Teachers’ Pension
and Annuity Fund (TPAF)
Member Guidebook
Pensions & Benefits
SP-0733-0924
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 2
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TPAF General Information ...................3
Foreword ...............................4
The Retirement System ....................4
Contacting the New Jersey Division
of Pensions & Benets (NJDPB) .............4
Plan Information ..........................5
Eligibility .................................6
Membership .............................7
Enrollments ...............................8
Overview ...............................9
Multiple and Dual Membership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Transfers ..............................11
Service Credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Vesting ................................12
Purchasing Service Credit ..................13
Overview ..............................14
Types of Service Eligible for Purchase. . . . . . . . 14
Important Purchase Notes .................15
Cost and Procedures for
Purchasing Service Credit .................15
Applying to Purchase Service Credit .........16
Loans ...................................18
Overview ..............................19
Applying for a Loan ......................19
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Requirements ...........................20
Supplementing your Pension ................22
Overview ..............................23
Retirements ..............................24
Overview ..............................25
Types of Retirement ......................25
Optional Settlements at Retirement ..........29
The Retirement Process ..................30
Reduction or Suspension
of Your Benets .........................34
Employment After Retirement ..............35
Active and Retired Death Benets ............36
Overview ..............................37
Choosing a Beneciary ...................38
Payment of Group Life Insurance ...........38
Group Life Insurance and
Leave of Absence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Taxation of Group Life
Insurance Premiums .....................39
Waiving Noncontributory Group
Life Insurance over $50,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Conversion of Group Life Insurance .........40
Accidental Death Benet ..................40
Withdrawal ...............................42
Overview ..............................43
Withdrawing Contributions .................44
Workers’ Compensation ...................44
Appeals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Overview ..............................47
TPAF General
Information
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 4
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
FOREWORD
The New Jersey Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
(TPAF) Member Guidebook provides a summary de-
scription of the benets of the plan and outlines the rules
and regulations governing the plan. The TPAF Member
Guidebook should provide you with all the information
you need about your TPAF benets. However, if there
is a conict with statutes governing the plan or regula-
tions implementing the statutes, the statutes and regu-
lations will take precedence. Complete terms govern-
ing any employee benet program are set forth in the
New Jersey Statutes Annotated. Regulations, new or
amended, are published in the New Jersey Register by
the State Oce of Administrative Law supplementing
the New Jersey Administrative Code. This guidebook,
containing current updates, is available for viewing on
our website at: www.nj.gov/treasury/pensions While
at the New Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets
(NJDPB) website, be sure to check for TPAF-related
forms, fact sheets, and news aecting the TPAF.
The purpose of this guidebook is to provide you with
information about the retirement system to assist you in
making decisions concerning you and your family’s fu-
ture. If you have questions concerning your retirement
system benets, please see the “Contacting the New
Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets (NJDPB)” sec-
tion.
Since this is your guidebook, we would appreciate any
comments or suggestions for improvement that you
might have. Please send them to the address listed be-
low:
New Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets
ATTN: Oce of Communications
P.O. Box 295
Trenton, NJ 08625-0295
THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM
The State of New Jersey established the TPAF in 1919
and completely reorganized it in 1955. The NJDPB is
assigned all administrative functions of the retirement
system except for investment.
The TPAF Board of Trustees has the responsibility
for the proper operation of the retirement system. The
Board consists of:
• Three active or retired TPAF representatives;
• One individual elected by the other trustees;
• The State Treasurer; and
• Two individuals appointed by the Governor.
The Board meets once per month. An active or retired
member of the TPAF who wishes to be a candidate
upon a vacancy for the TPAF Board must be elected
at the annual convention. For more information about
the Board, or procedures on how to become a Trustee,
contact the Secretary of the TPAF Board of Trustees,
Division of Pensions & Benets, P.O. Box 295, Trenton,
NJ 08625-0295.
CONTACTING THE NEW JERSEY
DIVISION OF PENSIONS & BENEFITS (NJDPB)
Member Benets Online System (MBOS)
The Member Benets Online System (MBOS) allows
registered TPAF members access to their pension
and, if applicable, health benets account information
online. Resources available through MBOS include:
member account information; beneciary designation;
online pension loan; purchase of service credit; with-
drawal application; and retirement applications. If appli-
cable, account information for the Supplemental Annu-
ity Collective Trust (SACT) and the School Employees’
Health Benets Program (SEHBP) is also available.
Retirees may also use MBOS to: view retirement ac-
count information; update an address; change direct
deposit information; change a beneciary designation;
or update federal and/or New Jersey State income tax
withholding.
Before you can begin using MBOS, you must be reg-
istered with MBOS and the MyNewJersey website.
Registration information can be found on the NJDPB
website.
If you need assistance registering for MBOS, send
an email with the subject line “MBOS Email” to:
pensions.nj@treas.nj.gov
Telephone Numbers
• For computerized information about your individ-
ual pension account 24 hours a day, seven days
a week, call our Automated Information System at
(609) 292-7524. With Interactive Voice Response
and added services, all you need is your Social
Security number and membership number to hear
personalized benets information on purchases,
retirement benets, and withdrawal.
• To speak with a representative about your TPAF
account or health benets account, call (609) 292-
7524 weekdays (except State holidays). The most
current hours of operation can be found on our
website. If you require the services of a relay oper-
ator please dial 711 and provide the operator with
the following phone number, (609) 292-6683. You
will then be connected to a Client Services phone
representative for assistance.
• To speak with a plan representative about the
SACT, call (609) 292-7524 weekdays (except State
holidays). The most current hours of operation can
be found on our website. SACT representatives
will answer your questions and provide enrollment
and distribution forms.
Page 5 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Internet, Email, and Mailing Address
General information and most publications of the
NJDPB can be found on our website. You can email the
NJDPB at: pensions.nj@treas.nj.gov
Our postal address is:
New Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets
P.O. Box 295
Trenton, NJ 08625-0295
On all correspondence, be sure to include your mem-
bership number or the last four digits of your Social Se-
curity number.
Counseling Services
The NJDPB oers individual counseling services to
members of the retirement systems and other benet
programs. Online video-based personal counseling
appointments are available for members of the PERS,
TPAF, PFRS, SPRS, and DCRP. In-person counsel-
ing is available by appointment only on a limited basis
for members of the PERS, TPAF, PFRS, SPRS, and
DCRP. Walk-in counseling services will not be avail-
able. Appointments can be made on our website.
PLAN INFORMATION
Name of Plan
The Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund of New Jer-
sey (TPAF).
Administration
The TPAF is a dened benet plan administered
by the New Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets
(NJDPB).
Provisions of Law
The TPAF was established by New Jersey Statutes and
can be found in the New Jersey Statutes Annotated,
Title 18A, Chapter 66. Changes in the law can only be
made by an act of the State Legislature. Rules govern-
ing the operation and administration of the system may
be found in Title 17, Chapters 1 and 3 of the New Jersey
Administrative Code.
Funding
The funds used to pay benets come from three sourc-
es: employer contributions, employee contributions,
and investment income from those contributions. All
contributions not required for current operations are in-
vested by the State Division of Investment.
Plan Year
For record-keeping purposes, the plan year is July 1
through June 30.
Service of Legal Process
Legal process must be served on the Attorney General
of New Jersey pursuant to New Jersey Court Rules, R.
4:4-4(7).
Employment Rights Not Implied
Membership in the TPAF does not give you the right to
be retained in the employ of a participating employer,
nor does it give you a right of claim to any benet you
have not accrued under terms of the system.
Benets and provisions of the TPAF are subject
to changes by the legislature, courts, and other
ocials. While this guidebook outlines the ben-
et and contribution schedules of the TPAF, it is
not a nal statement. Complete terms govern-
ing any employee benet program are set forth
in the New Jersey Statutes Annotated. Regu-
lations, new or amended, are published in the
New Jersey Register by the State Oce of Ad-
ministrative Law supplementing the New Jersey
Administrative Code.
Eligibility
Page 7 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
MEMBERSHIP
Eligibility rules and regulations are described in general
terms in this guidebook and may not cover all situa-
tions. If you have been a member for several years, you
should be aware that the present rules and regulations
governing enrollment in the retirement system dier
from past rules and regulations. If you have specic
questions concerning your date of enrollment or mem-
bership status, you may wish to contact the NJDPB for
additional information.
TPAF Membership Tiers
TPAF members are categorized by specic member-
ship tiers based on enrollment date. Membership tiers
aect a member’s enrollment and retirement eligibility.
These membership tiers, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:66-
4 are dened as follows:
• Membership Tier 1 — Members enrolled prior to
July 1, 2007, and who earn a minimum pension-
able salary of $500 or more.
• Membership Tier 2 — Members enrolled on or
after July 1, 2007, and prior to November 2, 2008,
and who earn a minimum pensionable salary of
$500 or more.
• Membership Tier 3 — Members enrolled on or
after November 2, 2008, and on or before May
21, 2010, and who meet or exceed a pensionable
minimum salary set for the current year, subject to
future adjustment.
• Membership Tier 4 — Members enrolled after
May 21, 2010 and prior to June 28, 2011, and who
work the minimum number of hours per week (xed
hours of 32 or more).
• Membership Tier 5 — Members enrolled on or
after June 28, 2011, and who work the minimum
number of hours per week (xed hours of 32 or
more).
Unless otherwise indicated by membership tier, the
benets listed in this guidebook are the same for all
TPAF members.
Eligibility Criteria
Employees appointed to positions requiring certica-
tion by the New Jersey Department of Education as
members of the regular teaching or professional sta
of a public school system in New Jersey are required to
enroll in the TPAF as a condition of employment.
Employees of the Department of Education holding un-
classied, professional, certicated titles are also eligi-
ble for membership in the TPAF.
Note: Employees who qualify for Tier 4 or Tier 5 en-
rollment in all respects except for minimum number of
hours, or for Tier 3 enrollment in all respects except
for minimum salary, may be eligible for enrollment in
the Dened Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP).
See the “Dened Contribution Retirement Program”
section for more information.
Factors for Ineligibility
You cannot join the TPAF if:
• You do not meet the minimum salary requirements
for Tier 1, 2, or 3 membership, or the minimum
hourly requirements for Tier 4 or 5 membership
(see above);
• You are a temporary* or substitute* employee;
• You are replacing an individual on a leave of ab-
sence;
• You are retired and receiving a monthly retirement
allowance from another public retirement system in
New Jersey;
• You received a lump-sum retirement distribu-
tion from the Alternate Benet Program (ABP) or
DCRP; or
• You are a TPAF disability retiree who has been
approved to return to TPAF-covered employment,
but earn less than the minimum annual salary for
enrollment under your original TPAF membership
tier.
If you are in doubt about the eligibility of a position,
write to the NJDPB for an administrative determination.
*Temporary or substitute employees may be eligible for enrollment in the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS).
Enrollments
Page 9 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
Enrollment/Certication of Payroll Deductions
Your employer must complete an Enrollment Applica-
tion through the Employer Pensions & Benets Infor-
mation Connection (EPIC).
Online enrollments are processed immediately by the
NJDPB. You and the employer receive a conrmation
that includes your TPAF membership number. More in-
formation about using EPIC is available on our website.
When enrollment processing is complete, you and your
employer will receive a Certication of Payroll Deduc-
tions showing the date deductions will begin, your rate
of contribution, and any back deductions due.
You may wish to keep the Certication of Payroll De-
ductions on le with your other important papers so that
you have a record of your enrollment in the retirement
system.
Proof of Age
All members of the TPAF must provide documentation
that proves their age. If possible, you should provide
your proof of age to the NJDPB when you enroll; how-
ever, it does not delay the processing of your enrollment
application if you do not. Proof of age will be required to
be eligible to retire.
Acceptable evidence of your age includes a photocopy
of:
• Birth certicate — with visible seal;
• Passport or a U.S. Passport Card;
• A current digital New Jersey driver’s license or
identication card (for non-drivers) issued by the
N.J. Motor Vehicle Commission;
• A current digital Pennsylvania or New York driver’s
license;
• Naturalization or immigration papers.
Unacceptable documentation includes military records
indicating your age, expired documentation, out-of-
state driver’s licenses except P.A. and N.Y., hospital
birth certicates, marriage certicates, census records,
baptismal records, or adavits from older family mem-
bers.
Designating a Beneciary
When the Enrollment Application is submitted, the new
member should also submit a Designation of Bene-
ciary through MBOS. Your TPAF membership number
is required and is included in the conrmation of your
online enrollment.
Note: The new member’s estate is the beneciary on
record until the NJDPB receives a properly completed
designation.
For your protection, beneciary designations cannot
be accepted or conrmed over the telephone or by
email. Members can verify beneciary designations on
MBOS. Otherwise, the NJDPB will only accept a writ-
ten request for verication from the member.
Life Insurance Over Age 60
A member must prove insurability when age 60 or older
at the time of enrollment. This is validated through Pru-
dential Financial.
Public Information and Restrictions
Most of the information maintained by the retirement
system, including member salary and/or pension ben-
et information, is considered a public record under
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., the Open Public Records Act
(OPRA). However, certain personal information, such
as a member’s address, telephone number, Social Se-
curity number, pension membership numbers, bene-
ciary information while the member is living, and medi-
cal information is restricted from public access.
Further restrictions to personal health information ex-
ist under the privacy provisions of the federal Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Members may be required to provide specic written
authorization for the release of medical information to
a third party who is not a doctor, hospital, or business
partner of the NJDPB or the health benet programs.
Information about HIPAA is available on the NJDPB
website.
The NJDPB has implemented additional protection for
members in accordance with the New Jersey Identity
Theft Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 56:11-28 et seq. Secu-
rity Freeze procedures are available to restrict access
to the accounts of members who are, or have a serious
risk of becoming, victims of identity theft. Additional
information is available in the Identity Theft and Your
Benets Fact Sheet.
Member Contribution Rate
N.J.S.A. 18A:66-29, the Pensions and Health Benet
Reform Law, increased the TPAF member contribution
rate over seven years to bring the total contribution rate
to 7.5 percent of base salary as of July 1, 2018.
Increases in the member contribution rate also in-
creased the minimum repayment amount for pension
loans or for the cost of a purchase of service credit if
the repayment was certied after the date of the rate
change.
Pensionable Salary — Your contribution rate is ap-
plied to your base salary to determine your pension
deductions. Base salary does not include overtime,
bonuses, or large increases in compensation paid pri-
marily in anticipation of retirement. Nor does it include
additional salary for performing temporary or extra-
curricular duties beyond the regular school day or the
regular school year. Your pension contributions are de-
ducted from your salary each pay period and reported
to the TPAF by your employer.
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 10
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
• The TPAF contribution rate for Tier 1 members is
applied to the full pensionable salary (up to the fed-
eral pensionable maximum described below).
• The TPAF contribution rate for Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier
4, and Tier 5 members is applied to the pension-
able salary up to a compensation limit based on
the annual maximum wage for Social Security de-
ductions. Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4 and Tier 5 members
who earn in excess of the annual compensation
limit will be enrolled in the DCRP in addition to the
TPAF. A contribution of 5.5 percent of the salary in
excess of the limit (plus three percent from the em-
ployer) will be forwarded to a DCRP account (see
the “Dened Contribution Retirement Program”
section).
