State law requires that all State of Connecticut employees be covered by one of the state’s retirement systems.
A new employee in an unclassified position with a higher education institution of the State of Connecticut may choose from among several retirement plans. This choice must be made on the employee’s first day of employment, and it is a one-time, irrevocable election. Once the election has been made, it may not be changed. If the employee fails to make an election on his or her first day of employment, then the employee will automatically be enrolled in the default retirement plan for his or her bargaining unit. (To find the default plan for your bargaining unit, see here.)
Your retirement plan options may include Tier IV of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS); the Tier IV Hybrid Plan; the Alternate Retirement Program (ARP); and the Teachers Retirement System (TRS). Please verify with your agency’s Human Resources department which plans are available to you.
For information about your options, please see the Plan Comparison Chart. This chart provides a side-by-side comparison of the key features of the four retirement plans.