Retirement

Retirement

Educators deserve a secure retirement after dedicating their careers to student success.  MEA is here to protect that retirement and help to navigate choices school employees need to make along the way.

Retirement benefits are a large part of a total compensation package. Not understanding retirement plans can cause an individual to lose out on financial benefits like a pension.

Important Facts New Hires Need to Know About Retirement:

By law, newly hired school employees have 75 days from their first payroll date to choose a retirement plan. Those that do not actively choose a plan within this window are considered to have elected the Defined Contribution (DC) plan by default – and that plan selection cannot be changed.  MEA has created a guide to help understand this important decision, and offers training for all new school employees (regardless of MEA membership) to help understand the various choices.

Working after Retirement

UPDATED AUG. 2024 – Laws governing Michigan school employee pensions are complex and frequently changing. MEA is committed to providing you with quality information to help make decisions that protect both your retirement and your memberships in MEA and NEA.  Members interested in learning more about the current Working After Retirement rules and regulations should read MEA’s Working After Retirement: Protecting Your Pension and Your MEA/NEA Membership document.

Need Assistance?

MEA can help members in good standing with retirement issues. Contact your local MEA Uniserv office for assistance.

Retirement News

Appeals Court Denies Interest in 3% Case

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that school employees who had 3 percent of their salary illegally withheld by the state from 2010-12 are not entitled to be paid additional interest on the money. The decision is the latest twist in a long-running legal saga that grew out of the 3 percent case, which public education employees won in…

Opinion: Pouring pensions into potholes is too great a risk

A pension is a promise of a secure retirement. But too often in Lansing, they’re viewed as piggy banks to be broken into for political purposes. As a young educator, I remember then-Gov. John Engler diverting state payments from the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System to fund other priorities — which accelerated us down a road of unfunded pension liabilities.…