Federal Pensionable Maximum — Since the TPAF
is a qualied pension plan under the provisions of the
Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Section 401(a)(17), the
current federal ceiling on pensionable compensation
applies to the base salaries of TPAF members.
Tax Deferral — Since January 1987, all mandatory
pension contributions to the TPAF have been feder-
ally tax deferred. Under the 414(h) provisions of the
IRC this reduces your gross wages subject to federal
income tax. Purchases of service credit are voluntary
and are not tax deferred unless funded by a rollover
from another tax-deferred plan. See the “Rollover for
Purchase Payment” section.
MULTIPLE & DUAL MEMBERSHIP
Multiple Membership
You are considered a multiple member if you are em-
ployed and reported to the retirement system by more
than one TPAF-participating employer at the same
time.
Note: If terminating TPAF employment to accept em-
ployment at a new TPAF employer, see the “Transfers”
section.
Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 Members — Under the pro-
visions of N.J.S.A. 18A:66-19.1, multiple membership
is only available to Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 members;
only for TPAF-eligible positions when enrolled on
or before May 21, 2010; and provided that there has
not been a “break in service” in any concurrently held
TPAF-eligible position.
Note: A break in service is any pension-reporting peri-
od without pay — a monthly or a biweekly pay period as
appropriate to the employer’s reporting method — with
the exception of approved leaves of absence, lay-o,
abolishment of position, military leave, Workers’ Com-
pensation, litigation, or suspension.
If there is a break in service with any concurrently held
TPAF-eligible position after May 21, 2010, that employ-
er will no longer be permitted to submit pension con-
tributions for a multiple member. Furthermore, service
credit or salary from any future employment with that
employer will not qualify for the compensation base for
pension contributions and calculation of retirement for
the TPAF multiple member.
Once you have established multiple membership, you
cannot withdraw or begin to collect retirement benets
until you have retired or terminated employment from
every position covered by the TPAF.
Tier 4 and Tier 5 Members — N.J.S.A. 18A:66-4 elim-
inated multiple membership and requires that a TPAF
member enrolled after May 21, 2010, be eligible for Tier
4 or Tier 5 membership based upon only one position.
The retirement system will designate the position
providing the higher or highest compensation for the
member from among any concurrently held eligible
positions. This designated position will be used as the
basis for eligibility for membership, service credit, the
compensation base for pension contributions, and for
other pension calculations.
If a Tier 4 or Tier 5 member leaves a designated posi-
tion or acquires a dierent position — or an additional
position with higher compensation — the member will
receive a new designation by the retirement system, if it
is deemed appropriate.
For Tiers 1, 2, and 3 — any new, concurrently held
TPAF-eligible position begun after May 21, 2010, will
not qualify for service credit or the compensation base
for pension contributions and calculation of retirement
for any TPAF member.
Dual Membership
You are considered a dual member if you are a mem-
ber of more than one New Jersey State-administered
retirement system at the same time. For example, if you
are a teacher enrolled in the TPAF and an adjunct fac-
ulty member at a county college enrolled in the DCRP,
you are a dual member.
When establishing dual membership, an Enrollment
Application is led by each employer with the dierent
retirement systems.
Unlike a multiple member, a dual member’s contribu-
tions and service credit are kept separate, and bene-
ts for a dual member are paid separately from each
retirement system in the event of retirement, death, or
withdrawal.
Page 11 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
A dual member may also retire from one retirement
system and remain an active, contributing member of
the second retirement system, except ABP and DCRP
members.
TRANSFERS
Intrafund Transfer
An Intrafund Transfer is the transfer of your account
from one TPAF employer to another TPAF employer.
If you terminate your current TPAF position and accept
a TPAF position with a dierent employer, you are eli-
gible to transfer your TPAF account and maintain your
original TPAF membership tier status provided:
• You have not withdrawn your membership (see the
“Withdrawal from the Retirement System” section);
• It has not been more than two consecutive years
since your last pension contribution; and
• You meet the eligibility requirements of your TPAF
membership tier with the new TPAF employer.
If you meet the criteria listed above, your new employer
should le a Report of Transfer form with the NJDPB.
If there has been a break in service of more than two
consecutive years since your last pension contribution,
you cannot continue contributions under your prior
TPAF membership. The new employer should le an
Enrollment Application through EPIC with the NJDPB.
You will be enrolled in a new TPAF account under the
membership tier in eect at the time you return to TPAF
employment.
If you are vested in your prior, inactive TPAF account
(see the “Vesting” section), you may be eligible for a
transfer of your old membership account to your new
membership account. This type of transfer is called a
Tier-to-Tier Transfer and is completed by submitting a
Tier-to-Tier Transfer Form. It is important to note that by
completing a Tier-to-Tier Transfer you waive all rights
to retirement benets as provided under the original,
inactive membership tier.
If you are not vested in your prior, inactive TPAF ac-
count, you may withdraw your contributions. See the
“Withdrawal from the Retirement System” section.
If you have withdrawn your prior TPAF account, wheth-
er you have a break in service of more than two con-
secutive years or not, the new employer must le an
Enrollment Application through EPIC with the NJDPB
and you will be enrolled in a new TPAF account under
the membership tier in eect at the time you return to
TPAF membership. The service credit under the prior,
inactive membership may then be eligible for purchase
as Former Membership. See the “Purchasing Service
Credit” section.
Note: If you are continuing employment with your rst
TPAF employer and adding employment with a second
(or subsequent) TPAF employer, see the limitations on
“Multiple Membership” in the “Membership” section.
Interfund Transfer
An Interfund Transfer is the transfer of your account
from a TPAF employer to employment covered by a dif-
ferent New Jersey State-administered, dened benet
retirement system, or vice versa.
If you terminate your current TPAF position and accept
a position covered by a dierent New Jersey State-ad-
ministered retirement system, you may transfer your
contributions and service credit to the new retirement
system provided:
• You have not withdrawn your membership (see
“Withdrawal from the Retirement System” section);
• It has not been more than two consecutive years
since your last pension contribution;
• You are not a dual member with more than three
years of concurrent service in the Public Employ-
ees’ Retirement System (PERS)* or with any con-
current service in any other retirement system (see
the “Dual Membership” section);
• You meet the eligibility requirements of the new re-
tirement system; and
• You apply for the Interfund Transfer within 30 days
of the date you meet the eligibility requirements of
the new retirement system.
Note: A TPAF member who meets the criteria listed
above and transfers to a position covered by the PERS
is eligible to maintain his/her original TPAF member-
ship tier status under the PERS account.
Similarly, a member of a dierent New Jersey State-ad-
ministered retirement system, except the ABP or DCRP,
who meets the criteria listed above and transfers to a
position covered by the TPAF will be enrolled in the
TPAF membership tier that corresponds to the original
date of enrollment in the prior retirement system.
If eligible, in order to transfer your membership ac-
count, an Enrollment Application for the new retirement
system and an Application for Interfund Transfer should
be submitted to the NJDPB. Applications must be re-
ceived within 30 days of the date you meet the eligibility
requirements of the new retirement system.
If there has been a break in service of more than two
consecutive years since your last pension contribution
— or if you have withdrawn your account — you can-
not transfer your prior TPAF contributions and service
credit to the new retirement system. You will be enrolled
*A TPAF member with three years or less of concurrent service in the PERS may, under certain conditions, transfer all service credit from one fund to the other, less any concurrent service
credit.
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 12
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
in a new account with the new retirement system. Your
new employer should le an Enrollment Application for
the new retirement system with the NJDPB.
Note: Members enrolling into the TPAF or PERS after
a break in service of two or more years, will be enrolled
under the membership tier in eect at the time the new
TPAF or PERS employment begins.
SERVICE CREDIT
Since retirement benets are based in part on accu-
mulated service credit, it is important that you receive
the correct amount of credit for the amount of time you
work.
• Monthly employees receive one month of service
credit for each month you make a full pension con-
tribution.
• Employees paid on a 10-month contract from
September through June will receive credit for the
July and August that preceded September, if a full
month’s pension deduction is taken for September.
• Employees whose employers report service and
contributions biweekly will receive one pay period
of service credit for each pay period a full pension
contribution is made.
Credit For Military Service
After Enrollment
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-
employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) provides
that a member who leaves employment to serve on ac-
tive duty is entitled to certain pension rights upon return
to employment with the same employer. If the mem-
ber makes the pension contributions that would have
been normally required upon return and within the time
frames specied under USERRA, the military service
will count for vesting, retirement eligibility, the calcula-
tion of the retirement benet and, if applicable, health
benets eligibility, as though the employee had not left.
When an employee returns from uniformed military
service to TPAF-covered employment, the employ-
er should notify the NJDPB no later than 30 days af-
ter the employee’s return by submitting a Request for
USERRA-Eligible Service form. Once notied, the
NJDPB will provide the employee with a quotation for
the cost for purchasing the service credit.
There is a time-sensitive element to the USERRA pur-
chase which diers from the other purchase of service
credit provisions available to TPAF members. For ad-
ditional information, see “Military Service After Enroll-
ment,” as well as the USERRA — Military Service After
Enrollment Fact Sheet.
VESTING
You are vested in the TPAF after you have attained
10 years of service credit. Being vested in the TPAF
means that you are guaranteed the right to receive a
retirement when you reach normal retirement age. For
Tier 1 and Tier 2 members, normal retirement age is
60. For Tier 3 and Tier 4 members it is age 62. For Tier
5 members it is age 65.
• If you are vested and terminate your employment,
you must le a retirement application prior to re-
ceipt of any benets for which you may qualify (see
the “Types of Retirement” section) or you may vol-
untarily withdraw from the retirement system (see
“Withdrawal from the Retirement System” section).
• If you are vested, terminate your employment with-
out retiring or withdrawing, and return to TPAF-cov-
ered employment within two consecutive years of
the last pension contribution, you may continue to
make contributions to — and accrue service in —
the existing pension account.
Example: A TPAF Tier 1 member with 15 years
of service terminates employment at age 45 and
accepts another TPAF-eligible position six months
later. In this case, the member can resume mak-
ing contributions to the existing TPAF account and
would retain his/her Tier 1 membership status.
• If you are vested, terminate your employment with-
out retiring or withdrawing, and return to TPAF-
covered employment two or more years after the
last pension contribution, you cannot resume con-
tributions to the vested account. Instead you will be
enrolled in a new TPAF account.
Example: A TPAF Tier 1 member with 15 years of
service terminates employment at age 45 and ac-
cepts another TPAF-eligible position three years
later. In this case, it has been over two consecu-
tive years since the last TPAF contribution, and the
member would be required to enroll under a new
TPAF account as a Tier 5 member (see the “Ex-
ceptions” section if laid o or terminated through
no fault of your own).
• If you are not vested and you terminate employ-
ment before retiring, your options vary depending
on the nature of your termination and/or your age
at the time of your termination (see the “Terminat-
ing Employment” section).
Purchasing
Service Credit
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 14
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
Since your retirement allowance is based in part on the
amount of service credit posted to your account at the
time of retirement, it may help you to purchase addition-
al service credit if you are eligible to do so.
Only active members of the retirement systems are
permitted to purchase service credit. An active member
is one who has not retired or withdrawn, and who has
made a contribution to the retirement system within two
consecutive years of the purchase request.
In no case can you receive more than one year of ser-
vice credit for any calendar or scal year. A dual mem-
ber cannot purchase concurrent service from any other
retirement system. See the “Dual Membership” section.
TYPES OF SERVICE ELIGIBLE FOR PURCHASE
If a type of service is not listed, it is not eligible for pur-
chase.
Temporary Service
Members may be eligible to purchase service credit for
temporary, provisional, or full-time substitute employ-
ment, provided the employment was continuous, imme-
diately preceded a permanent or regular appointment
in a position covered by the TPAF, and meets eligibility
requirements for the tier in which the member is en-
rolled.
Members are allowed to purchase temporary service
rendered under a former membership in a New Jersey
State-administered, dened benet retirement system
(PERS, TPAF, etc.)
Leave of Absence Without Pay
Members may be eligible to purchase service credit for
ocial leaves of absence without pay. The amount of
time eligible for purchase depends on the type of leave
that was taken.
• Up to two years may be purchased for leaves tak-
en for personal illness.
• Up to three months may be purchased for leaves
taken for personal reasons.
• Maternity leave is considered personal illness.*
• Child care leave is considered personal reasons.
A leave of absence without pay under a former mem-
bership in a New Jersey State-administered, dened
benet retirement system may be eligible for purchase.
If a member who is employed 10 months per year goes
on an approved unpaid leave for personal reasons for
the months of May, June, and/or September, the mem-
ber will be allowed to purchase credit for the months of
July and August as part of the leave of absence — up
to a maximum of ve months.
Note: Leave of absence for union representation may
also be available for purchase. This type of leave must
be purchased quarterly and within 30 days of the end
of each scal quarter. See the Application to Purchase
Service Credit for Union Representation for additional
information and instructions.
Former Membership Service
Members may be eligible to purchase all service cred-
ited under a previous membership in a New Jersey
State-administered retirement system (PERS, TPAF,
etc.) which has been terminated after two continuous
years of inactivity in accordance with statute; or fol-
lowing the withdrawal of the contributions made under
such membership by the member.
Out-of-State Service
Members may be eligible to purchase up to 10 years
of service credit for public employment rendered with
any state, county, municipality, school district, or public
agency outside the State of New Jersey, provided the
service rendered would have been eligible for mem-
bership in a New Jersey State-administered retirement
system had the service been rendered as a public
employee in this State. This service is only eligible for
purchase if the member is not receiving or eligible to
receive retirement benets from the out-of-state public
retirement system.
Note: Eective November 1, 2008, Out-of-State ser-
vice credit cannot be used to qualify for employer-paid
health benets in retirement for members of the TPAF.
However, the purchase may be used to increase a
member’s monthly retirement allowance.
U.S. Government Service
Members may be eligible to purchase up to 10 years
of service credit for civilian service rendered with the
U.S. government if the public employment would have
been eligible for credit in a New Jersey State-adminis-
tered retirement system had the service been rendered
as a public employee in this State. This service is only
eligible for purchase if the member is not receiving or
eligible to receive retirement benets from the federal
government based in whole or in part on this service.
Note: Eective November 1, 2008, U.S. Government
service credit cannot be used to qualify for employ-
er-paid health benets in retirement for members of the
TPAF. However, the purchase may be used to increase
a member’s monthly retirement allowance.
*A certication from a physician that a member was disabled due to pregnancy and a resulting disability for the period in excess of three months is required. Otherwise, three
months is the maximum period for purchase for maternity.
Page 15 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Military Service Before Enrollment
Members may be eligible to purchase service credit for
up to 10 years of active military service rendered prior
to enrollment, provided the member is not receiving or
eligible to receive a military pension or a pension from
any other state or local source for such military service.
Active military service eligible for purchase means full-
time duty in the active military service of the United
States and includes full-time training duty, annual train-
ing duty, and attendance, at a school designated as a
service school by law or by the secretary of the military
department concerned. It cannot include periods of
service of less than 30 days. It does not include week-
end drills or annual summer training of a national guard
or reserve unit or time spent as a cadet or midshipman
at one of the military academies.
Active military service that has been combined with re-
serve component service to qualify for a military pen-
sion as a reserve component member may be eligible
for purchase.
