Planning for Retirement
UTSA offers a competitive retiree benefits package for eligible employees. Learn more about the retirement process, eligibility and coordination of medical insurance.
Pre-Planning
Retiree Insurance Eligibility
Currently, eligible UT System retired employees can participate in medical, dental, vision and voluntary life insurance. Prospective retirees can review Eligibility for Retired Employee Insurance at any time.
Current employees can log into Employee Self Service (ESS) to view their Texas State Service details. From the ESS homepage, select Time and Attendance → Absence Balance Details → State Service tab. Texas Retirement System (TRS) participants can refer to TRS 30 – Application for Service Retirement to determine qualifying service years mentioned under Contact your Retirement Program Provider below.
Contact your Retirement Program Provider
Teacher Retirement System (TRS)
Review Planning for Retirement on the TRS website for additional information that will help you decide when it is the right time for you to retire and what retirement option is best for you. Retirement estimates can be requested 10-12 months prior to an anticipated retirement date. Please note that TRS experiences a high volume of retirements during summertime.
During the TRS retirement application process, please request copies of TRS 25 - Service Retirement Estimate, the first page of TRS 30 - Application for Service Retirement, and/or TRS 32 - Retirement Application Acknowledgment. You will need these forms when notifying People Excellence of your intent to retire.
Optional Retirement Plan (ORP)
Contact your ORP retirement vendor or financial adviser to review your distribution options and beneficiary designations.
Medicare Overview
The University of Texas System encourages all retired employees and dependents to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B when they become eligible at age 65, or earlier if they are eligible due to certain medical conditions (e.g. end-stage renal disease, etc.).
Medicare-eligible prospective retirees and dependents who have already enrolled in Medicare Part A will now be enrolling in Medicare Part B. As part of the enrollment process, there will be a “Request for Employment Information” form that employers will complete. The form, with no SSN included, can be emailed to People Excellence for completion.
To avoid significant financial penalties, if you are age 65 or older at the time of your retirement, you should contact your Social Security office at least three months prior to your retirement date to discuss your Medicare enrollment options. You must enroll in Medicare directly through the Social Security Administration. Visit the Medicare website to learn more.
During the Medicare enrollment process, Medicare Part D will be waived in most cases, with eligible retirees and dependents being auto-enrolled into the UT Care Part D plan .
Visit UT SELECT and Medicare - Retired Employees for more information.
Retirement Checklist
Notify Your Department
Once you have confirmed your retirement date with TRS/ORP and eligibility for UT System retirement insurance, you will notify your department by submitting a letter of intent to retire.
Notify People Excellence
Forward a copy of your intent to retire letter to People Excellence and include the following based on your retirement program:
TRS
- TRS 25 - Service Retirement Estimate*
*Alternately, you may provide a copy of your most recent TRS Annual Statement. - TRS 30 - Application for Service Retirement (first page only)
- TRS 32 - Retirement Application Acknowledgment
ORP
If you experience trouble opening this PDF form, download the document and open it directly from the download location using Adobe Acrobat.
Manage Unused Leave
Unused vacation and/or floating holiday leave balance(s) will be paid out one month after the final paycheck.
You have an option to defer unused vacation hours to retirement savings. The UTSaver Unused Annual Leave Deferral Agreement must be emailed to People Excellence no later than your final day of employment. For more information, please visit the UT Saver DCP Vacation Deferral website.
Sick leave hours are not eligible for pay out upon separation from employment, but may be donated.
Donate Unused Sick Leave Hours
Employees may donate their sick leave hours to the Sick Leave Pool without tax implications.
Employees may also donate their sick leave hours to the Family Leave Pool.
Update Personal Contact Information
Complete the UTBB Personal Information form and email it to People Excellence. If there are any changes to your contact information after your official retirement date, please submit an updated form to People Excellence.
Enroll in Retiree Insurance
An email notification will be sent to the personal email on file with instructions to log into My UT Benefits to make your retiree insurance elections. Your elections must be completed within 31 days of your retirement date. If you do not receive an email within seven days after your retirement date, please contact People Excellence. Current medical, dental and vision insurance elections, for you and your dependents, will automatically carry over into retirement if no action is taken. Voluntary Life insurance is not automatically carried forward into retirement; action must be taken to enroll.
For questions about accessing or navigating My UT Benefits, contact the My UT Benefits call center at (844) 870-0044. The call center is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday.
Coverage Information
Coverage under the university's AD&D, disability and UT Flex plans will end on the last day of the month in which you retire. If you are enrolled in UT Flex, please ensure that you spend the funds in your account(s) prior to this time. Any funds remaining in your account after that date will be forfeited, unless they are continued via COBRA when transitioning to retirement mid-plan year. Please consult the UT Flex Plan Guide for more information.
If you and/or your dependents will be age 65 or over at the time of your retirement, you should also review the UT Care Medicare Plan and UT SELECT and Medicare - Retired Employees webpages for more information.
Once enrolled in Medicare, please contact UT Select at (866) 882-2034 to advise of Medicare enrollment and to provide your Medicare number for coordination of benefit claims with Medicare as primary.
If you are age 65 or older at the time of your retirement, your participation in the UT Care Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (Express Scripts) will automatically be initiated within 60 days of retirement. Once your enrollment is complete, you will receive a welcome packet in the mail along with a new prescription drug card. You may continue using your current prescription drug card until you receive this packet.
Group Term Life conversion allows retirees and their covered dependents to convert the excess Basic and/or Voluntary Life Insurance they had as employees to an individual whole life policy if any portion of their life insurance terminates by remitting premiums directly to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (formerly Dearborn National). For more information, contact Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas at 1-866-628-2606 or review the Life Insurance Certificate.
Pay Your Premiums
All retirees (including working retirees) are billed for their out-of-pocket premiums through UT Benefits Billing (UTBB) for Retirees. Based on your retirement program provider (TRS/ORP), complete either the TRS Annuity Deductions or Direct Payment/Debit via ACH form and submit according to the instructions provided on the form.
TRS Annuity Deductions
For TRS Annuity Deductions, please be aware that once you are retired it will take approximately two months for the TRS Annuity check to begin and for the account to be set up in the UT Benefits Billing system. You will receive a paper statement for the first couple of months premiums are due. For TRS deductions to be set up, statement balances will need to be paid and the account current. Once the account is set up, retirees will receive a confirmation letter from both UTBB and TRS. Please continue making payments until you have received one of these confirmation letters. Once setup is complete, paper statements will no longer be sent.
Direct Payment/Debit via ACH
For Direct Payment/Debit via ACH, retirees will receive a confirmation letter from UTBB once set up for bank drafts. Please be aware that at the time ACH bank drafts begin, it will draft the balance owed at that time, which may be two months of premiums. The fifteenth day of the month is the last day for new accounts to be set up to start the following month. Bank drafts will occur on the fifth day of each month unless it falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case it will draft on the next banking day.
If you fail to pay your full premiums, your dependent and voluntary coverages will be canceled and you will be required to pay a significant penalty to reenroll yourself and/or your dependents.
Review Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations for the Group Term Life can be reviewed and beneficiary information updated in My UT Benefits at any time throughout the year. Once logged in:
- Select the “View benefits” link found under “ACTIVE BENEFITS” on the “Welcome back” bar.
- Scroll down to each of your life coverage(s) to add/edit beneficiaries.
Retirement Plan beneficiaries be updated with your provider(s) directly:
- Teacher Retirement System (TRS) - Refer to TRS 15 – Designation of Beneficiary form.
- Optional Retirement Program (ORP)/Voluntary Retirement Programs - Contact your retirement provider(s) directly to update beneficiary information.
Additional Resources
