Determining TRS Membership in Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3

Updated: August 1, 2018

Issue: A consistent question from TRS members concerns the rules that govern the placement of members in one of the three benefit tiers.

Discussion: Membership in each of the tiers is set out in state law:

Tier 1: Any TRS member that first contributed to TRS prior to January 1, 2011 or had previous service credit with TRS or a reciprocal pension system prior to 2011, even if that member left TRS or a reciprocal pension system at any time and then returned to a TRS-covered position.
Tier 2: Any TRS member that first contributed to TRS on or after January 1, 2011 and does not have any previous service credit with a pension system that has reciprocal rights with TRS. After the effective date of Tier 3, any TRS member that, within 30 days of being hired to a TRS-covered position, chooses to participate in Tier 2.
Tier 3: After the effective date of Tier 3, any TRS member that, within 30 days of being hired to a TRS-covered position, chooses to participate in Tier 3. If a member chooses not to be a member of Tier 3, that member is placed in Tier 2. Any member that fails to make a selection within 30 days after being hired automatically is placed in Tier 3.

The effective date of Tier 3 has not yet been determined.

In addition to TRS, the retirement systems under the Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, which are considered “reciprocal systems,” are:

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