If you qualify as a veteran, you may be eligible to pur-
chase an additional ve years of military service. See
“Important Purchase Notes” section.
Military Service After Enrollment
Under the requirements of USERRA, members may re-
ceive credit for military service rendered after October
13, 1994. However, under N.J.A.C. 17:1-3.10, USERRA
eligible service will only be used toward vesting, retire-
ment eligibility, the calculation of the retirement ben-
et, and, if applicable, health benets eligibility, if the
employee pays the required pension contributions that
would have been required if the employee had not left.
Note: There is a time-sensitive element to this pur-
chase. See the USERRA — Military Service After En-
rollment Fact Sheet.
Uncredited Service
Members may be eligible to purchase any regular em-
ployment with a public employer in New Jersey for
which the member did not receive service credit but
which would have required compulsory membership in
the retirement system at the time it was rendered.
Local Retirement System Service
Members may be eligible to purchase service cred-
it established within a local retirement system in New
Jersey if they were ineligible to transfer that service to
the TPAF upon withdrawal from the local retirement
system. This service is only eligible for purchase if the
member is not receiving nor eligible to receive retire-
ment benets from that public retirement system.
IMPORTANT PURCHASE NOTES
• If you qualify as a non-veteran, you are eligible
to purchase an aggregate of 10 years of service
credit for work outside New Jersey (Out-of-State,
Military, and U.S. Government Service).
• Out-of-State Service, U.S. Government Service,
or service with a bi-state or multi-state agency
requested for purchase after November 1, 2008,
cannot be used to qualify for any State-paid or em-
ployer-paid health benets in retirement.
• If you qualify as a military veteran, you may be el-
igible to purchase up to an additional ve years of
military service rendered during periods of war for
an aggregate of 15 years of service outside New
Jersey (Out-of-State, Military, and U.S. Govern-
ment Service).
• To qualify for an Ordinary Disability Retirement,
members need 10 years of New Jersey service;
therefore, the purchase of U.S. Government, Out-
of-State, or Military Service cannot be used to
qualify for this type of retirement.
• Purchases of service credit are voluntary and are
not tax deferred unless funded by a rollover from
another tax-deferred plan (see the “Rollover for
Purchase Payment” section).
COST AND PROCEDURES
FOR PURCHASING SERVICE CREDIT
You can receive an estimate of the cost of purchasing
service credit by calling the Automated Information
System at (609) 292-7524 or by using the online Pur-
chase Calculator on MBOS.
The cost of a purchase is based on four factors:
• A purchase factor based on your nearest age at
the time the NJDPB receives your purchase appli-
cation (see the “Purchase Rate Chart”);
• The higher of either your current annual salary or
highest scal year salary (July – June) posted to
your membership account;
• The years and months of service being purchased;
and
• The type of service purchased.
The cost of the purchase will rise with an increase in
your age and/or salary.
The cost of purchasing service is borne by both you
and the participating employers with the important ex-
ceptions of Military Service before Enrollment, U.S.
Government Service, and Local Retirement System
Service — where statute specically provides that the
employer will not be liable for any costs of the purchase.
If you purchase U.S. Government Service or Military
Service before Enrollment you, as the member, are re-
sponsible for the full cost; therefore, the cost quoted to
you for purchasing these types of service will be twice
the cost for other types of purchase.
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 16
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Partial Purchases
You may purchase all or part of any eligible service. If
you make a partial purchase, you may purchase any
remaining eligible service at a later date. The cost of
any later purchase will be based upon your age and the
annual salary or highest scal year salary at the time of
your subsequent request to purchase.
Estimating the Cost of a Purchase
To estimate the cost of a shared purchase, multiply the
higher of your current annual salary or highest scal
year salary times the purchase factor corresponding
to your nearest age; see the “Purchase Rate Chart.”
The result is the cost of one year of service. Multiply
this cost by the appropriate number of years being pur-
chased. This procedure can be used for calculating
the cost of Temporary Service, Former Membership,
Leaves of Absence, Uncredited Service, Local Retire-
ment System Service, and Out-of-State Service.
To calculate the purchase cost of Military Service be-
fore Enrollment or U.S. Government Service, the same
procedure is used, except the resulting cost is doubled.
Note: The cost of a purchase of Military Service after
Enrollment under USERRA is based on the required
pension contributions for the period of military service.
Example: A member, age 45, earning $60,000 a year,
wishes to purchase 18 months Temporary Service:
Purchase Factor (from chart) = 0.048761
Purchase Factor x Annual Salary x Time Being Pur-
chased = Purchase Cost
0.048761 x $60,000 x 1.5 years = $4,388.49
If the same member were to purchase 18 months of
Military Service before Enrollment, the purchase cost
would be $8,776.98 — twice the amount of the Tempo-
rary Service.
An online Purchase Cost Calculator and additional pur-
chase of service credit resources are available for use
on the NJDPB website.
Purchase Rate Chart
Age
Purchase
Factor Age
Purchase
Factor
20 .031379 46 .049932
21 .031759 47 .051155
22 .032158 48 .052433
23 .032578 49 .053768
24 .033018 50 .055163
25 .033480 51 .056620
26 .033964 52 .058144
27 .034471 53 .059737
28 .035002 54 .061403
29 .035558 55 .063145
30 .036139 56 .064967
31 .036748 57 .066873
32 .037384 58 .068868
33 .038048 59 .070956
34 .038743 60 .073142
35 .039469 61 .072021
36 .040227 62 .070853
37 .041019 63 .069637
38 .041847 64 .068380
39 .0 42711 65 .067083
40 .043613 66 .065746
41 .044555 67 .064376
42 .045539 68 .062973
43 .046567 69 .061545
44 .047640 70 & older .060100
45 .048761
APPLYING TO PURCHASE SERVICE CREDIT
All purchase requests must be submitted using the Pur-
chase Application available through MBOS.
Exceptions to the MBOS
Purchase Application
While TPAF members are usually required to process
purchase requests through MBOS, members are not
able to use the MBOS Purchase Application for the fol-
lowing types of purchase:
• Members applying for the purchase of Military
Service after Enrollment under the provisions of
USERRA. To purchase this service the employ-
er must submit the Request for USERRA-eligible
Service form within the time frames required under
the law (see the USERRA — Military Service After
Enrollment Fact Sheet).
• Members applying for the purchase of Leave of Ab-
sence for Union Representation. This type of leave
must be purchased quarterly and within 30 days of
the end of each scal quarter. See the Application
to Purchase Service Credit for Union Representa-
tion for additional information and instructions.
Please note that these are the only circumstances
where paper purchase requests are permitted. Other
paper applications to purchase service credit received
by mail will not be processed, and the member will be
mailed instructions on submitting the request through
MBOS.
Upon receipt of your MBOS Purchase Application —
and any required supporting documentation — a quota-
tion of cost will be calculated provided that all purchase
eligibility criteria are met. Processing times vary and a
request cannot be completed until the NJDPB receives
all required verication of eligibility. It is the member’s
responsibility to obtain certication of employment from
a former employer for the purchase of Out-of-State or
U.S. Government Service.
Page 17 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
After the NJDPB veries employment, you will receive
a Purchase Cost Quotation Letter indicating the cost of
any service approved for purchase. You must respond
to the quotation letter within the specied time period.
When you agree to purchase a certain amount of ser-
vice credit, the NJDPB assumes that you will complete
the purchase and credits your account with the entire
amount of service, even if you are paying the cost
through payroll deductions. Any estimates of retirement
allowance you receive are based on the full amount of
credit you agreed to purchase.
You may pay the cost of purchasing service credit:
• In one lump-sum payment;
• By having extra payroll deductions withheld from
your pay. The minimum deduction is equal to one-
half of your normal rate of contribution to the retire-
ment system over a maximum period of 10 years
and includes interest at the assumed rate of return
of the retirement system;
• By paying a single down payment and having the
remainder paid through payroll deductions; or
• With a direct rollover or trustee-to-trustee transfer
of tax-deferred funds from a qualied retirement
plan (see the “Rollover for Purchase Payment”
section).
If you retire before completing a purchase, you may
choose to receive prorated credit for the amount of
service you have paid for, or you can pay the balance
at the time of retirement to receive full credit. See the
“Unsatised Balances” section.
A member who authorizes a purchase of service credit
through payroll deductions may cancel those deduc-
tions at any time. No refunds will be made of any lump-
sum payments, partial payments, or installment pay-
ments. The member will receive prorated service credit
for the service purchased to the date installment pay-
ments cease. Any subsequent requests to purchase
the remaining service credit shall be based on the laws
and rules in eect on the date that the subsequent re-
quest is received.
If you have an outstanding arrears obligation for the
purchase of additional service credit, interest may be
assessed if there is a lapse of two years or more in
payments toward the purchase.
If you have not made installment payments for the pur-
chase of additional service credit for two years, your
purchase will be canceled. You will receive pro rata
credit for the service purchased to the date that the in-
stallment payments ceased.
If you return from an approved leave of absence after
two years, you may request that the original purchase
be resumed. The purchase will be recalculated to in-
clude additional regular interest accrued between two
years after the date of the last installment payment and
the date the purchase is resumed.
Rollover for Purchase Payment
Members may pay for all or part of a purchase by trans-
ferring or rolling over tax-deferred funds from an eligible
or qualied retirement savings plan. The types of plans
from which a transfer or rollover can be made are:
• 401(a) qualied plan (including 401(k) plan) and
403(a) qualied annuity;
• 403(b) — Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plan;
• 457(b) — State and Local Government Deferred
Compensation Plan; or
• IRA - With tax-deferred funds:
– Traditional IRA;
– SIMPLE IRA (must have been open for two or
more years);
– Simplied Employee Pension (SEP) Plan;
– Conduit IRA; or
– Rollover IRA.
Note: The NJDPB cannot accept rollovers from a Roth
IRA or a Coverdell Education Savings Account (former-
ly known as an Education IRA).
Additional information on requesting a transfer or roll-
over of tax-deferred funds for the purchase of service
credit is included in the Purchase Cost Quotation Letter
you receive upon the NJDPB’s determination of your
eligibility to purchase service.
Loans
Page 19 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
If you are an active contributing member of the TPAF,
you may be eligible to borrow from your pension ac-
count.
Loans are governed by the following conditions:
• Service Credit — You must have at least three
years of pension service credit posted to your re-
tirement system account. Pension contributions
are posted to your account on a quarterly basis. It
normally takes 45 days after the end of a quarter
for your contributions to be posted to your account.
For example, if you enrolled in the retirement sys-
tem on February 1, 2015, you would not have three
years posted to your account until May of 2018,
when we update the quarter in which you will attain
three years.
• Number of Loans Per Year — You may borrow
twice in any calendar year. This is determined by
the date of the disbursement, not the date of the
request. For example, if you make a request for a
loan on December 24th, but the disbursement date
is January 5th, the loan is considered your rst for
the new year.
• Loan Amount — The minimum amount you may
borrow is $50, and loan amounts then increase in
increments of $10.
The maximum you may borrow is 50 percent of
your contributions that are posted to your account,
up to a maximum loan balance of $50,000, which-
ever is less, when added to the highest balance of
any loan in the last 12 months.
You may learn the amount you may borrow — and
see dierent loan amount and repayment combi-
nations — by using the online Loan Application on
MBOS.
• Electronic Fund Transmittal (EFT/Direct De-
posit) is Required — All loans are disbursed by
Electronic Fund Transmittal (EFT). You must have
a valid bank routing number and account num-
ber when submitting a Loan Application through
MBOS. Paper loan checks are no longer produced
under any circumstance.
• Interest Rate — Interest is charged on the de-
clining balance of the loan at a commercially rea-
sonable rate set annually by the New Jersey State
Treasurer. The current interest rate is posted on
the NJDPB website.
When you borrow, you will have the same inter-
est rate for the life of your loan unless you borrow
again in a dierent calendar year after the inter-
est rate has changed. Every time you borrow, the
entire outstanding balance is re-certied at the
current year’s interest rate. The new loan must be
repaid within ve years of the original loan date.
The interest rate is determined using the Prime
Rate as of December of the previous year plus 2.5
percent.
• Administrative Fee — An administrative process-
ing fee applies to all pension loans. The adminis-
trative processing fee is set annually and is based
on the actual costs associated with administering
the pension loan program. The current administra-
tive processing fee is posted on the NJDPB web-
site.
• Loan Repayment — Loans must be repaid with-
in ve years. The minimum deduction toward the
repayment of a loan is equal to the full pension
contribution rate (see the “Member Contribution
Rate” section). The maximum allowable deduction
toward the repayment of your loan is 25 percent of
your base salary. Provided that the minimum loan
repayment amount will repay the loan balance
within ve years, the repayment amount of a loan
will be similar whether you borrow $500 or $5,000;
however, the repayment of a larger loan will con-
tinue for a longer period of time than for a smaller
loan.
Loan repayments will increase to more than the
minimum deduction if the entire loan balance can-
not be paid within the ve year requirement, or if
you have an outstanding loan and take another
loan.
If you have an outstanding loan balance and take
another loan, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
requires that the new combined loan balance must
be repaid within ve years of the date of the rst
loan. This means that the repayment amount may
be substantially higher to ensure full repayment
of the total loan balance within ve years of the
issuance of the original loan. Furthermore, the re-
quested loan amount may be reduced, or the loan
request may be rejected, if the payroll deductions
required to repay the loan within this ve-year pe-
riod would exceed the 25 percent of salary restric-
tion in State law (see the “Internal Revenue Ser-
vice (IRS) Requirements” section).
If you are not satised with your loan amount or the
repayment schedule after your loan is disbursed,
you can request a repayment gure for the loan
balance, plus any accrued interest prior to the end
of the regular repayment schedule.
APPLYING FOR A LOAN
All pension loan requests must be submitted using the
Loan Application available through MBOS and you
must provide a valid bank routing number and account
number. Once you apply, you receive immediate con-
rmation that your loan application has been received.
Once the loan application is submitted, a pension loan
cannot be canceled.
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 20
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Exceptions to the MBOS Loan Application
While most members are required to process loan
requests through MBOS, some members may not be
able to access the Loan Application for one of the fol-
lowing reasons:
• Members applying for a loan within six months of
returning from a leave of absence; or
• Members applying for a loan within six months of
transferring to a new employer within the same re-
tirement system, or between dierent retirement
systems.
In these cases your employer must complete a Certi-
ed Loan Request to verify your salary and/or certify
that you are actively employed.
• If your employer was late in submitting the Report
of Contributions for the quarterly posting, you may
still be able to borrow; however, your employer
must complete a Certied Loan Request to veri-
fy your salary and active pay status, and you may
only borrow based on the prior quarter’s posted
pension contributions.
• If you have established a security freeze on your
pension account due to identity theft, you cannot
access MBOS and must contact the NDJPB’s
Identity Theft Coordinator to request a loan (for
more information see the Identity Theft and Your
Benets Fact Sheet).
Please note that these are the only circumstances
where paper loan requests are permitted.
Early Loan Repayment
You may request a repayment gure for your full loan
balance any time prior to the end of your regular re-
payment schedule. Only a lump-sum payo of your full
loan balance is permitted — partial payments are not
allowed.
You may request a lump sum payo through your MBOS
account by using the Letters and Statements applica-
tion and selecting the “Loan Payo” option. The Loan
Payo Letter will indicate the lump-sum payo amount,
the date by which the payment must be received, and
the date on which scheduled loan repayments from
payroll will end.
