Classified and university staff in category 01 must participate in the Arizona State Retirement System and are enrolled automatically. Faculty, administrators, academic professionals and university staff in categories 02 to 05 are also eligible to elect this plan. This is a defined benefit plan qualified under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. A formula set by the ASRS determines your pension.
About ASRS
- Begins the first day of the pay period following 182 calendar days of eligible employment or immediately if you have an ASRS account with monies on deposit or were hired before July 20, 2011. ASRS retroactive contributions may be required.
- Contribution rates shown below are subject to change each year on July 1.
- Long-term disability insurance benefits are included with this plan.
- Once you meet ASRS membership eligibility criteria in a fiscal year, you remain a member and contributions continue until the end of the fiscal year in which you become ineligible.
- Participants with five or more years of credited service are eligible for a retiree health insurance subsidy.
- Retirement contributions are withheld from your paycheck on a before-tax basis and long-term disability contributions are withheld on an after-tax basis.
- While actively employed, you may not borrow from or withdraw contributions from your account.
|
Fiscal year
|
Contribution source
|
Retirement
|
Long-term disability
|
Total
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2016–June 2017 | Employee and ASU | 11.34% | .14% | 11.48% |
| July 2017–June 2018 | Employee and ASU | 11.34% | .16% | 11.50% |
| July 2018–June 2019 | Employee and ASU | 11.64% | .16% | 11.80% |
| July 2019–June 2020 | Employee and ASU | 11.94% | .17% | 12.11% |
| July 2020–June 2021 | Employee and ASU | 12.04% | .18% | 12.22% |
| July 2021–June 2022 | Employee and ASU | 12.22% | .19% | 12.41% |
| July 2022–June 2023 | Employee and ASU | 12.03% | .14% | 12.17% |
Vesting
The ASRS does not have a vesting schedule. However, participants who meet certain requirements may be eligible for the following benefits:
- Long-term disability.
- Pension.
- Premium benefit subsidy.
- Retiree health insurance.
- Service purchase.
Retirement
Participants are immediately vested in their own contributions but must meet the following criteria to receive a pension benefit. Read more about the ASRS pension benefit process.
|
Normal retirement if hired before July 1, 2011.
|
Normal retirement if hired on or after July 1, 2011. |
|---|---|
| 80 points—your age plus years of service with ASRS | Age 55 with 30 years of service |
| Age 62 with 10 years of service | Age 60 with 25 years of service |
| Age 65 | Age 62 with 10 years of service |
| Early retirement is at least age 50 with a minimum of five years of ASRS service. | Age 65 |
| Early retirement is at least age 50 with a minimum of five years of ASRS service. |
Working after retirement
Any ASRS retiree who is considering returning to work for ASU or another ASRS employer should be familiar with the return-to-work rules and seek ASRS counsel before making any re-employment decisions. Effective July 1, 2012, employers are required to pay an alternate contribution rate for any retired ASRS member who returns to work for an ASRS employer in any capacity regardless of the hours worked per week. The ACR is subject to change each July 1.
Refund of contributions and termination of membership
When you leave employment with all ASRS employers, you may request a refund of contributions and termination of membership in lieu of receiving retirement benefits. If you became a member of the ASRS on or after July 1, 2011 and choose to withdraw your funds, you will only receive your contributions and any accrued interest.
