Retirement and Financial Planning

Register: Pre-Retirement Counseling Workshops
Held monthly via Zoom or In-Person | Space is limited! Register Early!

Register: Financial Consultations
Held monthly via In-Person | Space is limited! Register Early!

Texas A&M is committed to providing retirement programs to help you plan for the future and provide a foundation of retirement income in addition to your personal savings and investments.

Retirement Programs

  • Mandatory Retirement Plans:
    • Teacher Retirement System (TRS)
    • Optional Retirement Program (ORP)
  • Voluntary Programs:
    • Tax-Deferred Account Program
    • Texa$aver Deferred Compensation Plan
  • Retirement Planning
If you are considering retiring during the next 12 months, you are encouraged to attend this workshop for TRS or ORP.

You can retire and begin to receive TAMUS retiree benefits once you meet eligibility criteria. Please review the following A Look Ahead: A Guide to Retiring from the A&M System to become familiar with rules under current state law.

Please complete the form I'm Ready to Start My TAMU Retirement so Benefit Services can verify your retirement eligibility. If you are eligible to retire, a personalized retirement packet will be curated and emailed to you. If you do not meet the eligibility requirements for retirement, you will be notified.

Schedule a consultation with a Texas A&M Retirement Specialist to discuss your unique situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Benefit Services is here to discuss you retirement options with you! Below are two suggestions for getting your questions answered:
  1. Pre-Retirement Counseling Workshops are offered once a month (virtually) and you can sign up via TrainTraq – pre-register for a Workshop here. Although not required, this Workshop is very informative and will likely answer most of your questions, as well as address things you may not have considered.
  2. Retirement Consultations are scheduled individually and, although not required, offer you the opportunity to ask specific questions pertaining to your unique retirement situation. You can elect to meet with a Retirement Specialist via phone, in person (at the General Services Complex, 750 Agronomy Rd.), or virtually via Zoom. You can schedule your Retirement Consultation here.

Under current state law, if you were employed in a benefits-eligible position with the A&M System on August 31, 2003, you are eligible to participate in the Texas A&M System group insurance plan as a retiree and receive the employer contribution toward your premiums as a retiree when:

  • you are at least age 55 and have at least 5 years of TRS or ORP service credit, or your age plus years of service equal at least 80, or you have at least 30 years of service, and
  • 3 of those years of service are with the A&M System, and
  • the A&M System is your last state employer, and
  • you have an intact TRS or ORP account.*

If you were hired by the A&M System in a benefits-eligible position after August 31, 2003, or if you left A&M System employment before August 31, 2003, and did not meet the criteria listed above as of August 31, 2003, you are eligible to participate in the Texas A&M System group insurance plan as a retiree and receive the employer contribution toward your premiums as a retiree when:

  • you are at least age 65 and have at least 10 years of TRS or ORP service credit, or your age plus years of service equal at least 80 and you have 10 years of service credit, and
  • 10 of those years of service are with the A&M System, and
  • the A&M System is your last state employer, and
  • you have an intact TRS or ORP account.*

*An intact TRS account is one that has not been withdrawn. An intact ORP account is a 403(b) account containing funds that can be tied to your Texas ORP account.

If you plan to retire in the next year, please register for Pre-Retirement Counseling Workshops as soon as you can. 

Refunds of an employee's Teacher Retirement System (TRS) deposits are available only to those who have terminated all employment with all TRS-covered employers. To request a refund of your TRS account, complete the TRS-6 Form and send the signed form to TRS after all final pay has been reported to TRS. If you are vested under TRS with 5 years of TRS service credit, you will be required to complete an additional waiver of benefits form verifying that you understand the benefits you are forfeiting by withdrawing your account. Once TRS receives all necessary forms, TRS will process the withdrawal request. Refunds go directly to you and taxes are withheld. There is also a 10% tax penalty if withdrawn before age 55.

You may also request a rollover of your funds into an IRA instead of taking a cash withdrawal. If requesting a rollover, check that option on the TRS 6 form and return the form. TRS will send you a packet instructing you how to complete the rollover. Complete the information in the packet and return it to TRS. TRS legally has up to a year to process these rollovers, but the process actually takes a couple of months. The IRA trustee or custodian must be a bank, a federally insured credit union, a savings and loan association, or an entity approved by the IRS to act as trustee or custodian. Rollovers go directly to the custodian and not to the TRS member. Taxes are not withheld, but rollovers imply a future tax liability. Foreign nationals whose countries have tax treaties with the United States are treated by TRS like any other refunding-member who doesn't roll over the funds. In other words, taxes are deducted; however, these individuals file with the IRS at the appropriate time for qualified refunds.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)

  • Phone: (800) 223-8778
  • Website: trs.texas.gov
  • Info Line: (888) 877-0123

Yes, TRS allows purchase of unreported TRS-eligible service, substitute service, out-of-state service, military service, developmental leave and previously withdrawn service. Check the TRS Benefits Handbook for full definitions and limitations for each category. Contact TRS for all purchase calculations. Then, determine if you want to make the purchase. State law may limit the total amount of service credit, which may be purchased. Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code also limits the amount of money which may be voluntarily contributed to TRS in a year toward a purchase; however, those who roll money directly from another qualified retirement account, such as a 403b or 401k, will not encounter this annual IRS limit. In addition to these purchases, a special purchase exists for state sick and/or personal leave, but this may only be executed at the time of retirement.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)

  • Phone: (800) 223-8778
  • Website: trs.texas.gov
  • Info Line: (888) 877-0123

Learn more about Purchasing Service Credit.

Your personal TRS account information is confidential, and can only be accessed by you. TRS active members with valid passwords can obtain access to their most recent Annual Statement of Account through the TRS website trs.texas.gov.

  • Phone: (800) 223-8778
  • Info Line: (888) 877-0123

Learn more about the Teacher Retirement System.

In addition, please be aware that if you participate in the Teacher Retirement System (TRS), it will take approximately two months to receive your first annuity payment. The university provides the final report of earnings at the end of the month in which your last paycheck was received. All earnings must be reported to TRS before the retirement can be certified and the TRS paperwork processed. You are encouraged to plan for this time delay.