Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) - LEGACY (Staff hired prior to July 2014):

The Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) is a defined benefit pension plan that covers state employees, higher education employees, K-12 public school teachers, and employees of political subdivisions who have elected to participate in the plan.  This means that the amount of any future retirement benefits is determined by a benefit formula rather than an account balance. All full-time teachers are covered by Group I of the retirement system as a condition of employment.  As a teacher, you are required to contribute five percent of your salary to the retirement system.  Contributions are made on a tax-deferred basis. 

TCRS is a “defined benefit” retirement plan, which means that the amount of any future benefit will be determined by a benefit formula rather than by an account balance. In most cases, the amount of the benefit will be affected by three factors: your length of service, your final average salary, and the social security integration level in the year you retire or die.

• Average Final Compensation (AFC) — The AFC is the average of your five highest consecutive years of salary. The benefit payable at retirement cannot exceed 94.5 percent of your average final compensation.
• Creditable Service —  Creditable service means membership service under the TCRS plus any other periods of service credited to you by the retirement system. Service credit may be accrued for full-time service as a state employee, as a public school teacher in Tennessee, or as an employee of certain local governments in Tennessee.

Website: http://treasury.state.tn.us/tcrs/

Phone:1 (800) 922.7772

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Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) - HYBRID PENSION PLAN (Staff hired after to July 2014):

The Hybrid Plan provides a combination of a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan. The defined benefit portion of the Hybrid Plan will be managed by TCRS. The defined contribution assets will be deposited into the state’s 401(k) plan where you will manage the investments within the 401(k) plan. As a state employee, higher education employee or public school teacher, you are required to contribute 5% of your salary to the defined benefit portion of Hybrid Plan. Contributions are made on a tax-deferred basis. 

Website: https://participant.empower-retirement.com/participant/#/login

Phone: 1 (800) 701.8255