Resource for Rehired Annuitants.