Never too early
to think about retirement

The Northside Employee Benefit Office and the Texas Retired Teachers’ Association are pleased to welcome the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) and the Social Security Administration for a comprehensive Retirement Information Session. This presentation will be equally valuable to employees who are just starting their careers in public education and those who are just about ready to retire. It is scheduled for February 15, 2006 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM at the Northside Activity Center.

To register for the Retirement Information Session, click here, then click on ERO (Electronic Registration Online) under Quick Links. Enter Session # 230086001. The session will reserve only one seat per registration so if you are bringing a guest, please reserve your seat first and then email or call Carol Pett at 397-7922 to make a reservation for an additional seat.

At the seminar, the Teacher Retirement System will provide handouts showing several sample retirement estimates. However, if you would like to request a personalized Retirement Benefit Estimate, you may do so by calling the
Employee Benefit office at 397-8620 for a TRS18 Form or log on to the TRS
website at www.trs.state.tx.us and click on Forms, then Member Forms, then TRS18 to obtain a copy of the form. A form must be completed and mailed directly to TRS in order to receive a personalized Retirement Benefit Estimate. If you complete your form and mail it prior to January 20th, you should receive your personalized estimate in time for the Feb. 15th session. Another way to view a retirement estimate is to use the Retirement Calculator on the TRS website. Log on to www.trs.state.tx.us; under What’s New, the second entry allows you to calculate retirement benefits based on the information you provide.

If you are unable to attend the Retirement Information Seminar and are considering retirement at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, complete a TRS18 Form and submit it to TRS approximately 4 months prior to your anticipated retirement date. Individual NISD retirement counseling sessions with an NISD Employee Benefit Specialist may be scheduled by calling 397-8620.

Retiring employees who wish to receive their final wages from the District at the end of their work calendar, must provide to the Employee Benefit office a copy of the letter of retirement and the original TRS7 Notice of Final Deposit, found in the TRS retirement packet, prior to the payroll cut-off date for the last paycheck of the month of the anticipated retirement.

January 2006

In this issue …

Thinking about
retirement: Pg. 1

Retirement Information Seminar: Pg. 2

Teacher Transfer
process: Pg. 3

Don't Lose Money: Pg. 4

Financial Aide for Classified Staff: Pg4

NCLB Deadline for Title I Instructional Assistants: Pg.4

College Fair for Paraprofessionals and Auxiliary Staff: Pg 4

Slips and Falls continue to "Trip Us Up": Pg. 5

Role of Safety
Coordinator : Pg. 5

CHIP: A Health and Dental Insurance alternative for your children: Pg. 6

Northside Engaged in Wellness: Pg. 6

Medicare Part D
and You: Pg. 7

FREE Tax Help: Pg. 7