Oklahoma’s Education Support Professionals have an important decision to make about their retirement now that SB 683 has been signed into law.
The new law allows ESPs to join the Teachers’ Retirement System upon their initial hiring by a school district. They no longer need to work for a year before being allowed to join TRS.
There are some requirements in the law that ESPs need to be aware of. Upon being hired, employees have 30 days to make a one-time, irrevocable election to either opt in or opt out of the TRS. Opting in means they are in the retirement system until they retire or leave school employment and take their money out of the system. Opting out eliminates any chance of ever joining the system in the future.
Current employees can take advantage of this new law, as well. They have until July 31, 2021, to make the same, irrevocable election of either joining TRS or forfeiting their ability to join in the future.
If an employee does not make an official election either way, they are automatically enrolled in TRS.
“Based on problems that have come up in the past with TRS ‘elections,’ it is important for support employees to keep copies of any election that is provided to their employer,” said OEA President Alicia Priest. “Those documents will be important 20 years from now if there is some dispute over what election the employee did or did not make.”
Just like certified employees who are part of TRS, ESPs who opt in will pay 7% of their retirement and districts will contribute another 9.5%. (Some districts pay both the employee and employer contributions.)
ESPs who have questions about any forms distributed by their school district or about the election process should contact their regional advocacy specialist:
- Northeast: Melissa Kaltenbaugh, mkaltenbaugh@oke.org
- Northwest: Rhonda Harlow, rharlow@okea.org
- Oklahoma City Metro: Carnie Cullen, ccullen@okea.org; or Annetta Hein, ahein@okea.org
- Southeast: Cal Ware, cware@okea.org
- Southwest: Sheri Childress, schildress@okea.org
- Tulsa Metro: Jon Marie Piguet, jmwilson@okea.org
- Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association: Kate Baker, kbaker@okea.org