Loans at Retirement, Death,
or Termination of Employment
If you retire before repaying the outstanding balance of
your loan, your loan payments will be carried into re-
tirement. The monthly loan payment will be calculated
to have the loan plus interest satised by your ve-year
end date. You may also repay your outstanding loan
balance in one lump sum prior to retirement.
If you die before repaying your loan, either before or af-
ter retirement, the outstanding balance will be deduct-
ed from the proceeds of any benets to be paid to your
beneciaries.
If you terminate employment and withdraw your contri-
butions before repaying your loan, all your contributions
less the loan balance will be returned to you. See the
“Internal Revenue Service Requirements” section.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS)
REQUIREMENTS
IRC Section 72(p) requires that loan balances cannot
exceed $50,000 and must be repaid within ve years.
If you take any subsequent loans and your original
loan balance is not completely paid o, the repayment
period will remain ve years from the date of the rst
loan. The repayment rules on subsequent loans may
result in either a substantial increase in your repayment
amount, or may limit the amount that you can borrow if
the payroll deductions to repay the loan exceeds the 25
percent of base salary restriction on loan repayments.
The IRS regulations also require members to make
timely payments toward outstanding loan balances.
While it is your employer’s responsibility to withhold
loan deductions from your salary, if you are out of work
without pay, your employer has no salary from which
to take deductions. Members who leave payroll with
an outstanding loan balance will be notied after three
months of nonpayment and oered the option of paying
o the entire loan balance or making loan repayments
through personal billing. It is the member’s responsibil-
ity to ensure that the loan balance, plus interest, is paid
in full in accordance with IRS regulations.
Failure to repay the loan as scheduled, either through
lump-sum payment, personal billing, or return to pay-
roll, will result in the unpaid loan balance being de-
clared in default. If a loan is in default, the loan balance
is declared a deemed distribution and will be reported
to the IRS as taxable income. For the tax year in which
the default occurs, the NJDPB will send you a Form
1099-R for tax ling purposes. You will be required to
include the portion of the loan representing before-tax
contributions as income on your federal return. In ad-
dition, if you are under age 59 1/2, you will be required
to pay an additional 10 percent tax for taking an early
pension distribution.
If you default on your loan, it will be your responsibil-
ity to make an estimated tax payment to the IRS to
cover your tax liability on the deemed distribution; no
withholding will be deducted from your account by the
NJDPB.
Note: Paying taxes on a defaulted loan balance does
not negate the balance; you are still responsible for
paying the loan balance and any interest that accrues
on it within the remaining period left in the original ve-
year schedule. Any repayments will be returned to your
account as after-tax contributions.
Page 21 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
You may not take another loan until the deemed distri-
bution is paid in full. A deemed distribution cannot be
canceled by resuming your loan payments or repaying
the loan in full prior to the end of the tax year in which
the default occurs. If you resume your loan repayments
after the default, the payments received will be posted
to your account as previously taxed contributions that
will increase the nontaxable portion of your pension at
retirement.
Unlike a normal pension distribution, a loan treated as
a distribution cannot be rolled over to an IRA or other
qualied retirement plan.
Supplementing
Your Pension
Page 23 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
In addition to your regular pension contributions, there
are other opportunities to supplement your retirement
income and possibly set aside money on a tax-deferred
basis.
Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust (SACT)
The SACT is a voluntary investment program that pro-
vides retirement income separate from, and in addition
to, your basic pension plan. Your contributions are in-
vested conservatively in the stock market. The program
consists of two separate plans.
• The SACT Regular Plan is available to all actively
contributing members of a New Jersey State-ad-
ministered retirement system. Contributions to this
plan are made after deductions for federal income
tax.
• The SACT Tax-Sheltered Plan (IRC Section
403(b)) is available to actively contributing mem-
bers of public educational institutions. Contribu-
tions to this plan are made before deductions for
federal income tax.
SACT brochures and enrollment packets are available
on the NJDPB website.
You can also contact the SACT oce by calling
(609) 292-7524 or by writing to: New Jersey Division of
Pensions & Benets, Supplemental Annuity Collective
Trust, P.O. Box 295, Trenton, NJ 08625-0295.
Deferred Compensation Plans
TPAF members employed by a board of education may
be eligible to contribute to an IRC Section 457 deferred
compensation plan. Contact your employer to see if this
type of plan is available to you.
TPAF members employed by the State are eligible to
contribute to the New Jersey State Employees De-
ferred Compensation Plan (NJSEDCP) (IRC Section
457). For plan and investment information, visit the
NJSEDCP website at: h ttps://newjersey.retirepru.com/
or call 1-866-NJSEDCP (1-866-657-3327). Other infor-
mation about the plan is available by writing to: New
Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets, New Jersey
State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan, P.O.
Box 295, Trenton, NJ 08625-0295.
Dened Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP)
The DCRP was established under the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 43:15C-1 et. seq. The DCRP provides eligible
members with a tax-sheltered, dened contribution re-
tirement benet, along with life insurance and disability
coverage.
Individuals eligible for membership in the DCRP in-
clude:
• Employees enrolled on or after July 1, 2007, in
membership Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, or Tier 5 of the
TPAF who earn salary in excess of established
maximum compensation limits.
• Employees otherwise eligible for enrollment in
membership Tier 3 of the TPAF who do not earn
the minimum annual salary for Tier 3 enrollment,
(subject to adjustment in future years) but who
earn at least the DCRP minimum annual salary of
$5,000.
• Employees otherwise eligible for enrollment in
membership Tier 4 or Tier 5 of the TPAF who do
not work the minimum number of hours per week
required for enrollment (35 hours per week for
State employees or 32 hours per week for local
education employees) but who earn at least the
DCRP minimum annual salary of $5,000.
The DCRP is administered for the NJDPB by Empower
(formerly Prudential). Empower provides DCRP infor-
mation, including investment and distribution options,
on its New Jersey Dened Contribution Program web-
site: h ttps://newjersey.retirepru.com/ Employers
and members can contact Empower via their toll-free
telephone number: 1-866-653-2771. In certain circum-
stances, an eligible employee can voluntarily waive
participation in the DCRP by submitting a DCRP Waiv-
er of Retirement Program Participation form to the
NJDPB.
Additional information about DCRP enrollment, contri-
bution rates, plan benets, and waivers can be found in
the DCRP for PERS, TPAF, PFRS, and SPRS Mem-
bers Fact Sheet, the DCRP for Elected and Appointed
Ocials Fact Sheet, and the DCRP if Ineligible for the
PERS or TPAF Fact Sheet, which are available on the
NJDPB website.
Retirements
Page 25 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
Applications for retirement must be led through MBOS
and received by the NJDPB prior to the eective date of
the retirement. It is the member’s responsibility to apply
for retirement and ensure that all required documents
are received by the NJDPB within 90 days.
The IRS will impose a 50 percent excise tax on ac-
counts of members who terminate employment but do
not retire or withdraw contributions by April 1 following
the calendar year in which they turn age 70 1/2 (if born
before July 1, 1949) or age 72 (if born on or after July 1,
1949). This rule does not aect members age 70 1/2 or
72 while they are still actively employed in TPAF-cov-
ered positions.
Retirement Calculation Denitions
Years of Service means the years and months of
pension service credited to your account, including pur-
chased service credit. All members receive a slightly
higher percentage for each additional month of service.
Final Average Salary (FAS) is the salary used to
calculate your retirement. It is based on pensionable
salary and does not include extra pay for overtime or
money given in anticipation of your retirement. Nor
does it include amounts paid for housing, clothing, or
uniform allowances.
For Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 members, FAS means
the average salary for the 36 months (30 months for
employees with 10-month contracts) immediately
preceding your retirement. If your last three years are
not your highest years of salary, your allowance will be
calculated using your three highest scal years (July -
June) of salary.
For Tier 4 and Tier 5 members, Final Average Sala-
ry means the average salary for the 60 months (50
months for employees with 10-month contracts) imme-
diately preceding your retirement. If your last ve years
are not your highest years of salary, your allowance will
be calculated using your ve highest scal years (July
- June) of salary.
Note: If your last years of salary are not your highest,
you must indicate your highest three years on your
MBOS Retirement Application.
TYPES OF RETIREMENT
There are several types of retirement for which you may
qualify.
Service Retirement
Available to Tier 1 and Tier 2 members upon reaching
age 60 or older; or to Tier 3 and Tier 4 members upon
reaching age 62 or older, or to Tier 5 members upon
reaching age 65 or older. No minimum amount of pen-
sion service credit is required.
The formula to calculate the maximum annual pension
for a Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 member is:
Years of Service x Final = Maximum
55 Average Annual
Salary Allowance
The formula to calculate the maximum annual pension
for a Tier 4 or Tier 5 member is:
Years of Service x Final = Maximum
60 Average Annual
Salary Allowance
Example: A Tier 1 member with 22 years of service
would receive 22/55 or 40 percent of Final Average
Salary. You receive a slightly higher percentage for
each additional month of service.
Early Retirement
Available to members who have 25 years or more of
pension service credit before reaching age 60 for Tier
1 and Tier 2 members, or before age 62 for Tier 3 and
Tier 4 members; and with 30 years or more of pension
membership service credit before age 65 for Tier 5
members. The benet is calculated using the appropri-
ate Service Retirement formula; however, your allow-
ance is permanently reduced if you retire prior to attain-
ing certain ages as dened by your membership tier:
• For Tier 1 members who retire before age 55, your
allowance is reduced 1/4 of one percent for each
month (three percent per year) under age 55.
• For Tier 2 members who retire before age 60,
your allowance is reduced 1/12 of one percent for
each month (one percent per year) under age 60
through age 55, and 1/4 of one percent for each
month (three percent per year) under age 55.
• For Tier 3 and Tier 4 members who retire before
age 62, your allowance is reduced 1/12 of one per-
cent for each month (one percent per year) under
age 62 through age 55, and 1/4 of one percent for
each month (three percent per year) under age 55.
• For Tier 5 members who retire before age 65 with
at least 30 years of service, your allowance is re-
duced 1/4 of one percent for each month (three
percent per year) under age 65.
Veteran Retirement
Available to qualied veterans in active employment
until the eective date of retirement or who met the re-
quirements for a Veteran Retirement as of their termi-
nation date.
The age requirements and formulas for calculating a
Veteran Retirement are the same for all membership
tiers.
A qualied military veteran who is:
• age 55 or older with 25 or more years of service
credit; or
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 26
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
• age 60 or older with 20 or more years of service
credit
is entitled to an annual allowance equal to 54.5 percent
of the salary upon which pension contributions were
based during the highest the 12 consecutive months
of base salary.
A qualied military veteran who is age 55 or older with
35 years of service credit is entitled to an annual allow-
ance based on the following formula:
Years of Service x Highest 12 = Maximum
55 Consecutive Annual
Months of Salary Allowance
Veteran members may retire on a Service Retirement if
that provides a higher benet.
Establishing Veteran Status — Individuals wishing
to establish veteran status with the retirement system
should submit a photocopy of their discharge papers
(Form DD 214) showing both the induction and dis-
charge dates to:
N.J. Department of Military and Veterans Aairs
ATTN: DVP-VBB
P.O. Box 340
Trenton, NJ 08625-0340
Since the New Jersey Department of Military and Vet-
erans Aairs also makes determinations of veterans
preference for Civil Service and property tax appeals,
a note should be attached to say that the discharge pa-
pers are being sent for pension purposes. Include your
address on the note. For more information, see the Vet-
eran Status Fact Sheet.
Deferred Retirement
Available to members who have at least 10 years of
service credit and are not yet 60 years of age if a Tier 1
or Tier 2 member, or 62 years of age if a Tier 3 or Tier
4 member, or 65 years of age if a Tier 5 member, when
they terminate employment. The retirement would be
eective on the rst of the month after attaining the
appropriate Deferred Retirement age. The benet is
calculated using the appropriate Service Retirement
formula.
You must le an application for retirement for the De-
ferred Retirement to take eect. You may apply for a
Deferred Retirement when you terminate covered em-
ployment or any time prior to attaining your Deferred
Retirement age; otherwise, your only payment option
at retirement is the maximum allowance with no pay-
ment to a beneciary. Under no circumstances can a
Deferred Retirement become eective prior to the date
the application is received by the NJDPB.
If a member is removed from employment for cause,
the member will be ineligible for Deferred Retirement.
If you return to TPAF-covered employment before your
Deferred Retirement becomes eective, you may can-
cel your retirement and become eligible to maintain
your original TPAF membership tier status, provided
you have not withdrawn your membership and it has
not been more than two consecutive years since your
last pension contribution. If, however, there has been
a break in service of more than two consecutive years
since your last pension contribution, or if you have with-
drawn your account, you will be enrolled in a new TPAF
account under the membership tier in eect at the time
you return to employment.
At any time before your Deferred Retirement becomes
eective, you may change your mind and apply for a
lump-sum withdrawal of all your pension contributions.
However, once you cancel your Deferred Retirement
and withdraw your contributions, all the rights and privi-
leges of membership in the retirement system end.
Please note the following important information about
your life insurance, health benets coverage, loans,
and purchase arrears if you are considering a Deferred
Retirement:
• Life Insurance — Your life insurance coverage will
end 31 days after you terminate employment and
will not be in eect until your Deferred Retirement
becomes payable. If you die before your Deferred
Retirement becomes eective, the last named
beneciary will receive a return of your pension
contributions. There is no life insurance benet un-
der these circumstances. However, during the 31-
day period after you terminate employment, you
may convert your group life insurance coverage to
a private policy with Prudential Financial. For more
information see the “Conversion of Group Life In-
surance” section.
• Health Benets — TPAF members with less than
25 years of service credit who are electing a De-
ferred Retirement cannot normally transfer their
active health care coverage to the retired group of
the School Employees’ Health Benets Program
(SEHBP); however, members electing Deferred
Retirement may be eligible for continuation of
SEHBP coverage under the Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
(COBRA) legislation for up to 18 months if they
were covered by the SEHBP just prior to termi-
nating employment. If the actual retirement com-
mences while the 18 months of COBRA coverage
is in eect, the retiree may then transfer from the
COBRA coverage and continue the SEHBP cov-
erage into retirement. If the 18 months of COBRA
coverage ends before the retirement commences,
the member will not be entitled to maintain health
coverage through the SEHBP. Participants should
contact their employer to see if they qualify for
COBRA continuation.
TPAF members with 25 or more years of service
credit who were employed by a board of education
or a county college and who elect Deferred Retire-
ment are eligible for State-paid SEHBP coverage
when the Deferred Retirement becomes eective
Page 27 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
at age 60 for Tier 1 or Tier 2 members, age 62
for Tier 3 or Tier 4 members, or age 65 for Tier 5
members.
• Loans — If you terminate employment, failure to
repay a pension loan as scheduled may result in
the unpaid loan balance being declared a taxable
distribution that will be reported to the IRS. For
more information about the IRS regulations re-
garding the repayment of pension loans, see the
“Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Requirements”
section.
• Purchase Arrears — If you have not made in-
stallment payments for the purchase of additional
service credit for two years, your purchase will be
canceled. You will receive pro rata credit for the
service purchased to the date that the installment
payments ceased. See the “Applying to Purchase
Service Credit” section for more information.
