Reportable Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR) salary is a member's earnings in eligible employment for teaching, supervisory, administrative, and extracurricular services during a school year reported as salary on the member's federal income tax withholding statements plus any salary reduction or salary deferral amounts under 26 U.S.C. 125, 132(f), 401(k), 403(b), 414(h), or 457.
More information about reportable salaries is available in the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement Employer Guide.
No. The Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR) defines a "bonus" as an amount paid in addition to regular contract salary which does not increase the base rate of pay, is not expected to recur, or is not expected to be a permanent salary increase. Bonus payments are not eligible retirement salary.
More information about reportable salaries is available in the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement Employer Guide.
If a Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR) member resigns, retires or dies before the end of the school year, the member's total compensated hours and last date worked must be reported on the monthly report following termination.
Example: a member signs a contract for 182 days for 8 hours per day. The member terminates employment after 75 days on December 15. The compensated hours and last date worked are reportable on the December report filed January 15.
Compensated hours are the total number of hours a Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR) member is employed and compensated for in a school year (not to exceed 700 hours). To calculate a member’s compensated hours, multiply the total days worked during the fiscal year × hours worked each day.
Example: a member signs a contract for 182 days for 8 hours per day. The member terminates employment after 75 days on December 15, calculate as 75 days x 8 hours = 600 compensated hours.
After satisfying the required waiting period, retired Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR) members may return to TFFR-covered employment as long as they adhere to the program's employment hourly limitations, TFFR employer and employee contributions are paid, and RIO is notified within 30 days of a retiree’s employment.
Retirees performing in-staff subbing, extracurricular duties or professional development are not subject to the employment hourly limits. Their hours do not need to be reported, and contributions do not need to be paid.
More information about employing a retired teacher is available in the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement Employer Guide.
The general rule is that substitute teachers are not reportable to TFFR since they are not contracted teachers.
The only time a substitute teacher is reportable is if the teacher, including re-employed retirees, is under a contract (i.e., a written agreement) to perform the substitute teaching services.
Substitute teaching is also reportable if the teacher is already under a contract to perform teaching services, including time certain contracts and while under the contract, performs substitute teaching duties (i.e., in-staff subbing).
If the teacher performs noncontracted substitute teaching duties outside of the time certain contract, the substitute teaching compensation is not reportable.
Each Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR) business partner selects, at its opinion, to pay all or a portion of member contributions to the fund.
Payment plan models include Model 1: member contributions are paid by the member through a salary reduction and remitted to TFFR by the business partner as tax deferred contributions; Model 2 All: member contributions are paid by the business partner as a salary supplement and remitted to TFFR as tax deferred contributions; and Model 2 Partial: a fixed percentage of the member contributions are paid by the business partner as a salary supplement and remitted to TFFR as tax deferred contributions while the remaining member contributions are paid by the member and remitted by the business partner as tax deferred contributions.
Business partners who do not select one of the above models must report member contributions paid by the member and remitted by the business partner as taxed contributions. Payment of member contributions cannot be made on a tax deferred basis unless one of the approved models is selected.
More information about payment plan models is available in the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement Employer Guide.