If you are a highly compensated employee, your TSERS benefits may be subject to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 415(b) annual pension benefit limit. The determination of whether your retirement benefit will be subject to the limit can only be made at retirement. The limit varies every year, so, your benefit could be affected one year but not the next. The limit varies each year and is set by the IRS. The limit is affected by many factors  that were established by the IRS that may or may not apply to a particular individual. 

The General Assembly established a Qualified Excess Benefit Arrangement (QEBA) fund to pay the part of a retiree’s retirement allowance that exceeds the limit. Members hired prior to January 1, 2015, are eligible to receive benefit payments from the QEBA fund.