State of Texas Retirement for Retirees

The State of Texas Retirement program is a defined benefit retirement plan for eligible employees of State of Texas agencies, with mandatory participation.

Note: ERS does not administer retirement benefits for employees of higher education institutions, the Community Supervision and Corrections Department, or Windham School District. If you work for one of these entities, please see the Teacher Retirement System of Texas/Optional Retirement Program (TRS/ORP) page for information about your retirement benefits. Please see the Insurance Benefits in Retirement page for information about your insurance benefits as a retiree.

Program Benefits

• monthly annuity for life, with an amount based on working salary, years of service and date of hire and
• option for survivor benefits after retiree’s death.

Manage Your Annuity Payments

Managing your annuity payments online is easy and convenient. When you log in to your ERS account, you can:

• Review your monthly statement
• Change direct deposit information
• Estimate and change tax withholding
• View and print your 1099-R forms
• Review and update beneficiaries
• Update your personal information

Get information on managing your annuity payments and annuity payment dates. 

Annuity Options at Retirement

As a state retiree, you will receive a lifetime monthly payment called an annuity.  When you retired with ERS, you chose from the following options:

• the standard annuity,
• options that continue payments to your designated beneficiary after your death with/without
• a partial lump sum payment.

Return-to-work Retirees

If you return to state employment as a regular agency employee after you retired as a regular agency employee, you do not have to contribute to the State of Texas Retirement program. You also have the option to keep your retiree insurance benefits or switch to active employee benefits. Find out more about return-to-work benefit options.  

Retirement Accounts

• Regular agency employee overview
• LECOSRF Overview 
• Elected state official overview  (includes district and criminal attorneys that receive salaries from the state general revenue fund)
• JRS Overview page
• Texa$aver^SM 401(k) / 457 Program (personal retirement savings to supplement your State of Texas Retirement income)

Resources

• Optional Add-on Benefits for Retirees
• ERS Retirement and Insurance Overview (pdf)
• Planning Your Retirement (pdf)
• Tiered Retiree Insurance
• Frequently asked questions about retirement
• Retirees under age 65