TRS Annuity Options 1 Through 5 Explained — Which Payout Protects Your Household

The Choice That Locks In Permanently

When you file Form TRS 31, you select how your monthly pension gets paid for the rest of your life — and potentially your beneficiary's life. This decision becomes irreversible the moment TRS issues your first annuity payment. Before that payment is issued, you can change your selection by filing written notice with TRS. After it, you cannot, under any circumstances.

TRS offers six options: the Standard Annuity and Options 1 through 5. Each trades monthly income for different levels of survivor protection.

Standard Annuity: Maximum Monthly, Zero Survivor

The Standard Annuity pays the highest possible monthly amount. The formula is straightforward: 2.3% × your total credited years of service × your final average salary, divided by 12.

When you die, payments stop at the end of that month. Your beneficiary receives only TRS's standard lump-sum death benefit — not continued monthly checks. If you're single with no dependents, this is often the cleanest choice. If someone depends on your income, the math gets harder.

Option 1: 100% Joint and Survivor

Your monthly check drops from the Standard amount by an actuarial factor based on your beneficiary's age. In return, when you die, your named beneficiary receives 100% of that reduced monthly amount for the rest of their life.

Key details: you must name a single primary beneficiary. If that beneficiary dies before you, the pop-up provision kicks in — your monthly payment automatically increases back to the full Standard Annuity rate for the rest of your life. A non-spouse beneficiary cannot be more than 10 years younger than you under this option.

Option 2: 50% Joint and Survivor

Same structure as Option 1, with a smaller actuarial reduction to your monthly check. Your beneficiary receives 50% of the reduced amount after your death. The pop-up provision applies here too — if your beneficiary predeceases you, your payment pops back up to the Standard amount. You must name one primary beneficiary for this option.

Option 5: 75% Joint and Survivor

Added later to fill the gap between Options 1 and 2. Your beneficiary receives 75% of the reduced monthly benefit after your death. Pop-up provision applies. A non-spouse beneficiary cannot be more than 19 years younger than you — a wider allowance than Option 1's 10-year limit.

Option 3: 60-Month Guaranteed Period

Instead of protecting a beneficiary for life, this option guarantees that at least 60 monthly payments will be made. If you die within 5 years of retirement, the remaining payments go to your beneficiary. If you live past the 60-month window, payments continue at the reduced rate for your lifetime, but nothing passes to the beneficiary at death.

The advantage: you can name multiple beneficiaries, a trust, an estate, or a charity. No pop-up provision, since the guarantee is time-based rather than life-based.

Option 4: 120-Month Guaranteed Period

Same mechanics as Option 3, extended to 120 months (10 years). Larger actuarial reduction because TRS is guaranteeing payments over a longer window. Same flexibility on multiple beneficiaries and entities.

The Pop-Up Provision Is Undervalued

Options 1, 2, and 5 include an automatic pop-up: if your designated beneficiary dies before you, your monthly payment reverts to the full Standard Annuity amount. You don't need to file paperwork or request it — TRS adjusts automatically once they receive proof of death.

This makes the Joint and Survivor options less of a one-way sacrifice than they initially appear. You take a reduced check to protect your spouse, but if your spouse passes first, you get the maximum back.

The Spousal Conversation That Stalls Retirement

The most common friction point TRS counselors see: one spouse wants the Standard Annuity (maximum monthly cash flow), while the other insists on Option 1 (maximum survivor protection). These are not easy conversations, and they cannot be postponed indefinitely — the election must be made on Form TRS 31 before your retirement effective date.

The Texas TRS Retirement Guide includes a side-by-side comparison framework for working through this decision with your spouse, including the specific dollar-amount trade-offs at different service credit levels and the questions to ask a fee-only financial planner before you sign.

What About the PLSO?

The Partial Lump-Sum Option layers on top of your annuity selection. Eligible members can take 12, 24, or 36 months of their Standard Annuity amount as an upfront lump sum, in exchange for a further permanent reduction to their monthly payment. PLSO eligibility depends on your tier — Tier 1 members qualify at normal retirement; Tiers 2-6 must hit the Rule of 90 (age plus service equaling 90).

PLSO doesn't change which annuity option you select — it's an additional election on top of it. Both decisions become permanent when TRS issues your first payment.

Get the full form-by-form walkthrough, including the PLSO rollover rules that avoid the mandatory 20% tax withholding, in the Texas TRS Retirement Guide.

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