Disability Retirement

If the career of a Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) member is cut short because of permanent disability, the member may qualify for monthly disability benefits. To qualify for a disability benefit, the member must meet all the following conditions:
        1. The member must have 10 years of creditable service.
        2. The member must be in-service. A member is considered in-service only if currently working or on official leave of absence for one year, which may be extended for no more than one additional year. A member will not receive service credit for periods of leave without pay.
        3. The TRS Medical Board must determine the member to be permanently incapacitated from the further performance of duty. The Medical Board bases its determination upon information provided by the member's physician.

Monthly disability retirement benefits are calculated identically to those for service retirement, except that additional credit for sick leave cannot be converted to retirement credit unless the member is also eligible for service retirement.

To apply for disability retirement, request a REPORT OF DISABILITY PACKET and RETIREMENT APPLICATION PACKET PART I from the TRS or your employer or click on the name of the form to download it. (Both forms are on our Web site.) The STATEMENT BY EXAMINING PHYSICIAN (included in the REPORT OF DISABILITY) and the retirement application must be received by the TRS office no less than 30 days nor more than 90 days prior to the effective date of retirement. The member is responsible for notifying the TRS regarding disability retirement. A disability retiree will be reviewed once each year for the first five years and once every three years thereafter until age 60 to determine whether the retiree remains disabled.

To qualify for disability under the Teachers' Retirement System, you must be unable to perform the specific job for which you were hired. Under the Social Security Administration, one must be unable to work at any job to be deemed disabled.

DUES-TAB from NEA

The DUES-TAB program, provided since 1985, offers free life and accidental death & dismemberment insurance to Active, Reserve, and Staff AEA/NEA members, as well as to Life members who are actively employed in the fields of education. Coverage is paid for by the NEA Members Insurance Trust. It provides four levels of coverage:

basic life insurance coverage, the amount of which depends on the member’s continuous Association membership, up to $1,000
accidental death & dismemberment insurance coverage equal to five times the basic life insurance coverage, up to $5,000
special benefit that pays $50,000 for accidental death or dismemberment that occurs on the job or while acting on Association business in the capacity of an Association leader (NEA-Retired members are now also eligible to receive a $50,000 benefit for covered events while acting on Association business in the capacity of an Association leader)
$150,000 unlawful homicide benefit

For more information, beneficiary registration, or claims forms, write:

NEA Member Benefits
Member Service Center
900 Clopper Road, Suite 300
Gaithersburg, MD 20878-1356
Or Call toll free: 1-800-637-4636

Or,
for current policy information, write:

NEA Insurance Operations
P. O. Box 9389
Des Moines, IA 50306-9389
Or Call toll free: 1-800-523-5877

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