If you have participated in certain other public retirement systems in Texas, you may be able to combine your service credit from those retirement systems to help you meet retirement eligibility under the Proportionate Retirement Program. COAERS recognizes service credit in the following systems:

• Austin Police Retirement System
• El Paso Firemen and Policemen’s Pension Fund
• The El Paso City Employees’ Pension Fund
• Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS)
• Judicial Retirement System of Texas I and II
• Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS)
• Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS)
• Other Texas retirement systems covering municipal employees who have elected to participate in the Proportionate Retirement Program

Combining service credit using the Proportionate Retirement Program may advance your retirement eligibility date but it does not increase the amount of your COAERS monthly benefit. For example, if you have five years of service credit with the Employees Retirement System of Texas and eighteen years with COAERS, your combined service credit for retirement eligibility would be twenty-three years. However, your COAERS monthly benefit payment will be calculated using only your eighteen years of COAERS service credit.

Before relying on service credit from another system, contact that system to verify that your service credit is eligible to be combined with COAERS service credit under the Proportionate Retirement Program and discuss any benefit to which you may be entitled.

Notify COAERS of your proportionate service frequently.  We do not receive proportionate service information from other Texas retirement systems regularly.  We rely on members to keep their proportionate service up to date with COAERS through regular communication with COAERS.  If you believe your proportionate service combined with your other COAERS creditable service makes you eligible for benefits, timely apply for benefits.  COAERS does not pay retroactive benefits.  Failure to timely apply for benefits could result in the loss of benefits.  Know when you are eligible for benefits and contact COAERS before that time to properly apply for benefits.

Additional notes on proportionate service:

• A limited proportionate service arrangement is available for individuals who have membership in a retirement system with the Travis County Healthcare District (Central Health).
• If you purchased military service time under another retirement system, that time is counted only once when combining service credit under the Proportionate Retirement Program.