Ordinary Disability Retirement
Ordinary Disability Retirement is only available to Tier
1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 members.
Note: Under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:66-39.1,
Tier 4 and Tier 5 members may be eligible for Long-
Term Disability insurance coverage after one year of
continuous employment. See the Long-Term Disability
for PERS and TPAF Tiers 4 and 5 Fact Sheet for de-
tails.
To qualify for an Ordinary Disability Retirement you
must:
• Have an active TPAF account. Active member-
ship ceases after discontinuance of pension con-
tributions for more than two consecutive years. If
more than two years have elapsed since the last
contribution, and you terminated employment be-
cause you were totally and permanently disabled,
and you continue to be disabled for the same rea-
son(s), special rules apply; see N.J.A.C. 17:3-6.15
or contact the NJDPB for more information;
• Have 10 or more years of New Jersey service
credit (Out-of-State, Military, and U.S. Government
civilian service purchases cannot be used to attain
the 10 years);
• Be considered totally and permanently disabled
(you must prove that you are physically or men-
tally incapacitated from performing your normal or
assigned job duties or any other position that your
employer may assign);
• Be disabled at the time you separated from service
as a result of the alleged disability that renders you
totally disabled; and
• Submit all medical reports or corroborating ev-
idence on le that supports your disability within
six months or your application will be canceled and
you must rele.
Note: If the medical documentation supplied by you
is not sucient to support your claim of disability, the
NDJBP may require you to be examined by physicians
selected by the retirement system. The examination
will be scheduled at no cost to you by the NJDPB. All
medical information is kept condential and only for use
by the TPAF Board of Trustees in evaluating your ap-
plication.
If you are approved for an Ordinary Disability Retire-
ment, the annual benet is equal to 43.6 percent of
your Final Average Salary or 1.64 percent of your FAS
for each year of service credit, whichever provides the
higher benet.
The application process begins by ling a Retirement
Application with the NJDPB through MBOS. The appli-
cation review process requires information from your
physicians and a release of health information related
to your disability. The process also requires corrobora-
tion of your condition by at least two medical sources.
The more complete the application and supporting in-
formation, the faster it can be evaluated, although the
process may take six months or more.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to arrange for all phy-
sicians’ statements, hospital records, and other health
information to be sent to the NJDPB.
Your employer has the right to apply for an Involuntary
Disability Retirement on your behalf. At the time of ap-
plication, State employers must provide a letter from
the Department’s highest ranking authority and local
employers must provide a copy of a resolution adopted
by the governing body. The letter/resolution must indi-
cate the intent to involuntarily retire the employee and
state that, in the employing authority’s opinion, the em-
ployee is totally and permanently disabled from fullling
his or her job duties; employers should include any per-
tinent medical records.
Once the Board of Trustees approves a member for a
Disability Retirement, the member’s retirement appli-
cation cannot be withdrawn, canceled, or amended.
Your retirement option can be changed provided that
you le written notice with the NJDPB within 30 days
of the date of the Board’s approval or your retirement
date, whichever is later; otherwise, the retirement op-
tion will remain and cannot be changed for any reason
thereafter.
Approval for Workers’ Compensation or Social Security
Disability benets has no bearing on your application
for an Ordinary Disability Retirement. However, if you
are approved for Ordinary Disability Retirement bene-
ts and receive a Workers’ Compensation award, your
Workers’ Compensation award may be reduced by the
amount of your Ordinary Disability Retirement benet.
If you have any questions concerning this issue, please
contact the Division of Workers’ Compensation at (609)
292-2515 or send an email to: [email protected]
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 28
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Disability retirees are subject to an annual earnings
test. See the Disability Retirement Benets (PERS and
TPAF) Fact Sheet for details.
Accidental Disability Retirement
Accidental Disability Retirement is only available to Tier
1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 members.
Note: Under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:66-39.1,
Tier 4 and Tier 5 members may be eligible for disability
insurance coverage after one year of continuous em-
ployment. See the Long-Term Disability for PERS and
TPAF Tiers 4 and 5 Fact Sheet for details.
To qualify for an Accidental Disability Retirement you
must:
• Have an active TPAF account. Active membership
ceases after discontinuance of pension contribu-
tions for more than two consecutive years. If more
than two years have elapsed since the last contri-
bution, and you terminated employment because
you were totally and permanently disabled and you
continue to be disabled for the same reason(s),
special rules apply; see N.J.A.C. 17:3-6.15 or con-
tact the NJDPB for more information;
• Be considered totally and permanently disabled
(you must prove that you are physically or men-
tally incapacitated from performing your normal or
assigned job duties or any other position that your
employer may assign) as a “direct result of a trau-
matic event” (see denition of traumatic event to
follow);
• Be an active member of the TPAF on the date of
the traumatic event;
• File a Retirement Application through MBOS within
ve years of the date of the traumatic event;
• Provide all accident reports, witness reports, and
corroborating evidence on le for all accidents for
which you are ling within six months;
• Be examined by physicians selected by the retire-
ment system. The examination will be scheduled
at no cost to you by the NJDPB. Failure to appear
at the initial examination will result in future exams
being at the member’s expense. All medical infor-
mation is kept condential and used only by the
TPAF Board of Trustees in reviewing your claim;
and
• Be disabled at the time you separated from service
as a result of a disability that renders you totally
disabled.
If you are approved for Accidental Disability Retire-
ment, your annual retirement allowance will be 72.7
percent of your salary at the time of the traumatic event.
Direct Result of a Traumatic Event has been dened
by the courts as an occurrence that:
• Is identiable as to time and place;
• Is undesigned and unexpected;
• Is caused by a circumstance external to the mem-
ber (not the result of pre-existing disease that is
aggravated or accelerated by the work);
• Occurred during and as a result of the member’s
regular or assigned duties;
• Was not the result of the member’s willful negli-
gence; and
• Results in the member’s permanent and total inca-
pacitation from performing his or her usual or any
other duty.
Note: When there is an issue of mental incapacity,
the member must also establish that the event that
forms the basis for an Accidental Disability was
objectively capable of causing a reasonable per-
son in similar circumstances to suer a disabling
mental injury, based on a nding that the disability
resulted from “direct personal experience of a ter-
rifying or horror-inducing event that involves actual
or threatened death or serious injury, or a similarly
serious threat to the physical integrity of the mem-
ber or another person.”
You may only le for one type of Disability Retirement,
either Accidental or Ordinary Disability. The applica-
tion process begins by ling a Retirement Application
with the NJDPB through MBOS. The application review
process requires information from your physicians, in-
formation from your employer with questions regarding
the traumatic event and a release of health information
related to your disability. The more complete the appli-
cation and supporting information, the faster it can be
evaluated, although the process may take six months
or more.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to arrange for all phy-
sicians’ statements, hospital records, and other health
information to be sent to the NJDPB.
Your employer has the right to apply for an Involuntary
Disability Retirement on your behalf. At the time of ap-
plication, State employers must provide a letter from
the Department’s highest ranking authority and local
employers must provide a copy of a resolution adopted
by the governing body. The letter/resolution must indi-
cate the intent to involuntarily retire the employee and
state that, in the employing authority’s opinion, the em-
ployee is totally and permanently disabled from fullling
his or her job duties; employers should include any per-
tinent medical records.
Once the Board of Trustees approves a member for a
Disability Retirement allowance, the member’s retire-
ment application cannot be withdrawn, canceled, or
amended. Your retirement option can be changed pro-
vided that you le written notice with the NJDPB within
30 days of the date of the Board’s approval or your re-
tirement date, whichever is later; otherwise, the retire-
ment option will remain and cannot be changed for any
reason thereafter.
Page 29 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Approval for Workers’ Compensation or Social Secu-
rity Disability benets has no bearing on your applica-
tion for Accidental Disability Retirement. However, if
you receive periodic Workers’ Compensation benets
while receiving an Accidental Disability Retirement, the
pension portion of your retirement allowance will be re-
duced dollar for dollar by the amount of the periodic
benets.
Disability retirees are subject to an annual earnings
test. See the Disability Retirement Benets (PERS and
TPAF) Fact Sheet for details.
If you apply for Accidental Disability Retirement and are
found by the Board of Trustees to be totally and perma-
nently disabled but not as a direct result of a traumatic
event, you may be approved for an Ordinary Disability
Retirement if you have the required service credit. See
the “Ordinary Disability Retirement” section.
OPTIONAL SETTLEMENTS AT RETIREMENT
You may want to leave a pension benet to a bene-
ciary in addition to any life insurance for which you are
eligible. When you apply for retirement you will have to
choose either the Maximum Option or one of eight oth-
er options that provide a pension benet to your bene-
ciary. Selecting an option other than the Maximum Op-
tion will reduce your monthly retirement allowance. The
amount of this reduction depends on the option you
select and the maximum calculated benet, as deter-
mined by the IRS. Regardless of the selected payment
option, your retirement benets are paid for the remain-
der of your lifetime. See exceptions in the “Reduction or
Suspension of your Benets” section.
Once your retirement becomes due and payable you
cannot change your option selection. Due and payable
is dened as 30 days after your retirement date, or 30
days after your retirement has been approved by the
TPAF Board of Trustees, whichever is later.
The Maximum Option provides the highest retirement
allowance payable. Upon your death, all pension ben-
ets will cease. If your death occurs before you have
received distribution of all your accumulated pension
contributions with interest, the remainder of any undis-
tributed contributions will be paid to your beneciary,
along with any last retirement checks that are due and
payable. If you are legally married or in a domestic part-
nership and choose the Maximum Option, State law re-
quires that we notify your spouse or domestic partner
of your choice.
Options A, B, C, and D pay a monthly allowance to a
beneciary upon your death for the lifetime of that ben-
eciary. Under any of these options, once your retire-
ment has become due and payable, you cannot change
the beneciary, regardless of the circumstances. If your
designated beneciary dies before you, your monthly
allowance increases to the Maximum Option amount.
Your age and the age of the beneciary determine your
monthly allowance — the younger the beneciary, the
more your pension is reduced to account for the ben-
eciary’s longer life expectancy. Should you and your
beneciary die before all your accumulated pension
contributions plus interest have been distributed in the
form of a monthly allowance, the remainder will be paid
to your estate.
Note: For Options A, B, C, and D, you may only desig-
nate one beneciary.
• Option A provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary will receive the same monthly allowance
that you were receiving at the time of your death,
for the duration of his/her lifetime.
• Option B provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary will receive 75 percent of the monthly al-
lowance that you were receiving at the time of your
death, for the duration of his/her lifetime.
• Option C provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary will receive 50 percent of the monthly al-
lowance that you were receiving at the time of your
death, for the duration of his/her lifetime.
• Option D provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary will receive 25 percent of the monthly al-
lowance that you were receiving at the time of your
death, for the duration of his/her lifetime.
Option 1 sets aside an initial reserve based on your life
expectancy. This reserve is then reduced each month
by the amount of your initial monthly retirement allow-
ance. Upon your death, the balance of the reserve, if
any, is paid to your beneciary(ies). If you exhaust your
initial reserve, you will continue to receive your monthly
retirement allowance for the rest of your life; however,
there will be no benet payable to your beneciary(ies).
You may designate more than one beneciary for Op-
tion 1. A beneciary may be a person, a charity, an in-
stitution, or your estate. You may change a beneciary
under this option at any time. Upon your death, your
beneciary may elect to receive the proceeds in a lump
sum or as an annuity payable over a certain number of
years.
Options 2, 3, and 4 pay a monthly allowance to a ben-
eciary upon your death for the lifetime of that bene-
ciary. Under any of these options, once your retirement
has become due and payable, you cannot change the
beneciary, regardless of the circumstances. If your
designated beneciary dies before you, your monthly
allowance will not be increased nor can you name a
new beneciary. Your age and the age of the bene-
ciary determine your monthly allowance — the young-
er the beneciary, the more your pension is reduced
to account for the beneciary’s longer life expectancy.
Should you and your beneciary die before all your
accumulated pension contributions plus interest have
been distributed in the form of a monthly allowance, the
remainder will be paid to your estate.
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 30
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Note: For Options 2 and 3, you may only designate one
beneciary. For Option 4, you may designate more than
one beneciary.
• Option 2 provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary will receive the same monthly allowance
that you were receiving at the time of your death,
for the duration of his/her lifetime.
• Option 3 provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary will receive 50 percent of the monthly al-
lowance that you were receiving at the time of your
death, for the duration of his/her lifetime.
• Option 4 provides that upon your death, your ben-
eciary(ies) will receive a specied xed monthly
allowance for the duration of his/her lifetime. Your
allowance cannot be more than that provided un-
der Option 2.
Note: Members should allow for additional pro-
cessing time for Option 4 calculations with multiple
beneciaries.
Should a member apply for retirement, other than a
Deferred Retirement, and die prior to the retirement
becoming eective, the designated beneciary may
choose between the active death benet or the retired
optional settlement that the member selected. The
member must have been eligible for retirement at the
time of death for the beneciary to be eligible to choose
between active and retired death benets.
Age Limits on Nonspouse Beneciaries
For all options, you can name your spouse as your ben-
eciary regardless of your spouse’s age. For Option
C, D, 1, or 3, you can name someone other than your
spouse as beneciary regardless of age.
Note: Because the IRS is a federal agency, a civil union
partner or domestic partner as dened under New Jer-
sey State law does not qualify as a spouse under these
circumstances and would be subject to the age limita-
tions described.
For Options 2, A, or B, if you are naming a beneciary
who is not your spouse, IRS regulations restrict the age
of your beneciary:
For Options 2 and A:
• If you are age 70 or older at retirement, your non-
spouse beneciary can be no more than 10 years
younger than you.
• If you are under age 70 at retirement, determine:
1.) the number of years dierence between your
age at retirement and age 70; and
2.) the number of years dierence between your
age at retirement and the age of your non-
spouse beneciary.
Subtract the age 70 dierence from the dierence
in age between yourself and your beneciary. The
resulting age dierence can be no more than 10
years younger than you.
For Option B:
• If you are age 70 or older at retirement, your non-
spouse beneciary can be no more than 19 years
younger than you.
• If you are under age 70 at retirement, determine:
1.) the number of years dierence between your
age at retirement and age 70; and
2.) the number of years dierence between your
age at retirement and the age of your non-
spouse beneciary.
Subtract the age 70 dierence from the dierence
in age between yourself and your beneciary. The
resulting age dierence can be no more than 19
years younger than you.
If you name a nonspouse beneciary under Option 4,
and the dollar amount of your beneciary’s pension is
more than half of your allowance, restrictions on your
beneciary’s age apply.
THE RETIREMENT PROCESS
The time frames in this section serve as a guide to help
you understand the retirement process. Actual pro-
cessing times may vary and cannot begin until the NJ-
DPB receives all the necessary information and forms
from both you and your employer.
6-8 Months Before Retirement
When planning for a successful retirement, it is import-
ant to give yourself enough time to review your bene-
ts and options. You should inquire about retirement at
least six months before your retirement date.
Retirement Estimates — Members within two years
of retirement can:
• Obtain an Estimate of Retirement Benets using
MBOS. This provides you with a printable estimate
of the retirement allowances available and the
amount of your group life insurance benets. If you
provide the birth date of your beneciary, MBOS
will estimate not only the Maximum Option but al-
ternate payment options. Using the retirement esti-
mate calculator on MBOS allows you to obtain and
compare estimates for dierent retirement dates.
