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The Arizona State Retirement System is marking its 65th Anniversary this year. It continues to be a privilege to provide a solid piece of retirement security to Arizona’s valued public servants.

It’s easy to overlook- You set up your secure ASRS account when you first become a member, you enter all your contact information, and then it’s all on autopilot until you retire, right??

One of the most comforting features of an ASRS pension is knowing it’s a life-long benefit. Having a steady income stream, regardless of the current (or future) economic climate or ups and downs of the markets can provide peace-of-mind for retirees.

Obviously this is a complex question. The short answer is that your financial situation is unique to you, and you should proceed however is best for your situation. But how do you know “what’s best for me?” Let’s look at some basic information that may help point you in the right direction.

It’s Retirement Season: Make Sure You’re Ready

A comment we’ve frequently heard from our members when they are ready to begin the retirement process is that they wish they’d known more and started preparing sooner. Don’t let that be you! Whether it’s three years down the road, or six months, there are steps to take right now to make sure you’re ready for your retirement.

Three Years Before Retirement

Think a 401(k) Might Be Better? Guess Again!

Every two weeks you see that 11.5% coming out of your paycheck, earmarked for a pension or long term disability that you don’t anticipate needing for a long time to come. Sometimes you may wonder if you would be better off with a different type of retirement plan, like a 401(k). Well, here are some facts that might make you feel better about your ASRS pension:

Unless you happen to be very familiar with pension systems, you probably haven’t heard of the company CEM Benchmarking before. But, for the ASRS, they’re a valuable resource that provides helpful data to evaluate both where we’re at and how best to move forward.

At the end of each fiscal year (June 30), the ASRS calculates a year-end rate of return on the total fund. The return for June 30, 2017 was 13.9 percent, positively impacting the financial health of the pension fund and helping to reduce upward pressure on future contribution rates.

Retiring is easy. Just pick one of seven annuity options available and you’re done.    

You may be saying to yourself “Wait. I have to figure out seven different options? What’s the difference between them?  Which is the right one for me and my family?” A good way to grasp the different options is to note that while there may be seven options, they fall into one of three categories: