If a member terminates employment covered by the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS) and is later employed in a position covered by TSERS, the member can transfer his or her contributions and creditable service in LGERS to TSERS as long as the member:

• Is an eligible member of TSERS
   
• Has not received a refund from LGERS
   
• Files Form 5TR (Transferring Service and Contributions Between Systems) with the Retirement Systems Division

A member who terminates employment covered by TSERS who is later employed in a position covered by LGERS may transfer his or her contributions and creditable service in TSERS to LGERS under the same conditions listed above. Transfer of service from TSERS to the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System (CJRS) is allowed after completion of five years of membership service in CJRS; and transfer of service from the Legislative Retirement System and CJRS to TSERS is allowed after completion of five years of membership service in TSERS. Overlapping transferred service cannot be counted twice for the same period of time.

A Form 5TR can be submitted by the member at any time before retirement but should not be submitted until after the member’s first retirement contributions have been submitted to the Retirement Systems Division. The employer portion of the form (Section F) must be completed by the former employer only if the member’s termination was within three months before the application date.

Since a transfer can affect eligibility for retiree health coverage, a member who has five or more years of membership service in TSERS who is considering a transfer of his or her service from TSERS to LGERS should carefully read Guide B on Form 5TR for further information on the effect of a transfer on his or her individual benefits before completing Form 5TR.

The member should allow the Retirement Systems Division approximately 60 days to process their Form 5TR. The member can use the automated phone menu to check the status of their form.