• Hear an estimate of retirement benets over the
phone by calling the NJDPB Automated Informa-
tion System at (609) 292-7524.
Your employer is not notied if you request a retirement
estimate.
For long-term retirement planning, the NJDPB also pro-
vides an online retirement estimate calculator that uses
service and salary information that you provide. This
calculator is available on our website.
Page 31 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
4-6 Months Before Retirement
Retirement Applications — It is your responsibility to
le a retirement application with the NJDPB. All re-
tirement applications must be submitted online using
MBOS. MBOS provides fast, ecient processing of
your retirement application.
All retirements are eective on the rst of a month. You
can submit your retirement application no more than
one year before your retirement date — and as late as
the last business day prior to your retirement date —
but four to six months advance ling is recommended.
Under no circumstances can a retirement become ef-
fective prior to the date the application is received by
the NJDPB.
• If you have not furnished proof of your age to the
NJDPB, you must do so when applying for retire-
ment (see the “Proof of Age” section). Proof of age
for your beneciary is required if you choose Op-
tion A, B, C, D, 2, 3, or 4. If any proof of age doc-
uments are given under a maiden name, please
identify them as such. Send photocopies of any
proof of age documents, as we cannot guarantee
that original documents will be returned. Please
also be sure to write your pension membership
number or last four digits of your Social Security
number on all documentation that you submit. Your
retirement application will not be processed until
the NJDPB receives copies of birth date evidence.
• Ask your employer to submit a Certication of Ser-
vice and Final Salary to the NJDPB. Your employer
will also receive an email from the NJDPB request-
ing this certication.
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all
required forms — except for the employer certica-
tion — are submitted to the NJDPB within 90 days
of the NJDPB’s receipt of your retirement applica-
tion. Otherwise, the retirement application will be
canceled and you will need to submit another ap-
plication for a future retirement date.
• Multiple members (see the “Multiple Membership”
section) cannot begin to collect retirement benets
until all employment covered by the TPAF is termi-
nated.
• If applying for a Veteran Retirement, you must
qualify as a military veteran for pension purposes.
See the “Veteran Retirement” section for more de-
tails.
• The designation of a beneciary named on a re-
tirement application that is led with and accepted
by the NJDPB supersedes any older Designation
of Beneciary on le. The designation is eective
upon acceptance by the NJDPB, even if the retire-
ment date on the application is in the future or the
member later cancels the retirement application.
When your application is submitted to the NJDPB, you
will receive an email conrmation of its receipt. You will
also be sent a letter acknowledging receipt of your re-
tirement application.
Life Insurance — The amount of your life insurance
coverage through the TPAF decreases at retirement
or terminates if you have less than 10 years of service
credit. You may convert the dollar dierence between
the group coverage you had before retirement and the
group coverage you will have after retirement to a non-
group life insurance policy.
To protect your conversion privilege it is suggested that
you apply for conversion of your insurance at the time
you le your retirement application with the NJDPB.
However, you cannot le to convert your life insurance
any earlier than six months prior to your retirement date.
See the “Conversion of Group Life Insurance” section
and the Conversion of Group Life Insurance Fact Sheet
for details.
Other Retirement Plans — If you participate in the fol-
lowing retirement savings plans, you must inform them
separately of your plans to retire:
• Contact the SACT at (609) 292-7524
• Contact your employer-provided Deferred Com-
pensation Plan, or the NJSEDCP at 1-866-NJSEDCP
• Contact the DCRP at 1-866-653-2771
Approximately 3 Months Before Retirement
Health Benets Coverage at Retirement — To see if
you qualify for retired coverage under the SEHBP, see
the Summary Program Description and the Health Ben-
ets Coverage — Enrolling as a Retiree Fact Sheet.
If you do not qualify for retired SEHBP coverage, see
your employer to explore other options that may be
available for continuing your health coverage.
Approximately 1 Month Before Retirement
Board Approval — Your retirement will be presented
to the TPAF Board of Trustees for approval.
• Once approved, you will receive a letter from the
Board of Trustees. You have 30 days from the
Board approval date or your eective retirement
date (whichever is later) to request any change to
your retirement date, option selection, or option
beneciary. If you wish to make a change after
Board approval, your new selection must again be
approved by the Board of Trustees. This may delay
your rst retirement check.
• You may choose to cancel your retirement within
30 days of your retirement date or Board approv-
al date (whichever is later). The request to cancel
your retirement or change your retirement date
must be made via MBOS. However, if your retire-
ment has been board approved and/or you have
been assigned a retirement number, MBOS will
not be able to process your request to cancel or
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 32
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
change your retirement date. In these cases, you
should immediately contact the NJDPB in writing
or by email at: pensions.nj@treas.nj.gov
Note: Members who are approved for Disability Re-
tirement cannot cancel their retirement or change their
date of retirement.
Approximately 2 - 4 weeks Before Retirement
You will receive a Quotation of Retirement Benets
letter which shows your monthly retirement allowance,
along with:
• The option you selected;
• A quote of any outstanding loan balance with re-
payment options; and
• Any other unsatised balance on your account
(see below).
Unsatised Balances
Loans — If you retire with an outstanding loan balance,
you may:
• Pay the loan in full prior to receiving any retirement
benets; or
• Repay the loan deductions from your retirement al-
lowance until the balance of the loan plus interest
is repaid. The monthly loan payment will be calcu-
lated to have the loan plus interest satised by your
ve-year end date.
Purchase Arrears — When you apply for a purchase
of service credit, the NJDPB assumes that the obli-
gation will be paid before your retirement. Therefore,
your account is credited with the full amount of service
you have agreed to purchase. If this obligation has not
been fully paid when you retire, your Quotation of Re-
tirement Benets will state the balance of your arrears
(purchase) as of your retirement date. At that time, you
must pay the balance of your arrears.
If you do not pay o the balance, the service credit
which has not been paid for will be subtracted from your
total years and months of service. This will reduce the
amount of your retirement allowance and may even af-
fect your eligibility to retire. Contact the NJDPB as soon
as possible to advise whether or not you wish to pay o
the arrears balance in full.
For Deferred Retirees who have an outstanding arrears
obligation for the purchase of additional service credit,
interest may be assessed if there was a lapse in pay-
ments of two years or more.
Shortages — A shortage in your pension account oc-
curs when your employer does not deduct the proper
pension contribution from your salary. You will be noti-
ed by the NJDPB of the amount of any shortage. You
are responsible for payment of any shortages at retire-
ment.
No retirement will be paid until purchase arrears and
shortage obligations have been satised. Contact the
NJDPB as soon as possible if your Quotation of Retire-
ment Benets indicates an arrears balance or shortage.
After Your Retirement Date
Statement of Retirement Allowance — You will re-
ceive a letter conrming your retirement and death ben-
ets. The letter will also supply gures needed in ling
your income tax return. Keep this with your important
papers.
Due and Payable — Your retirement becomes due and
payable after there has been a break in employment
without pay of at least 30 days following your retirement
date, or 30 days following approval of your retirement
by the TPAF Board of Trustees, whichever is later.
Once your retirement becomes due and payable you
cannot change your retirement date, option selection,
or option beneciary
If you return to a TPAF-eligible position before the 30
days have elapsed, on either a paid or voluntary ba-
sis, your retirement may be considered invalid and you
could be required to reimburse the retirement system
and reenroll in the TPAF (see the Employment after
Retirement Restrictions Fact Sheet on our website for
additional requirements of a valid retirement).
Note: Employees who work a 10-month school year
contract and retire on July 1 or August 1 must count
the 30-day break in employment from the start of the
following normal school year in September. The same
is true if you return to your former employer/employee
relationship before meeting the requirements of a bona
de severance of employment, having terminated your
employment relationship for at least 180 days from your
date of retirement. See the Employment After Retire-
ment Restrictions Fact Sheet on our website for addi-
tional requirements of a valid retirement.
Retirement Checks — Your rst retirement check can-
not be issued earlier than 30 days following your retire-
ment date. If processing of your retirement is delayed,
your rst check will be retroactive to the date of your
retirement.
Regular retirement checks are dated on the rst of the
month and are the allowance for the previous month.
For example, if you retire on July 1st, your rst retire-
ment check would be due and payable on August 1st
and is payment for the month of July.
Note: A TPAF retirement allowance will not be paid if
the calculated benet is less than $25 per month.
Change of Address — It is important that you inform
the NJDPB of the change by using the Retiree Change
of Address function in MBOS, calling the Automated
Information System at (609) 292-7524, or completing
a Change of Address Form available on our website.
Page 33 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
If notifying the NJDPB of a change of address in writ-
ing, be sure to include both your old and your new ad-
dress, and your retirement number or last four digits of
your Social Security number.
Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) —
Direct deposit of retirement checks is mandatory ex-
cept for foreign mailing addresses. Direct deposit will
prevent your retirement checks from being lost, stolen,
or delayed in the mail.
You can sign up for Direct Deposit up to two months
prior to your retirement date using the Electronic Funds
Transfer application available to pending retirees
through MBOS. Registered retirees can also change
direct deposit online, at any time, using MBOS.
Please allow approximately 60 days for a new direct de-
posit, or changes to an existing direct deposit, to begin.
Withholding Federal and N.J. State Income Tax —
The NJDPB will provide for the withholding of federal
and New Jersey State income tax from your retirement
check.
The default withholding status for federal income tax
is Single with no adjustments regardless of your ac-
tual marital status or number of dependents. The
NJDPB is obligated to withhold federal income tax at
this status unless you submit a change to your federal
withholding through your MBOS account using the “In-
come Tax Withholding” button after you receive your
rst retirement check. Refer to IRS Form W-4P for in-
structions regarding federal tax withholding.
New Jersey income tax withholding is voluntary, and
none will be withheld unless you instruct us to do so.
Please keep in mind that if you live outside New Jersey
your retirement benets are not subject to New Jersey
State income tax, but may be subject to state or local
taxes in the jurisdiction in which you reside. There is no
provision for withholding any local or out-of-state taxes.
Retirees can increase or decrease existing withhold-
ing amounts by using the online federal and New Jer-
sey W-4P applications available to retirees on MBOS.
Please note that IRS Form W-4R should be used for
non-periodic payments and eligible rollover distribu-
tions. This form can be found on the IRS website at
www.irs.gov
The NJDPB cannot provide tax advice. Questions
about your federal income tax should be directed
to your tax preparer or the IRS at 1-800-TAX-1040.
Questions about New Jersey income tax should be
directed to the New Jersey Division of Taxation at
1-800-323-4400.
Federal Income Tax After Retirement — Every Jan-
uary, the NJDPB issues each retiree an annual Form
1099-R reecting the taxable retirement allowance
paid during the preceding tax year. If you are a non-res-
ident alien or foreign estate, you will receive a Form
1042-S Foreign Person’s U.S Source Income Subject
to Withholding.
The degree to which your pension is taxed, other than
Accidental Disability Retirement, depends on whether
or not the payments you receive have been previously
taxed. Employee contributions made prior to 1987 were
made with after-tax dollars. That is, they were feder-
ally taxed prior to being made. Contributions for the
purchase of service credit are also made with after-tax
dollars unless funded by a rollover from another tax-de-
ferred plan.
If you began contributing to the pension plan in 1987
or after, and you have not made a purchase of service
credit, your entire pension is subject to federal income
tax because your contributions have never been taxed.
If you contributed to the pension plan before 1987, or if
you have made a purchase of service credit since 1987,
your pension is immediately taxable based on the “ex-
pected return rule.” Part of your retirement allowance
comes from your own pension contributions that were
already taxed, and the IRS allows you to recover these
contributions tax free. This recovery is spread out over
your expected lifetime or the combined lifetime of you
and your beneciary, according to IRS life expectancy
tables. This means that a small amount of each month-
ly retirement check is tax free. The remainder of the
monthly benet is subject to federal income tax.
If you retired on an Accidental Disability Retirement —
or if you are a surviving spouse receiving Accidental
Disability or Accidental Death benets — the NJDPB
currently reports your benet as exempt from federal
income tax.
Ordinary Disability Retirement benets are subject to
federal tax to the same extent as other pensions. Any
federal tax questions should be referred to the IRS at
1- 800 -TAX-1040.
N.J. State Income Tax After Retirement — If you
live in New Jersey, you will be subject to New Jersey
State income tax when you have recovered in pension
checks the amount of pension contributions you made
to the retirement system while working. However, if you
will not recover your total contributions within three
years of retirement, contact the New Jersey Division
of Taxation at 1-800-323-4400, or visit their website
at http://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation to determine
how your pension is taxed.
If you are receiving an Ordinary Disability or Acciden-
tal Disability Retirement allowance, your pension is ex-
empt from New Jersey income tax if you are under age
65. When you reach age 65, your disability pension is
treated as a regular pension and is considered taxable
for New Jersey income tax.
Cost-of-Living Adjustment — N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2, the
Pension and Health Benet Reform Law, suspended
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 34
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) for retirees of all
retirement systems. Please note, however that there is
no reduction to any COLA increases that were already
added to retiree benets prior to June 28, 2011, the ef-
fective date of the law.
Prior to the suspension of COLA, the Pension Adjust-
ment Program provided an annual Cost-of-Living Ad-
justment to eligible retirees and their survivors who re-
ceived a monthly retirement allowance from the TPAF.
The COLA was based on the initial retirement allow-
ance; however, if the retiree chose Option 1, the COLA
was calculated using the Maximum Option amount.
Prior Cost-of-Living Adjustments are shown under
the Current Earnings section of the retirement bene-
t Statement of Allowances and Deductions (check or
EFT stub).
Retirees can also verify current allowance and deduc-
tion information at any time using the retiree account
information available through MBOS or by calling the
Automated Information System at (609) 292-7524
Social Security — Your pension is not reduced by
any Social Security benets you may receive. There is
an earnings test for people receiving Social Security
benets who are under Social Security’s full-benet
retirement age. Check with the Social Security Admin-
istration at 1-800-772-1213 for information on earnings
limits before accepting employment after retirement.
REDUCTION OR SUSPENSION
OF YOUR BENEFITS
Normally, you will receive retirement benets as long
as you live. Your benets, however, could be reduced
or suspended if:
• You return to a position covered by the TPAF and
are required to reenroll (see the Employment after
Retirement Restrictions Fact Sheet).
• You return to employment within 180 days of retire-
ment to your former employer, even in a volunteer
capacity.
• You have a shortage in your account at the time of
retirement.
• You receive salary from your employer for service
rendered after your date of retirement.
• You waive your right to a portion of any pension to
which you are entitled.
• As an Accidental Disability retiree, you receive pe-
riodic Workers’ Compensation benets after your
retirement date.
• As a Disability retiree, you fail to appear for a peri-
odic medical re-examination when requested to do
so.
• As a Disability retiree, you fail to le your annual
Statement of Earnings if requested.
• As a Disability retiree, your employment income
exceeds the amount allowable by law. The NJDPB
monitors the earnings history of retired members.
If any discrepancies are found, excess retirement
benets must be repaid to the TPAF.
• You fail to le a Certicate of Eligibility when you
are asked to do so. This certicate is necessary,
for example, if you or one of your beneciaries has
a change in marital status.
