While the ASRS offers a variety of benefits for members, our primary focus is providing members with a lifetime retirement benefit. Once you're able to retire, you'll need to choose how you'd like to receive your benefit. Your retirement annuity options fall into three distinct categories, each helping to accomplish slightly different retirement goals:
1. Straight Life Annuity - "I want to receive the maximum monthly amount possible and don't need to worry about providing money for a beneficiary."
Straight Life Annuity (SLA) provides the highest monthly payment but does not guarantee any benefits to your survivors after your death. While you will receive a benefit payment for life, most members deplete their account balance within 6-8 years of retirement, meaning there may not be any benefit to pass to your beneficiaries.
Who can be your beneficiary(ies): any persons, estate, organizations, or trusts. There is no limit on the number of primary beneficiaries you may have.
2. Joint and Survivor - "I want to ensure my beneficiary continues to receive all or a portion of my pension for the remainder of their lifetime."
Joint and Survivor Annuity ensures a monthly retirement benefit for the rest of your life and then the rest of your beneficiary's life.
If you elect one of these options, your lifetime monthly benefit will be less than if you choose the straight life annuity option explained above, but you can provide your beneficiary with 100%, 66 2/3%, or 50% of your benefit. The higher the percentage you leave your beneficiary, the lower your own monthly benefit will be during retirement. Your and your beneficiary's age will also affect your monthly benefit amount.
Who can be your beneficiary: you may only elect one person.
Age restrictions will apply to anyone who is a non-spouse:
- •Joint and Survivor 100% - Your non-spouse beneficiary cannot be more than 10 years younger than you.
- •Joint and Survivor 66 2/3% - Your non-spouse beneficiary cannot be more than 24 years younger than you.
- •Joint and Survivor 50% - Your beneficiary has no age restriction.
3. Term Certain - "I want to leave money for my beneficiary, but only for a set period of time."
Term Certain annuities offer three options: 5-Year, 10-Year, and 15-Year. If you elect one of these options, you will receive a reduced monthly benefit upon retirement for the period of time selected. Once you have received your benefit payments for the period you select, you'll be automatically converted to a Straight Life Annuity, and your benefit payments will automatically be adjusted.
If your death occurs before your chosen period ends, benefit payments will continue to your beneficiary until the designated period has been achieved. At that point, your beneficiary would then stop receiving any payments.
For example, if you elect a 15-Year Term Certain and pass away after receiving exactly ten years of monthly benefit payments, your beneficiary will receive your benefit for the final five years of your Term Certain.
Who can be your beneficiary(ies): any persons, estate, organizations, or trusts. There is no limit on the number of primary beneficiaries you may have.
Important: Married members are required to name their spouse as a beneficiary. The Straight Life Annuity and Term Certain is only available to married members if their spouse has waived their rights via the Spousal Consent form. Otherwise, married members are required to name their spouse as a beneficiary entitled to at least 50% of their account balance and a Joint and Survivor annuity option.
For more information about the above retirement annuity options, please visit the Retirement Annuity Options page.
To view a personalized estimate of any of the above options, log into your secure myASRS account! Once there, select "Retirement" under the left-hand "Your Benefit Estimates" menu. Estimates for the Straight Life Annuity for normal or early retirement will be available, or you may enter a custom retirement date. If you click "more options," you can customize your estimates further by choosing a Term Certain or Joint and Survivor annuity option.
by Nathaniel Brengle, Strategic Communications
Updated 4/10/2023
