Your Benefits, Your Story

How valuable are ERS benefits to your life?

Active members and retirees can best answer that question—and they do so in this collection of essays. Read any or all of them. Then consider telling us your story.

State of Texas employees earn valuable benefits. Read how those benefits have been essential to their lives.

ERS benefits have helped retirees live a more healthy and financially secure life. Learn how.

Would you like to tell us your story? Contact ERS.

Getting back to who she used to be

Jennica Preston is happy to share the benefits of getting and staying fit with friends and colleagues. Read more.


  • Rosanna Boyd's out-of-pocket maximum  protected her from health bills that could threaten her financial stability.

  • Still making a difference
    December 5, 2019
    At 96 years old, retiree Lula Marie Sullivan shows that staying active has no age limit.
     
  • Stuart Greenfield has successfully managed his Type 1 diabetes for more than 50 years. He relies on ever-improving technology to control his blood sugar levels—and he credits having good health coverage with helping him thrive. Read more.
     
  • From guard to guide
    August 7, 2019
    JoAnn Norman has a mission: to help the women she meets every week build their sense of self-worth. Her monthly annuity gives her the financial support she needs to continue serving those serving time. Read more.
     
  • When Eric Posadas discovered that his family would be expanding, he went into research mode. His quest: to determine which benefits could best protect his growing family’s health and financial well-being.
     
  • When Eileen Eiden took a job with Austin Community College in 2014, a high deductible health plan was not among her coverage options. When ERS offered Consumer Directed HealthSelectSM in 2016, Eiden promptly signed up and is happy to explain why the plan is a good fit for her and, perhaps, for others.