Even if you've been a contributing member for years, it's good to check just in case.

If retirement is on the horizon, you may have questions about the process and how to start receiving your lifetime pension. To help answer those questions, the ASRS offers our educational webinar,  “Route 4: Next Exit Retirement.” This meeting is for members retiring within six months and is designed to help clarify your retirement choices. 

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.

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:

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;

This can be a complex question. If someone you care for – a parent, grandparent, spouse, etc. – has an account with the ASRS, but needs assistance accessing or managing that account, there are avenues you can take to help. 

“Can I borrow against my ASRS account?” is a common question. Unfortunately, the answer is no. The ASRS does not permit for members to take a loan from their account.  This may not be the case for Defined Contribution plans, such as a 401(k) or 457(b), which typically allow account holders to borrow against the balances in some fashion. 

Dealing with grief when a loved one dies is hard enough, but often you find yourself in a situation where you have to deal with financial and investment matters as well. The uncertainty about what to do next can be overwhelming. The following suggestions may help guide you through the process.