Types of Service Credit
Rounding Out Your Retirement Plans
When your retirement application is processed, we forward your insurance information to the health, prescription drug, dental, and vision insurance carriers. You should receive insurance identification cards and materials a few weeks after your pension begins.
As a retiree, your state-sponsored life insurance continues for you and your dependents at no charge to you. Your coverage is 25 percent of the coverage you carried when you left work; your dependents' policies are capped at $1,000 each.
To view Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) plan details, visit the Employee Benefits Division of the Michigan Civil Service Commission under Retiree Eligibility. If you previously enrolled in a state-sponsored LTCI plan with LifeSecure, Prudential or MetLife, you can call the vendor directly. For the LifeSecure Indiv
Eligible dependents for health, dental, and vision insurance plans include your spouse (as long as he or she is not also separately enrolled as an eligible state employee or retiree) and your unmarried children by birth, legal adoption, or full legal guardianship.
The Benefits for Life, the retiree-paid, optional coverage program offered through the state of Michigan offers you the opportunity to apply for coverage in key benefit areas. These offerings do not replace your state-sponsored benefit plans. Instead, the program offers additional financial protection with premiums payable through the convenience of pension deduction. Because the plans are optiona
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| Apply for Retirement | Prepare for retirement by using miAccount. A pension estimate — your most important pension planning tool — can be run from miAccount using the very numbers your employer reports to the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS). Log in and run your estimate today. |
Are you considering your options for retirement? Below are some things to think about as you count down to retirement.
| 24 months to retirement | |
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Log in to miAccount and review your service credit totals for accuracy, and consider whether any credit for refunded service, military service, or other service is available. |
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Use the Estimate Pension tool in miAccount to estimate your pension and explore the various payment options. |
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Request an estimate of your retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration. |
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View the Pre-Retirement Orientation online presentation. |
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Check out the Online Presentations and E-Learning Modules section on our website. |
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Review your current living expenses and project what these will be at retirement. Will your income from all sources cover your projected expenses? |
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Anticipate new or recurring expenses (for example, car loans, medical bills, or home repairs). Can you take care of some of these before you retire? |
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Evaluate your investments. When will those funds be available? What are the withdrawal options: lump sum or recurring payments? If you have a State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plans account, contact Voya Financial to learn about your payout options and potential tax ramifications. |
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Begin studying your pension payment options. |
| 12 months to retirement | |
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Research health insurance options for you and your family and investigate the following:
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Compare your current life insurance coverage to your life insurance needs in retirement. You may want to consider conversion coverage, which changes your group life insurance through work into an individual policy when your group coverage ends at retirement. |
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Request another estimate from the Social Security Administration. |
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Read the Pre-Retirement Orientation (R0613G) workbook. |
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Consider your tax situation. How much will you be required to pay in income taxes? Are there any special tax breaks on retirement income where you live? |
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If you're buying service credit, plan to pay it off while you’re still an active (working) member of the retirement system. |
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Watch our video on applying for retirement. |
| 6 months to retirement | |
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Review your personal account details using miAccount. |
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Read through the medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision plan information to learn what benefits are available to you, your spouse, and your dependents in retirement. |
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If you have any questions after you've reviewed our materials, ask an ORS representative by using the secure miAccount Message Board. |
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If you divorced while an active or deferred member and the court ordered a portion of your pension be paid to an alternate payee, you must have an eligible domestic relations order (EDRO) on file with ORS before your retirement effective date. ORS has developed an online fillable EDRO form to allow members of the Michigan State Employees' Retirement System to create accurate and complete EDROs that can be administered under the retirement statutes. It is the preferred document to file with ORS. Background information and instructions are provided separately in Eligible Domestic Relations Orders: Background and Instructions (R0911X). |
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If you plan to work after you retire, make sure you understand how post-retirement earnings affect your pension and Social Security benefits. |
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Time your retirement to fit your goals. Consider these items:
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Gather any required proofs and supporting documents needed to apply for retirement as described in the How to Apply section. Do not mail in original documents because they will not be returned. |
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Review the five most common causes for delays in processing your application and insurance enrollment, along with tips to avoid them. |
| 3 months to retirement | |
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Carefully review your pension payment options and choose the one that fits the needs of you and your family. Remember, you can't change your pension payment option or your survivor pension beneficiary after your retirement effective date. |
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Review your health insurance options and decide on a plan. |
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Notify your human resources office of your intention to retire. |
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Verify your service credit purchases are paid off before terminating employment. |
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Apply for retirement online with miAccount. Mail in photocopies of your proofs of age and any other required proofs. Do not mail in original documents because they will not be returned. |
| Retired at last! | |
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ORS will send your award letter along with the After Retirement (R0614G) brochure. It explains what happens next and things you should report to ORS or Voya. |
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Watch for your pension payments on the 25th of each month. |
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Enjoy reading Connections, a quarterly newsletter we send to our retirees so that we stay connected. |
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Keep us updated with your current street address, phone number, and email address. |
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Review your estate plan and make sure your will, trust, and powers of attorney are up to date. Understand how your assets pass to others under Michigan law. For more information visit the Power of Attorney and Advance Directive Resources page on the ORS website. |
| If you became divorced while an active or deferred member and the court ordered a portion of your pension be paid to an alternate payee, you must have an Eligible Domestic Relations Order(EDRO) on file with ORS before your retirement effective date. You can download an Eligible Domestic Relations Orders: Background and Instructions (R0911X)form. This publication will help you create an accurate and complete EDRO that can be administered under the retirement statute. It is the preferred document to file with ORS. |
