NC TSERS Retirement Checklist: 12-Month Countdown Timeline

TSERS retirement has a filing sequence with fixed deadlines — not suggestions. Missing one pushes everything downstream. Here's the countdown broken into phases, starting 12 months out.

12 to 6 Months Before Retirement

Audit your service credit. Log into ORBIT and review your Member Annual Retirement Statement (MARS). Compare the total creditable service against your own employment records. Report any discrepancies to the Retirement Systems Division at (919) 814-4590 — formal audits can take months to resolve.

Evaluate service purchases. If you have withdrawn service, military time, or out-of-state public service you want to add, request a purchase cost estimate now. All service credit purchases must be paid in full before your effective retirement date; you cannot complete a purchase after retirement.

Request your Social Security estimate. If you're considering Option 4 (Social Security Leveling), you need an official SSA benefit estimate showing your projected monthly benefit at age 62. This estimate must be issued within two years of your retirement date. Order it through my Social Security at ssa.gov.

Attend an RSD planning conference. These sessions walk through the benefit formula, payout options, and health coverage transition. They won't replace a thorough review of your own numbers, but they'll flag questions you didn't know to ask.

6 to 4 Months Before Retirement

Confirm your retirement date. The effective date must be the first day of a calendar month. Pick your date and verify that your employer can process the necessary certifications on schedule.

Notify your employer's HR department. Give them advance notice — they'll need to prepare Form 641 (school employees) or Form 6C (state agency employees) certifying your final salary and sick leave balance.

Check State Health Plan eligibility. Your retiree health coverage depends on your hire date and qualifying service. If you were hired between October 2006 and December 2020, verify whether you've crossed the 20-year threshold for fully state-paid coverage. If you're close, an eligible service purchase might push you over; sick leave conversion does not count toward this threshold.

120 to 90 Days Before Retirement

Submit Form 6 through ORBIT. This is the retirement application itself. You can file it electronically or on paper, no earlier than 120 days before your effective date. Bring proof of birth for yourself and any potential survivor beneficiary.

Track employer certification. After you submit Form 6, your employer files Form 641 or Form 6C. You can monitor its status in ORBIT. If it hasn't been submitted by the 90-day mark, follow up with HR.

90 to 60 Days Before Retirement

Enroll in retiree health coverage. Use the State Health Plan's eBenefits portal. You have a 30-day window before and after your retirement date. If you're turning 65, confirm your Medicare Parts A and B enrollment with the Social Security Administration first.

Update beneficiary designations. Review who's listed for the Guaranteed Refund (Form 336) and the Contributory Death Benefit (Form 333BEN). These are separate from your payment option beneficiary.

30 to 10 Days Before Retirement

Review your estimate packet and execute Form 6E. RSD sends your official benefit estimate showing the monthly amount under each of the six payment options. Choose your option, designate a survivor beneficiary if applicable, and have Form 6E notarized.

Complete Form 170 (direct deposit) and Form 290 (tax withholding). Submit these with Form 6E.

Elect the Contributory Death Benefit if wanted. The optional $10,000 retiree death benefit requires Form 333/333BEN. You have 60 days after retirement to elect it, but submitting early avoids one more post-retirement deadline.

The 10th of the Retirement Month

For the first payment to be issued on the 25th, RSD must receive the completed forms by the 10th. If Form 6E is processed after the 25th, payment is issued within one week of processing, with retroactive pay back to your effective date.

Day 1 and After

Your six-month separation from all TSERS-participating employers begins on the effective date. No paid work, no contractual work, no substitute teaching for a TSERS school district during this period. Violating the separation rule cancels your retirement.

Within 60 days, finalize the Contributory Death Benefit election if you haven't already. Over the next 12 months, expect a post-retirement audit that may adjust your check based on final payroll data.

One Place for the Full Sequence

The NC TSERS Retirement Guide puts every form, every deadline, and every handoff into a single countdown calendar with worksheets for each decision point — so nothing slips between your HR office, ORBIT, and the Retirement Systems Division.

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