NC TSERS Retirement Planning Conference: What to Expect and How to Prepare

What the Conference Covers

The Retirement Systems Division (RSD) runs official TSERS Retirement Planning Conferences for members approaching retirement. These sessions walk through the core topics you need to understand before submitting your application: the benefit formula, Average Final Compensation, payout options, State Health Plan transition, service credit purchases, and the administrative timeline.

The conferences are free and open to all active TSERS members. They are not personalized financial planning sessions — RSD counselors present the rules and options that apply to everyone, using standardized slide decks and examples. The benefit of attending is hearing the process explained in sequence by the people who administer it, with the opportunity to ask clarifying questions.

When to Attend

RSD recommends attending a conference six to twelve months before your target retirement date. Sessions are held at locations across North Carolina and online. Schedules are posted on the myncretirement.com website, and registration is typically required.

Attending earlier than twelve months out is fine — the rules rarely change between sessions, and having more lead time gives you longer to act on what you learn (especially regarding service credit purchases, which must be paid in full before retirement).

Some employing agencies — school districts, state departments, university HR offices — also host their own pre-retirement workshops that cover TSERS basics alongside employer-specific information like terminal leave policies and health plan enrollment procedures. These employer sessions complement but do not replace the official RSD conference.

What You Learn That You Cannot Get Online

The TSERS handbook and ORBIT portal contain the same statutory information presented at the conference. The difference is context. Conference presenters walk through the payout options with numerical examples — showing what happens to your monthly check under each option based on sample ages and salaries. They explain the 120-day application timeline step by step, rather than presenting it as scattered form descriptions.

Members also hear about common mistakes directly from the people who process retirement applications: forms submitted without required notarization, employer certifications that arrive late, service purchases initiated too close to the retirement date to complete in time.

Getting Individual Help from an RSD Counselor

The conferences themselves are group presentations, not one-on-one consultations. For individual benefit calculations and form assistance, you need to schedule a separate appointment with an RSD benefits counselor.

Contact RSD at (919) 814-4590 to schedule a counseling session. These sessions are where you can:

• Request a Custom Benefit Estimate based on your actual service and salary data
• Get specific answers about your sick leave conversion, service credit totals, and eligible purchase categories
• Walk through the ORBIT application steps with a counselor watching your screen
• Ask about DRO requirements if you have a pending or past divorce

RSD counselors are helpful and knowledgeable, but they operate under one significant constraint: they cannot recommend which payout option you should choose. Counselors explain what each option does and answer factual questions about your benefit amount under each scenario. The decision itself is yours.

Questions to Bring

Prepare specific questions before your conference or counselor appointment. General questions like "how does retirement work" will get general answers. Targeted questions get actionable information:

• What is my current AFC, and which 48-month window produces the highest average?
• Do I have any withdrawn service that can be repurchased, and what would it cost?
• How many sick leave days does my employer have on record, and do those match my own count?
• Under Option 6-2, what would my reduced monthly benefit be compared to the Maximum Allowance, given my age and my spouse's age?
• Does my hire date qualify me for fully state-paid retiree health coverage, or am I in a contributory tier?

The NC TSERS Retirement Guide prepares you for both the conference and the counselor appointment with a list of questions tailored to your hire-date tier and retirement timeline, so you get specific answers rather than generic overviews.

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