The total amount is the total money and service in your account. This includes:

• Waiting period service you may have purchased, 
• Additional Service Credit you may have purchased, and 
• If eligible any Law Enforcement Custodial Officer Supplement (LECOS) credit. 

Once you qualify for retirement, you receive an annuity, the monthly check paid to you for your lifetime. When you retire, your lifetime retirement benefit is not based on how much money is in your account; it is a formula based on how long you worked for the State and how much money you earned in salary
 

 The pre-tax amount includes contributions deducted from your monthly paycheck. If your contributions began January 1, 1988 or later, the deduction is pre-tax. It also includes service purchase payments made directly to ERS that are pre-taxed. For example, if you used Texa$aver money to pay for service credit, it would be reflected in this account.

 The post-tax amount includes contributions deducted prior to January 1, 1988 from your monthly paycheck and service purchase payments made directly to ERS by personal funds. For example, if you paid for service credit with a personal check, it would be reflected in this account.

You may have the opportunity to buy it back if you returned to state employment. The cost to purchase this time is equal to the amount that was withdrawn plus 10 percent interest for each fiscal year from the date of the withdrawal to the purchase date. 

To buy back withdrawn ERS service, you must either be a member of ERS or of an entity that participates in the Proportionate Retirement Program (PRP.) In addition, at least six months must have passed since the date of your withdrawal. Once you have purchased this service, you will again receive service credit for the time toward retirement eligibility and annuity calculation. 

If you once worked for a state agency and withdrew the funds in your ERS retirement account, you no longer receive service credit toward retirement eligibility for the time you previously worked.

As of January 1, 2014, your retirement account earns 2% interest annually.

Your retirement service credit reflects the number of months you have a contribution on file in your retirement account, and does not include any amounts you may have withdrawn if you left employment. The amount of service listed on your pay stub is known as longevity or time employed by the state.