Retirement for Former Employees
As public servants, State of Texas employees provide critical services to Texans. ERS works to support current and former state employees through the State of Texas defined benefit retirement plan. The State of Texas retirement plan is mandatory for most state agency employees and provides a lifetime annuity when they retire.
In addition to mandatory participation in State of Texas retirement, eligible state agency employees are encouraged to contribute to personal retirement savings. To help them with that, ERS offers the Texa$aver℠ 401(k) / 457 Program, with low-cost traditional and Roth options. Some higher education employees also can participate in Texa$aver, if their institutions offer it.
Along with Social Security, State of Texas Retirement and personal retirement savings make up the “three-legged stool” of retirement income. Please see the Insurance Benefits in Retirement page for information about your insurance benefits as a retiree.
State of Texas Retirement
The State of Texas Retirement program is a defined benefit retirement plan for eligible employees of State of Texas agencies, with mandatory participation.
Texa$averSM 401(k) and 457 Program
To have a comfortable retirement income, you cannot rely on a pension plan and Social Security alone. Instead, you will need to plan, invest and make good use of tax-advantaged savings like the Texa$aver program.
Retiring with Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) or Optional Retirement Program (ORP)
ERS administers insurance benefits for employees, retirees, and eligible family members at participating universities and colleges.