• You are incarcerated (although the Board of Trust-
ees may permit the continuance of your benets to
your dependents).
• An accounting error is made and the TPAF must
be repaid.
Your pension is normally exempt from any liens against
it. Exceptions are tax liens imposed by the IRS and
court orders for child support, alimony, or equitable dis-
tribution.
A court order is eective only when you withdraw your
funds or when you begin to receive monthly retirement
payments. It is the responsibility of the member to be
certain that the NJDPB is provided with copies of all
court orders in order to comply with them.
Divorce or Dissolution of a
Civil Union/Domestic Partnership
The retirement system will implement matrimonial/civ-
il union/domestic partnership dissolution court orders
granting alimony, child support, or equitable distribu-
tion.
Matrimonial/partnership dissolution orders regarding
your withdrawal from the retirement system will take
eect if you voluntarily apply to withdraw your TPAF
account. See the “Withdrawal from the Retirement Sys-
tem” section.
Matrimonial/partnership dissolution orders regarding
your retirement will not take eect until you retire and
begin receiving a monthly retirement allowance. The
court order can designate a specic dollar amount or
percentage, or a percentage based on the number of
years of pensionable service you accrued during the
marriage/civil union, to be withheld from your retire-
ment allowance. The amount withheld is sent directly
from the NJDPB to your former spouse/partner unless
the order species another payee (i.e., a probation de-
partment).
Any court-ordered withholding paid to your former
spouse/partner from your retirement allowance will
terminate upon your death or the death of the former
spouse/partner.
If the former spouse/partner is designated as the ben-
eciary under a TPAF pension option — either volun-
tarily by the member or by court order — the surviving
former spouse/partner is entitled to the survivor’s ben-
et for as long as he or she lives.
Page 35 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
If another person is designated as the beneciary of
the pension option, the divorced spouse/partner cannot
receive any equitable distributions from the survivor’s
benet.
Misconduct
The receipt of retirement benets is expressly condi-
tioned upon the rendering of honorable service by a
public ocer or employee. In accordance with N.J.S.A.
43:1-3.1., your benets may be reduced or forfeited if
you are convicted of a crime in any way related to your
employment, or if you are suspended or dismissed from
your employment. See the Honorable Service Fact
Sheet available on our website for further information.
EMPLOYMENT AFTER RETIREMENT
For most TPAF retirees, working for private industry,
the federal government, or a government agency in
another state will not aect your retirement benets.
Disability retirees are subject to an annual earnings
test. See the Disability Retirement Benets (PERS and
TPAF) Fact Sheet.
For TPAF retirees who resume public employment in
New Jersey after retirement, there are several areas
of concern. To learn about the rules and regulations
regarding post-retirement employment, please see the
Employment After Retirement Restrictions Fact Sheet
available on our website.
Active and Retired
Death Benets
Page 37 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
Noncontributory and Contributory
Group Life Insurance
As an active employee you may be covered by two
types of group life insurance:
• Noncontributory Group Life Insurance is provided
by your employer through the retirement system.
There is no cost to you for this coverage.
• Contributory Group Life Insurance is life insurance
for which you pay. The cost of the insurance is 0.4
percent (.004) of your base salary.
Note: The employer pays the Contributory Group
Life Insurance premium for covered TPAF mem-
bers who are age 70 and older.
The law requires that you must be covered by con-
tributory insurance for the rst 12 months of your
membership. After the 12 months have elapsed,
you may voluntarily withdraw from contributory
insurance coverage if you wish. A properly com-
pleted Notice of Withdrawal from Contributory
Group Life Insurance must be led with the retire-
ment system before contributory coverage can be
canceled. The cancellation cannot be retroactive.
Once you have canceled this coverage, you can-
not be reinstated during your current membership
and your premium deductions will not be refunded.
Withdrawal from contributory insurance coverage
applies only to the membership under which the
cancellation is exercised. A member who cancels
contributory insurance coverage and then with-
draws from membership in the TPAF will, upon
subsequent reenrollment in the TPAF, be subject
to new contributory life insurance coverage.
Employees who are age 60 or older at the time of en-
rollment are ineligible for either noncontributory or con-
tributory coverage until they take and pass a medical
examination. This is validated through Prudential Fi-
nancial.
Both Noncontributory and Contributory Group Life In-
surance are covered by policies issued by the insur-
ance carrier (Prudential Financial).
The amount of death benets paid to your beneciaries
at your death depends on three factors:
• Your membership status at the time of death;
• Your salary; and
• Your age (if you are a Disability retiree).
Note: Group life insurance is only payable upon death
of the member; there is no cash value for any unpaid
Noncontributory or Contributory Group Life Insurance
coverage.
Coverage for Active Members
When an active member dies, not as a result of an ac-
cident during regular or assigned duties, the named
beneciaries are entitled to the payment of group life
insurance benets and the return of the member’s ac-
cumulated pension contributions with interest. See the
“Accidental Death Benet” section.
Active Group Life Insurance Amounts
Age at
Death
Member with
Noncontributory
Insurance Only
Member
with Both
Noncontributory
and
Contributory
Insurance
Any Age 1 1/2 times salary 3 1/2 times salary
Note: The denition of salary in this chart is the total
base salary upon which your pension contributions
were based during the year preceding your death
during active service. If death occurs within the rst
year of enrollment, the amount of the noncontributory
insurance is based on the base salary earned until the
date of death. The amount of contributory insurance,
however, is based on the full annual base salary.
Coverage for Retired Members
Life insurance for retired members of the TPAF who
enrolled on or after July 1, 1971, is payable only if the
member retired with 10 or more years of pension ser-
vice credit or retired on a Disability Retirement.
When a retired member dies, the named beneciaries
are entitled to the payment of any group life insurance
benets. Pension option beneciaries are selected
separately by the member at the time of retirement. See
the “Optional Settlements at Retirement” section.
Retired Group Life Insurance Amounts
Member with Noncontributory Insurance Only
Type of
Retirement
Death Before
Age 60
Death After
Age 60
Disability 1 1/2 3/16
Early & Veteran 3/16 3/16
Deferred None 3/16
Service N/A 3/16
Member with Both Noncontributory and
Contributory Insurance
Type of
Retirement
Death Before
Age 60
Death After
Age 60
Disability 1 3/4 7/16
Early & Veteran 7/16 7/16
Deferred None 7/16
Service N/A 7/16
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 38
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Note: The fractions shown above are multiplied by the
total base salary upon which pension contributions
were based during the year preceding retirement or the
highest contractual year.
CHOOSING A BENEFICIARY
When a member is enrolled in the TPAF, the new
member’s estate is the beneciary on record until the
NJDPB receives a new Designation of Beneciary.
Note: Active and retired members must complete the
Designation of Beneciary online using MBOS.
When you submit the Designation of Beneciary, you
name beneciaries for both your group life insurance
benets and the return of your pension contributions.
You may name any person, organization, your estate,
or trust as beneciary. You may change your designa-
tion at any time during your active membership by sub-
mitting a new Designation of Beneciary.
You will be asked on your retirement application to
name a beneciary(ies) for pension benets and sepa-
rately name beneciaries for group life insurance ben-
ets. Some restrictions apply to who may be named for
pension benets; however, you may name any person,
organization, your estate, or trust as beneciary for
group life insurance benets. See the “Optional Settle-
ments at Retirement” section.
The designation of a beneciary on a retirement ap-
plication that is led with and accepted by the NJDPB
supersedes any older designation of beneciary on le.
The designation is eective upon acceptance by the
NJDPB, even if the retirement date on the application is
in the future or the member later cancels the retirement
application.
Retirees may also change group life insurance desig-
nations at any time during retirement by ling a new
and properly completed Designation of Beneciary via
MBOS.
If you have additional questions regarding designations,
please see the Beneciary Designation Fact Sheet.
For your protection, beneciary designations cannot
be accepted or conrmed over the telephone or by
email. Members can verify beneciary designation on
MBOS. Otherwise, the NJDPB will only accept a writ-
ten request from the member to verify the beneciary
designation on le.
Divorce/Dissolution of Partnership
In cases of divorce or dissolution, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14
states that even if your Designation of Beneciary form
indicates a former spouse/partner and/or relatives of
the former spouse/partner as beneciaries for life in-
surance, they cannot receive the benet. Therefore,
the life insurance proceeds become payable to your
remaining primary beneciaries, if any, contingent ben-
eciaries, if any, or your estate. However, the following
exceptions will be honored and considered valid:
• Court orders are led that specically designate
your former spouse/partner to receive a life insur-
ance benet; or
• You le a Designation of Beneciary after the nal
date of judgment that names your former spouse/
partner and/or relatives of your former spouse/
partner as the life insurance beneciary.
PAYMENT OF GROUP LIFE INSURANCE
Group life insurance benets for active members can
be paid in one of several ways (group life insurance for
retirees must be paid in a lump sum). The options are:
• Lump Sum — A single payment to your benecia-
ry(ies).
• Annuity Certain — Equal installments over a se-
lected period of years.
• Life Annuity — Paid monthly to your benecia-
ry(ies) for life.
Death benets cannot be paid until all the necessary
information, including proper proof of death and claim
forms, have been received from your beneciary by the
NJDPB.
To report a death, contact the Oce of Client Services
at (609) 292-7524. A certied death certicate, obitu-
ary, or the employer’s P-29 form is required to begin
processing the claim.
Taxation of Group Life
Insurance Payments
Information regarding death claim payments is supplied
to the New Jersey Division of Taxation, in accordance
with their requirements. A beneciary or beneciaries
may be considered by the Division of Taxation to be
personally liable for any and all inheritance and/or es-
tate taxes until paid.
GROUP LIFE INSURANCE AND
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Your group life insurance coverage will continue in full
force for an ocial leave of absence without pay under
the following conditions:
• Up to two years while on an ocial leave of ab-
sence for personal illness. In this case, contribu-
tions are not necessary to continue coverage un-
der the contributory plan.
• Up to one year while on an ocial leave to fulll a
residency requirement for an advanced degree or
as a full-time student at an institution of higher ed-
ucation. In this case, contributions are necessary
to continue coverage under the contributory plan.
• Up to 93 days while on ocial leave for personal
reasons and family leave. In this case, contribu-
tions are necessary to continue coverage under
the contributory plan (see note).
Page 39 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
An ocial leave of absence requires documentation
that establishes the nature of the leave and the continu-
ing relationship between the employer and the member.
Note: You may continue contributory life insurance
coverage during these periods by forwarding a com-
pleted Personal Insurance Contribution Remittance
form to the NJDPB and a check made payable to “TPAF
CGIPF.” The amount due to cover the premium is .004
of your monthly base salary in eect at the time you
went on leave. To keep your contributory life insurance
in eect, this premium must be paid within 31 days of
the start of the ocial leave of absence. It is the mem-
ber’s responsibility to make contributory life insurance
premium payments directly to the NJDPB. The Person-
al Insurance Contribution Remittance form is available
from your employer or on the NJDPB website.
TAXATION OF GROUP LIFE INSURANCE
PREMIUMS
The IRS classies all employer-provided life insurance
coverage over $50,000 as a fringe benet subject to
taxation. The amount of life insurance coverage is not
taxable, but the premium required to pay for the life in-
surance coverage is taxable.
To determine the taxable amount, if any, add the amount
of your noncontributory coverage to your contributory
coverage then subtract $50,000 from that total. The
premium rates are then applied to the remaining life
insurance amount. The premium costs for the life in-
surance are determined by the IRS based on your age
(see the “IRS Premium Rates” chart) and your salary.
The premiums you pay for your contributory coverage
(.004 x salary) are subtracted from the premium costs
determined by the IRS. The remaining premium cost, if
any, is the taxable amount and is added to your income
on the Form W-2 for that year.
Example: A TPAF member is age 52 and has both
Contributory and Noncontributory Group Life Insur-
ance coverage.
The member’s annual base salary is $60,000. The
member’s life insurance coverage totals $210,000
(3.5 x $60,000).
The fringe benet amount is determined by subtract-
ing $50,000 from the total benet amount ($210,000),
which equals $160,000 ($210,000-$50,000).
According to the IRS, the premium cost for an individu-
al 52 years of age is $2.76 per $1,000 of coverage. The
premium cost in this Example is $441.60 (160 x $2.76).
Under the TPAF, members pay premiums equal to 0.4
percent of base salary for contributory coverage. In this
example the member pays $240.00 per year for life in-
surance coverage (.004 x $60,000).
The net taxable value of the premiums is $201.60
($441.60 - $240.00) and would be added to this mem-
ber’s Form W-2. This does not mean that the mem-
ber would pay an additional $201.60 in taxes but that
$201.60 would be added to the member’s taxable wag-
es for the year.
IRS Premium Rates*
(Annual cost per $1,000 of coverage)
Age Premium
Under age 25 $0.60
25-29 $0.72
30-34 $0.96
35-39 $1.08
40-44 $1.20
45-49 $1.80
50-54 $2.76
55-59 $5.16
60-64 $7.92
65-69 $15.24
IRS Premium Rates*
(Annual cost per $1,000 of coverage)
Age Premium
70 and older $24.72
*These rates are subject to change by the IRS
WAIVING NONCONTRIBUTORY
GROUP LIFE INSURANCE OVER $50,000
TPAF members are permitted to waive their Noncon-
tributory Group Life Insurance over $50,000 to avoid a
possible federal and State tax liability on that benet.
Waivers of partial amounts are not permitted. Any
member who waives noncontributory insurance must
waive the total amount of noncontributory coverage in
excess of $50,000.
Even if a member waives the noncontributory insur-
ance over $50,000, there still may be a federal tax li-
ability for some TPAF members who have contributory
insurance coverage.
In the previous example, the member’s noncontributory
coverage equals $90,000 (1.5 x $60,000). In this exam-
ple, the member could waive $40,000 of noncontribu-
tory coverage because members are only permitted to
waive noncontributory coverage over $50,000. The net
taxable value would be reduced to $91.20 by subtract-
ing the premium for $40,000 ($110.40) from the taxable
premium shown above ($201.60 - $110.40).
You may waive your Noncontributory Group Life Insur-
ance coverage in excess of $50,000 by completing a
Waiver of Group Life Insurance in Excess of $50,000
form and submitting it to the NJDPB. The form is avail-
able from the NJDPB or your employer. The waiver
form must be received by the NJDPB before December
31 in order to be eective January 1 of the following
calendar year. Once a waiver form has become eec-
tive, it shall be irrevocable for the entire calendar year.
The waiver will remain in eect until you submit another
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 40
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
waiver form opting to reinstate coverage to the NJDPB.
The reinstatement will become eective the following
January 1.
If a waiver is in eect at the time of termination of em-
ployment or retirement, you will not be permitted to
convert any amount of your Noncontributory Group Life
Insurance coverage over $50,000.
Before completing the waiver, you should completely
understand the ramications of waiving your noncon-
tributory insurance. For more information, refer to IRS
Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.
CONVERSION OF GROUP LIFE INSURANCE
If you are covered by group life insurance while em-
ployed, the coverage ends 31 days after you cease
employment, whether for reasons of retirement, termi-
nation of employment, or leave of absence without pay.
