TRS Georgia Payment Plan Options: Plan A vs Plan B Explained

The Seven Payout Options at a Glance

TRS Georgia offers one single-life plan (Plan A) and six survivorship variations under Plan B. Your selection becomes permanently binding and irreversible the moment TRS deposits your first benefit check — there is no trial period, no 30-day window, no do-over.

Here is what each option does:

Plan A (Maximum Plan) pays the highest possible monthly benefit for your lifetime. When you die, all monthly payments stop. If your total monthly payments have not yet equaled your accumulated Contributions and Interest (C&I), the remaining balance goes to your named beneficiary as a one-time lump sum. C&I is typically exhausted within 2 to 3 years of retirement, so after that point, your beneficiary receives nothing.

Plan B Option 1 reduces your monthly benefit slightly below Plan A. Like Plan A, it provides no ongoing monthly payments to survivors. The difference: because the monthly benefit is lower, your C&I balance depletes more slowly — typically over 10 to 14 years. Your beneficiary (or estate) receives whatever C&I remains as a lump sum when you die. Multiple beneficiaries can be named.

Plan B Option 2 (100% Joint and Survivor) actuarially reduces your monthly benefit based on your beneficiary's age. When you die, your single named beneficiary receives 100% of that reduced monthly amount for the rest of their life. Only one primary beneficiary is allowed. If your beneficiary dies before you, your benefit stays at the reduced level.

Plan B Option 2 Pop-Up works like Option 2 with one key difference: the monthly benefit is reduced further, but if your named beneficiary dies before you, your payment "pops up" to the full Plan A Maximum amount. COLAs already accumulated recalculate on the higher base.

Plan B Option 3 (50% Joint and Survivor) provides a reduced monthly benefit during your lifetime. Your single named beneficiary receives 50% of that amount for life when you die. If your beneficiary predeceases you, your benefit remains at the reduced Option 3 level — no pop-up.

Plan B Option 3 Pop-Up combines the 50% survivorship with the pop-up feature. Monthly benefit is reduced further than standard Option 3, but pops up to Plan A Maximum if your beneficiary dies first.

Plan B Option 4 (Customized Survivorship) lets you specify a custom dollar amount or percentage for each beneficiary. Multiple primary beneficiaries can be named. Your monthly benefit is actuarially reduced based on the designated amounts and the beneficiaries' ages. Total survivor payments cannot exceed 100% of your reduced benefit.

The Trade-Off That Matters Most

Every survivorship option permanently reduces your monthly income while you are alive. The younger your beneficiary relative to you, the larger the reduction — because the actuarial tables assume a longer payout period.

For a member with a $4,000 Plan A Maximum benefit, Option 2 might reduce the monthly check to roughly $3,400–$3,600, depending on the age gap. Option 2 Pop-Up would reduce it further — perhaps to $3,200–$3,400 — in exchange for the pop-up protection. These are illustrative ranges; your actual reduction factors depend on your and your beneficiary's exact ages, and only a TRS counselor can provide the precise numbers from TRS's actuarial tables.

The question is not "which plan is best" — TRS counselors are legally prohibited from recommending a plan, and we are not financial advisors. The question is what your household needs: maximum monthly income while both spouses are alive (Plan A), guaranteed survivor income even at a lower monthly check (Plan B Options 2 or 3), or the insurance-like protection of a Pop-Up plan.

IRS Restrictions on Non-Spouse Beneficiaries

If you name a beneficiary under Plan B Options 2, 3, or 4 who is more than 10 years younger than you and is not your spouse, IRS Required Minimum Distribution Incidental Benefit (MDIB) rules cap the allowable survivorship percentage. This prevents using the pension as a tax-deferred wealth transfer vehicle. Adult children frequently trigger this restriction.

Under Option 4 with multiple primary beneficiaries, the benefit percentages are permanently fixed at election. If one beneficiary predeceases you, the others' percentages cannot be adjusted.

Spousal Consent and Divorce Considerations

If you elect Plan A or Plan B Option 1 — both single-life plans that provide no monthly survivor benefit — your spouse must sign a notarized acknowledgment. TRS will not process the application without it.

Divorce decrees sometimes require a member to designate a former spouse as a Plan B survivor beneficiary. TRS is exempt from QDROs (it is a state statutory plan, not an ERISA plan), so the pension itself cannot be divided or garnished. But if your divorce decree includes a pension provision, you will need to work with TRS directly to execute the designation.

Before You Decide

Ask a TRS counselor these questions with your specific numbers in hand:

• What is the exact monthly difference between Plan A and Option 2 Pop-Up based on your ages?
• If you add a 12-month PLOP distribution, how much does your monthly Option 2 Pop-Up benefit drop?
• How does your plan selection affect your surviving spouse's SHBP health coverage?

The Georgia TRS Retirement Guide includes comparison worksheets for running these scenarios side by side — the trade-offs become clearer when you see your own numbers rather than generic examples.

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