Did you know that your retirement pension is portable? The Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) has over 700 employers representing all levels of education, counties, and State service: if you leave one ASRS employer to work for another ASRS employer, your ASRS account picks up exactly where it left off. You don’t lose your current service credit or funds accrued! Having a portable pension allows you to make career decisions that benefit you without worrying about giving up your future retirement.
One thing to note if you do switch ASRS employers: make sure to re-enroll your myASRS account! Your new employer will give you an enrollment code – re-enrolling helps ensure your contributions with your new employer are properly associated with you and eliminates potential hiccups in your future retirement.
For a list of ASRS employers, visit: https://www.azasrs.gov/content/list-employers
Past non-ASRS Service
Have you previously worked in public service outside of Arizona? Or served in the military? ASRS members can actually “buy back” service time for qualified employment types such as having taught outside of Arizona, prior employment with the federal government, or past military service. Even previously-forfeited public service. Purchasing prior service may increase your future monthly retirement benefit or allow you to retire at an earlier date.
If purchasing prior service is something you’re interested in, our online Service Purchase wizard makes the process easy: log into your secure myASRS account and select the Service Purchase option under the “Apply Now” menu and follow the steps to receive a personalized cost estimate for purchasing your past service. And don’t worry, the application process just gathers the information necessary to create your custom estimate - there’s no obligation to purchase once you’ve completed the process.
To learn more about Service Purchase: https://www.azasrs.gov/content/service-purchase
by Pamela Foust, Strategic Communications
Updated 3/12/2023.
