TRS Georgia Service Credit Purchase: Types, Costs, and Deadlines

Types of Service You Can Purchase

TRS Georgia allows members to purchase creditable service for several categories of prior employment and leave. Each type has its own eligibility rules:

Out-of-state public school service — teaching or certified service in another state's public schools, including time under that state's retirement system. TRS verifies the service through the originating system.

Military service — active-duty military service can be purchased under certain conditions. Draft-era provisions apply to service rendered between June 24, 1948, and July 1, 1973. Members whose current TRS membership date began on or after March 28, 1974, cannot use these older draft-era purchase provisions for military service rendered prior to their TRS membership.

Study leave and maternity leave — approved leave periods where you were not contributing to TRS but remained an employee can be purchased to fill the gap in your service record.

Withdrawn TRS accounts — if you previously left Georgia public education and withdrew your contributions, you can repurchase that service by repaying the withdrawn amount plus compound interest.

How the Cost Is Calculated

Service credit purchases are priced at full actuarial cost, which is typically higher than simply repaying your contributions. The actuarial cost accounts for the lifetime benefit the additional service credit will generate.

For withdrawn TRS accounts, the cost is your original employee contributions plus compound interest from the date of withdrawal. For out-of-state or military service, TRS calculates a cost based on your current salary, age, and the length of service being purchased.

The cost can be significant. TRS calculates an official cost for each purchase type; compare that quote with the projected monthly benefit increase using your official estimate before deciding.

The Hard Deadline

All service credit purchases must be fully paid before your effective date of retirement. No exceptions, no payment plans that extend past retirement. If you are making installment payments, the final payment must clear before your retirement date.

This deadline is also why purchasing early matters. A member who discovers eligible out-of-state service 6 months before retirement has 6 months to pay — potentially a large lump sum. A member who identifies the same service 3 years out can spread the cost over time.

Beneficiaries cannot establish or pay for service credit after a member dies. If you die before completing a purchase, the unpaid portion provides no credit.

When Purchasing Does Not Make Sense

Not every eligible purchase is a good investment:

• If the additional credit does not change your eligibility threshold (e.g., you already have 32 years and buying 2 more years of out-of-state service only moves you to 34), the benefit increase is 2% × FAS × 2 years — potentially worthwhile, but run the numbers.
• If you are close to age 60 with 10 years of service, the cost of purchasing years you do not need for eligibility may not justify the incremental monthly increase.
• If the purchase would push you from 29 to 30 years, eliminating the 7% early retirement penalty, it almost certainly makes sense. The penalty is permanent and affects every check plus every future COLA.

Steps to Purchase

1. Log into MyTRS and request a creditable service verification
2. Identify any gaps — out-of-state periods, military service, withdrawn accounts, approved leaves
3. Contact TRS to get the actuarial cost estimate for each purchase type
4. Compare the cost against the monthly benefit increase and your years to retirement
5. Begin payments early enough to complete before your retirement effective date

The Georgia TRS Retirement Guide includes a service credit purchase evaluation worksheet that walks through the cost-benefit calculation and helps you prioritize which purchases to complete first.

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