You are eligible to convert your group life insurance
coverage to an individual policy with Prudential Finan-
cial, without medical examination and at your own ex-
pense, when you retire, terminate employment, or lose
coverage while on a leave of absence without pay. See
the Conversion of Group Life Insurance Fact Sheet for
details.
ACCIDENTAL DEATH BENEFIT
If you die as a result of an accident during the perfor-
mance of your regular or assigned duties, and your
death is not a result of willful negligence, your eligible
beneciaries may be entitled to an Accidental Death
Benet in addition to any group life insurance benet.
See the “Active and Retired Death Benets” section.
• N.J.S.A. 18A:66-46 provides an Accidental Death
Benet to eligible beneciaries of an active TPAF
member who dies as a result of service in either
the reserve component of the Armed Forces of the
United States or the National Guard while on fed-
eral active duty on or after June 1, 2008. The ben-
et is the same as if the member died as a result of
an accident sustained in the performance of TPAF
duties.
If an Accidental Death Benet is approved by the Board
of Trustees, your widow, widower, civil union partner, or
domestic partner (see denitions to follow) is paid an
annual pension of 50 percent of your Final Salary. Final
Salary is the total base salary on which your pension
contributions were based during the last year (10 or 12
months) before your death or the accident which led
to your death. This benet is a lifetime benet to your
widow, widower, or partner unless he or she remarries
or enters into a new civil union or domestic partnership.
If there is no eligible widow, widower, or partner, or if
the widow, widower, or partner remarries or enters a
new civil union or domestic partnership, a pension is
paid to your eligible children in these amounts:
• 50 percent of Final Salary to three or more eligible
children, shared equally;
• 35 percent of Final Salary to two eligible children,
shared equally; or
• 20 percent of Final Salary to one eligible child.
If there is no eligible widow, widower, partner, or chil-
dren, a pension will be paid to your eligible dependent
parent(s) in these amounts:
• 25 percent of Final Salary to one eligible parent; or
• 40 percent of Final Salary to two eligible parents.
Your eligible beneciaries for an Accidental Death Ben-
et are:
• Widow or Widower — A person to whom you
were married before the date of death and to whom
you continued to be married until the date of your
death, and who was receiving at least one-half
support from you in the 12 months immediately
preceding your death or the accident which led
to your death. Documentation required for veri-
cation includes a copy of your government issued
marriage certicate (if the marriage certicate is in
a language other than English, an English transla-
tion must also be submitted), and a copy of your
most recent tax return (Form 1040). A copy of the
tax return is not required if the marriage occurs
within 12 months of the date the member passed.
Only the rst page of the tax return is required and
must include the spouse’s name (nancial data
and all but the last four digits of Social Security
numbers should be redacted to protect privacy).
The tax return must show a “Married” ling status.
If the subscriber and dependent spouse reside at
separate addresses, both the subscriber’s and the
spouse’s most recent tax return must be submit-
ted. (If the subscriber or spouse submits a “Head
of Household” ling status on their return, the other
individual’s return must have a “Married ling sep-
arately” ling status. Tax returns with a “Single” l-
ing status will not be accepted.)
• Civil Union Partner — A person of the same sex
as dened by N.J.S.A. 37:1-29, with whom you
were partnered in a civil union until the date of
your death and who was receiving at least one-
half support from you in the 12 months immediately
preceding your death or the accident which led to
your death. Documentation required for verica-
tion includes a copy of the New Jersey certicate
of civil union dated prior to October 2013, or a valid
certication from another State or foreign jurisdic-
tion that recognizes same-sex civil union partners
and a copy of the rst page of both partners’ N.J.
tax return from the previous year that includes the
partner (nancial data and all but the last four digits
of Social Security numbers should be redacted to
protect privacy). See the Civil Unions and Domes-
tic Partnerships Fact Sheet for details.
Page 41 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
• Domestic Partner — A person of the same sex as
dened by N.J.S.A. 26:8A-3, with whom you were
partnered in a domestic partnership until the date
of your death and who was receiving at least one-
half support from you in the 12 months immediate-
ly preceding your death or the accident which led
to your death. For an employee of a local public
entity, the local entity’s governing body must have
adopted a resolution to provide domestic partner
pension benets. Documentation required for ver-
ication includes a copy of the New Jersey certi-
cate of domestic partnership dated prior to Febru-
ary 19, 2007, or a valid certication from another
State or foreign jurisdiction that recognizes same-
sex domestic partners and a copy of the rst page
of both partners’ N.J. tax return from the previous
year that includes the partner (nancial data and
all but the last four digits of Social Security num-
bers should be redacted to protect privacy). See
the Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships Fact
Sheet for details.
• Child(ren), dened as your unmarried child(ren):
— Under the age of 18; or
— Of any age who at the time of your death is
disabled because of mental or physical inca-
pacity and is incapable of substantial gainful
employment because of the impairment. This
incapacity must last or be expected to last for
a continuous period of not less than 12 months
as armed by the Medical Review Board.
• Parents who were receiving at least one-half sup-
port from you in the 12 months immediately pre-
ceding your death or the accident which led to your
death. If your parent remarries after your death,
benets cease.
Withdrawal
Page 43 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
When Membership Ends
Your active membership in the TPAF ends 30 days af-
ter your retirement date or 30 days after the approval of
your retirement by the TPAF Board of Trustees, which-
ever is later; or if:
• You die;
• You end your employment and withdraw your con-
tributions from the TPAF; or
• You have not been contributing to the retirement
system for two consecutive years.
— If you have less than 10 years of TPAF service
credit, two consecutive years is the limit for
inactive membership before a TPAF account
expires.
— If you have 10 years or more of TPAF service
credit, your TPAF account is vested. Howev-
er, two consecutive years remains the limit for
inactive membership. If you return to TPAF-
covered employment after two or more years
without a payroll contribution, you will be
re-enrolled in a new TPAF account under the
membership tier in eect at the time that you
return.
Terminating Employment
If you terminate employment before you are eligible to
retire, your options regarding your TPAF account vary
depending on your vesting status at the time of your
termination. See the “Vesting” section.
If you are vested when you terminate employment, you
can apply for a Deferred Retirement. See the “Deferred
Retirement” section. If you are not vested before you
terminate employment, you will not be eligible to re-
ceive a monthly retirement benet before your account
expires — unless you are age 58 or older if a Tier 1
or Tier 2 member, age 60 or older if a Tier 3 or Tier 4
member, age 63 or older if a Tier 5 member, or eligible
for an Accidental Disability Retirement benet.
If you terminate employment before vesting, you can
choose to:
• Make an immediate withdrawal of your contribu-
tions; or
• Leave your contributions in your TPAF account
and retain all the service credit you have earned,
in the event you return to covered employment and
resume membership.
As a general rule (see “Exceptions” listed later in this
section), if you do not resume active membership within
two consecutive years, your account will automatically
expire and you will be requested to withdraw your con-
tributions.
If your account expires or you elect to voluntarily with-
draw your personal contributions, all service credit
under this membership is canceled. If you later return
to TPAF-covered employment, you may be eligible at
that time to purchase the service and have it credited to
your new account. See the “Purchasing Service Credit”
section.
Expired Accounts
If your membership has been inactive for 18 consecu-
tive months, you are not vested, and you have not led
for a withdrawal of contributions, the NJDPB will send
an Expiration Notice to your last known address and a
copy to your last employer, in case they have a more
current address. The Expiration Notice is a reminder
that your money is still being held in the retirement sys-
tem. When notied, you should submit an Application
for Withdrawal through MBOS since contributions left
in the system for over two years do not accrue interest.
If two consecutive years have passed and the NJDPB
has been unable to contact you — or you do not reply
to the Expiration Notice by submitting an Application for
Withdrawal — your account will expire.
Should you return to covered employment before the
two-year period ends, you have the option of reinstate-
ment, an Intrafund Transfer, or an Interfund Transfer if
you otherwise qualify. See the “Transfers” section.
Should you return to covered employment after your
account has expired or you have withdrawn your ac-
count, you will be treated as a new member in all re-
spects. Service credit from a former membership may
be purchased by members returning to the retirement
system after you complete the withdrawal of money
from a former account.
Exceptions
Your TPAF membership will not end two years after
your last contribution if:
• You are granted an ocial leave of absence by
your employer (your two-year inactive period will
not begin until your leave of absence ends); or
• You lose your job through no fault of your own, ei-
ther by lay-o or abolishment of position. Your in-
active membership can be extended up to 10 years
for the purpose of return to employment.
For an extension to be granted in these cases, you
must submit documentation from your employer show-
ing that your leave of absence was ocially extended
or that your employment was not terminated voluntarily
or for cause.
This extension only gives you the right to retain your
contributions and service credit in the retirement sys-
tem should you again obtain public employment. It
gives you no other right to benets. Therefore, you
cannot qualify for a retirement benet unless you re-
turn to TPAF employment during the period of extend-
ed inactive membership in order for your account to be
reactivated. You would then be eligible to apply for a
retirement allowance provided that you meet all other
qualications for retirement under your membership
tier.
TPAF Member Guidebook September 2024 Page 44
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
Example: If you were age 55 with ve years of service
credit at the time of layo, your account could remain
inactive for reemployment purposes until you reach age
65; however, you would not be able to qualify for re-
tirement benets unless you returned to active employ-
ment before ling for retirement.
Note: If you return to TPAF employment after the end
of an extended inactive membership (more than two
years after the end of an approved leave of absence
or more than 10 years after losing your job through no
fault of your own), your account will have expired and
you will be enrolled in the TPAF membership tier in ef-
fect when you return.
WITHDRAWING CONTRIBUTIONS
If you terminate covered employment before retire-
ment, you may withdraw all of your contributions with
two percent interest, less any outstanding loan balance
or other obligations. No interest is paid if you were a
member for less than three years. You may withdraw
only the money you have contributed and partial with-
drawals are not permitted. Upon your withdrawal, all
rights and privileges of membership end.
Since the employer/employee relationship must be sev-
ered, no withdrawal will be paid if there are unresolved
legal matters concerning your termination of employ-
ment.
Multiple members cannot withdraw their contributions
until they have terminated employment in every posi-
tion covered by the TPAF. See the “Multiple Member-
ship” section.
All withdrawal requests must be submitted using the
Application for Withdrawal program of MBOS.
In accordance with federal law, income tax must be
withheld on certain pension distributions that produce
an annual taxable income of $200 or more, unless the
taxable amount is directly rolled over into an Individual
Retirement Account (IRA) or a new employer’s retire-
ment plan if applicable. To qualify, this direct rollover
must occur within 60 days of the withdrawal check date.
If payment is made directly to you, the taxable portion
is subject to 20 percent income tax withholding. If you
reside in the United States and wish to withhold more
than the default 20 percent federal income tax on the
taxable portion of your payment, you must complete a
Federal Form W-4R. In addition, if you receive payment
before you reach age 59 1/2 and you do not roll over
the taxable amount, you may have to pay an extra tax
equal to 10 percent of the taxable portion of any pay-
ment. If you have any questions concerning this federal
law, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
You may call the NJDPB Automated Information Sys-
tem at (609) 292-7524 for general information concern-
ing withdrawals or information pertaining to your partic-
ular withdrawal claim.
If you are vested or are of retirement age for the Tier
in which you are enrolled and choose to withdraw,
you must waive any rights you have to a retirement or
death benet. At the time you apply for withdrawal, the
NJDPB will indicate how to obtain an estimated amount
of any retirement benet and will require a signed waiv-
er of such benets, should you still wish to withdraw.
You must take a distribution by no later than April 1 fol-
lowing the calendar year in which you turn 70½.
No withdrawal application can be processed until all
the necessary information has been received from you
and your former employer.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
As long as you are receiving Workers’ Compensation
benets, either temporary or permanent, you retain the
same status as an active member. You cannot with-
draw from the TPAF while you are receiving Workers’
Compensation, have a claim pending, or are involved
in litigation regarding Workers’ Compensation, unless
the employer/employee relationship is severed and you
complete a waiver of retirement benets.
Your employer is obligated by statute to pay your pen-
sion contribution based on the full salary you were
receiving immediately before you started receiving
Workers’ Compensation benets, even if the total com-
pensation you receive is less than 100 percent of your
full salary.
Your employer is not obligated to make voluntary con-
tributions such as loans or purchase arrears payments.
However, as the employee, you must continue to make
these contributions, or the balances may be deemed
as distributions.
Note: N.J.S.A. 18A:66-53(j) provides that a TPAF
member receiving Workers’ Compensation is not re-
quired to make contributions for continuation of contrib-
utory group life insurance.
The employer’s obligation to make pension contribu-
tions for members receiving Workers’ Compensation
ceases when:
• The employee voluntarily les for a retirement al-
lowance that is subsequently approved;
• The employer les an Involuntary Disability Retire-
ment application for the employee that is subse-
quently approved;
• The employee voluntarily resigns from employ-
ment for reasons other than the inability to perform
the job’s functions due to the incident that was the
basis for the Workers’ Compensation claim; or
• The employee is terminated by the employer for
reasons unrelated to a Workers’ Compensation
award.
Page 45 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
If you are approved for Ordinary Disability Retirement
benets and receive a Workers’ Compensation award,
your Workers’ Compensation award may be reduced
by the amount of your Ordinary Disability Retirement
benet.
If you are approved for Accidental Disability Retirement
benets and receive periodic Workers’ Compensation
benets, the pension portion of your retirement allow-
ance will be reduced dollar for dollar by the amount of
the periodic benets.
For additional information, see the Workers’ Compen-
sation Fact Sheet.
Appeals
Page 47 September 2024 TPAF Member Guidebook
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
OVERVIEW
If you wish to appeal any administrative decision of the
NJDPB, address your appeal to:
Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund
New Jersey Division of Pensions & Benets
P.O. Box 295
Trenton, NJ 08625-0295
Your appeal to the Board of Trustees must include a
copy of the administrative decision, a detailed explana-
tion of your basis for disagreement with the decision,
and all supporting documentation that you wish to be
considered by the Board.
If your appeal concerns a denial of membership, it will
be automatically transmitted as a contested case to the
Oce of Administrative Law (OAL). Appeals on other
topics are addressed by the Board which will issue a
written determination.
If you disagree with the determination of the Board, you
may request a formal hearing before an Administrative
Law Judge within the OAL, by sending a written state-
ment to the Board of Trustees within 45 days from the
date of the Board’s decision. State in detail the reasons
for your disagreement with the Board’s determination
and submit any and all supporting documentation if you
have not already done so. If no such written statement
is received within the 45-day period, the determination
shall be considered nal.
If your request for a formal hearing is approved by the
Board, the Board will submit the matter to the OAL.
Upon completion of this hearing, the Administrative
Law Judge will submit to the Board an initial decision
which the Board may adopt, reject, or modify. If the
Board rejects or modies the initial decision, it will issue
a detailed ndings of fact and conclusions of law which
will become the Board’s nal administrative determina-
tion and may then be appealed to the Superior Court,
Appellate Division.
When the Board reviews your request for a hearing
in the OAL, it determines whether the matter involves
contested facts or is solely a question of law. If the ap-
peal involves solely a question of law, an OAL hearing
is not likely to be approved. In that case, the Board shall
reject your hearing request and issue detailed ndings
of fact and conclusions of law. These ndings and con-
clusions will become the Board’s Final Administrative
Determination and may be appealed to the Superior
Court, Appellate Division.
