5 Things New Hires Need to Know

Give your new hires a quick introduction to their TCDRS benefit to orient them with the plan and make sure they understand how it works.

Here are five tips to help new hires understand TCDRS.

1. Automatic savings: With every paycheck, your employees are depositing money into their TCDRS account and saving for their future retirement. Their account earns 7% compound interest each year no matter what. That interest rate is set by Texas state law.

2. Own it: Start new employees off right by giving them their TCDRS account number, or having them watch for it in the welcome mailer we’ll send them. They’ll need it to register for online access at TCDRS.org. There, they can designate beneficiaries, update contact information and view content relevant to their career stage. Once their first deposit posts, they can even estimate their future retirement benefit, and they can do this all on a computer, smartphone or tablet.

3. Vesting: Vesting is an important milestone that means an employee has enough service time to receive a lifetime monthly benefit when they become eligible and choose to retire. The amount of time needed for vesting is set by you, the employer, and could be 5, 8 or 10 years of service. Your employees can see how close they are when they sign into TCDRS.org

4. Account portability: Leaving a county or district employer doesn’t mean a TCDRS member must withdraw their retirement savings. Even if they’re not vested, they can keep their money in TCDRS and it will continue earning 7% interest. If they take a future job with another TCDRS employer, or a job covered by the Proportionate Retirement Program, that service time can help them reach retirement eligibility.

5. Confidence: TCDRS is proud to do retirement right. We are a solid system with a proven track record. Since 1967, we’ve partnered with counties and districts across Texas to provide secure retirement benefits. Our mission is to help our members make informed decisions so they can retire with confidence.

Plan Administration