Retirement

A 403(b) is a retirement savings plan generally offered by public schools and other tax-exempt organizations that allows employees to make contributions on a pre-tax basis. Most plans allow you to start, stop, increase, or decrease contributions at any time. The employer determines the investment providers and employees must open an account to contribute with one of the providers. Contributions to the plan are salary deducted from your paycheck and automatically deposited into your 403(b) retirement savings account. Early withdrawals from a 403(b) account are subject to a 10% early withdrawal tax. 

TCG is the 403(b) plan administrator – managing your contributions, distributions, and personal updates. To get started, simply contact a Retirement Plan Specialist at (800) 943-9179 or visit https://region10rams.org for more information.  

Note: All investing involves risk. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.

Section 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan refers to Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. This is a district-sponsored, voluntary retirement savings plan that allows an employee to save money for retirement on a tax-deferred basis. This plan allows you to start, stop, increase, or decrease contributions at any time.  

The plan contains most of the same features as the 403(b) plan but is particularly different in one unique way: distributions from the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan are not subject to the 10% excise tax for early withdrawal. As an additional benefit, the 457(b) account includes access to FinPath, a program designed to help you take control of your money with the help of trusted financial advisors and online financial tools.  

With FinPath, you have access to financial workshops, budgeting tools, and live Wellness Coaches to help answer any financial question. The plan does not have any surrender charges or penalties upon distribution. 

TCG is the 457 plan administrator – managing your contributions, distributions, and personal updates. To get started, simply contact a Retirement Plan Specialist at (800) 943-9179 or visit https://region10rams.org for more information.  

Note: All investing involves risk. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.

As a Klein ISD employee your retirement benefits are through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), a public pension plan of the State of Texas.  Established in 1937, TRS provides retirement and related benefits for those employed by the public schools, colleges, and universities supported by the State of Texas and manages a $150 billion trust fund established to finance member benefits. More than 1.6 million public education and higher education employees and retirees participate in the system. TRS is the largest public retirement system in Texas in both membership and assets and the sixth largest public pension fund in America.

Your membership begins on your first day of eligible employment with Klein ISD. Retirement plan membership offers you not only service retirement benefits when you qualify based on age and years of service credit, but it also offers you disability retirement benefits and death benefits from the beginning of your career in Texas public education.

TRS will send you a “Welcome to Membership” letter and a Designation of Beneficiary form (TRS 15). As a TRS member, you contribute a percentage of your eligible compensation as your share of the funding for your benefits. The contribution rate is set by the Texas Legislature.  Klein ISD is required to deduct the contributions from your salary on a pre-tax basis and forward them directly to TRS for each month of eligible employment. Membership in TRS is required by law for eligible employees; participation in the retirement plan cannot be waived.

Please note TRS retirement benefits are not administered by the Klein ISD Benefits Department. For information and all questions regarding your TRS retirement account, you will need to contact TRS directly. Please visit their website https://www.trs.texas.gov or call 1-800-223-8778. You can also login to MyTRS to plan for retirement and conduct your business with TRS; to register for MyTRS please click here.