Here's What's New!

Have you ever wondered how we calculate pension benefits? There is sometimes the mistaken belief that it may have something to do with your account balance, when in fact it's all about salary and how many years you work.

Pensions are not as common as they used to be, which can lead to not fully understanding what you’re a part of, how it benefits you, and how to best take advantage of the benefits available to you. To further that understanding, let’s take a look at what the Arizona State Retirement System is, and what it isn’t.

Diabetes is a disease where your body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and regulates the amount of glucose in the blood allowing it to be turned into energy and used, or stored. This impairment results in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates causing elevated glucose levels in the blood.

Getting ready to retire is a big step! It means closing one chapter and beginning another. To make sure you’re as prepared and informed as possible before you hit ‘submit’ on your retirement application, make sure you’ve considered the following questions;

Sometimes, it’s hard to know whether you should be helping to answer an employee’s questions about the ASRS or their pension, or when you need to point them our way. In general, if they have questions specific to their account – such as benefit estimates or possible retirement dates – they’ll need to either contact the ASRS or log in to their secure myASRS account. If they have more general questions – what or who the ASRS is, benefits of their pension plan, etc. -  it’s good for employers to be able to have answers.

If you're leaving the ASRS prior to retirement, you may be wondering if you should refund your account. You can, but you don't have to. You have options!

This year, the ASRS will celebrate its 65th Anniversary.

In the 21^st session of the Arizona State Legislature, Governor Howard Pyle signed the bill that created the ASRS as of July 1^st, 1953 as a pension plan for employees of state and municipal government.

The first public pension in Arizona, however, was issued in 1912, the year Arizona entered statehood. It was granted to a teacher, in the amount of $50 a month ($600 a year). In 1955, the teacher’s pension plan and the ASRS merged, creating a statewide retirement system.