How much do you know about Social Security? Regardless of your age, it’s good to have a foundational knowledge of what it is and what it provides – including disability benefits, survivor benefits and, of course, retirement benefits. In fact, Social Security is a fundamental part of your retirement plan! The ASRS is meant to be only one part of your financial retirement picture, with Social Security and personal savings making up the rest.

The ASRS currently serves over 660,000 members, including retirees, active members, and inactive account holders. With that many members, complicated account situations are not uncommon. One of the most frequent is when a family member contacts us after a member’s death, trying to manage the now-deceased member’s ASRS account. What can make this situation particularly difficult is when the deceased member never registered their myASRS account and did not list any beneficiaries. 

One of the most common questions we receive from retirees relates to increases in their pension. Many retirees are surprised to learn that the ASRS was not designed to provide yearly post-retirement benefit increases.

Your secure myASRS account is an important tool both before and after retirement. After you retire, it’s important to stay active in your account; here is a brief overview of all the capabilities you have within your myASRS account as a retiree.

C + I = B + E

In the formula above, the letters refer to Contributions, Income, Benefits and Expenses – and this is the essence of how your retirement system is funded! A description of these four factors follows.

A formula that is very important at the ASRS, but one that most of us would not learn about outside of retirement fund management: 

C + I = B + E

Contributions plus Income equals Benefits plus Expenses. This is the essence of how your retirement system is funded! A description of these four factors:

The ASRS Service Purchase Program is a benefit that allows active members with previous qualifying service to purchase past service time. There are 5 types of qualifying service, with the most common being the purchase of Forfeited Service or the purchase of Other Public Service. While it can be costly, it can also be beneficial - potentially increasing your lifetime benefit and/or allowing you to retire earlier than planned.

In this infographic, we look at an example of an ASRS member with an estimated refund of $10,000 to see how taxes apply, what penalties may be assessed, and what the estimated remaining cash amount could be. (Along with options available to avoid those penalties and taxes.)