One of the most comforting features of an ASRS pension is knowing it’s a life-long benefit. Having a steady income stream, regardless of the current (or future) economic climate or ups and downs of the markets can provide peace-of-mind for retirees.
While that’s a solid start, your ASRS retirement benefit, by design, is not intended to replace your working income – it’s one piece of the pie that makes up your retirement plan.
Personal Savings Can Make a Difference!
For active members today, it’s important to add personal savings into your retirement plan:
ASRS pension + Social Security benefit + Personal savings = Solid Retirement Plan!
Active members can get a good estimate of what their benefit will be in retirement and can make plans around that benefit estimate by logging into their myASRS account. As you begin to formulate your retirement savings plan, keep two things in mind:
1) Your ASRS retirement benefit does not include built-in “raises” – and that’s unlikely to change during retirement.
2) Health insurance is a major expense for retirees – one that is often under planned for.
Supplement Your Savings
A supplemental savings plan can be beneficial in providing that extra retirement income to hedge inflation and offset unexpected or unplanned for expenses.
The ASRS offers two types of supplemental savings plans that members can access through their employers. Ask your employer if they offer either of the ASRS supplemental savings plans – the SSRP, or the SSDP. If they do, get started today by setting up an account and commit regular contributions (even a small ones make a difference) through payroll deduction. Starting small and increasing your contributions over time can have a positive impact on your total retirement financial plan.
The ASRS deferred compensation plans offer low-fee, tax-deferred saving options and are administered by Nationwide Retirement Solutions.
To learn more about the ASRS supplemental savings plans visit the AzASRS.gov and on “Supplement Your Retirement” under the Members tab.
You can also ask your employer for additional information or reach out directly to Nationwide via AzSRSP.com.
Written by Dave Cannella, Media Relations
This article appeared in "Financial Horizons " (Q3-2018) , a publication of the ASRS
