Your invitation to join SPTRFA’s Member Benefits Team!
We invite you to take a look at joining our Member Benefits staff, joining those of us who have been serving the needs of St. Paul teachers since 1909. To learn more about these positions, please view the links below:
To apply, please send cover letter and resume to: it@sptrfa.org
Notice to all Members who wish to become a Trustee:
SPTRFA is governed by a 10-member SPTRFA Board of Trustees that serves as a fiduciary to our members and beneficiaries. Nine Trustees are SPTRFA members who are elected by the membership for staggered three-year terms. Three Trustees are elected each year at the Annual Meeting of the Members.
The SPTRFA Board of Trustees oversees the Association’s investments and operations, with the assistance of an Executive Director and staff. They are an elected volunteer group of SPTRFA members.
The members currently holding three-year seats for this year’s election on March 13, 2025, are Karen Martinsen, Michael McKay, Maggi Schiller.
Members interested in running for a position on the Board of Trustees must complete and file a nomination form with 10 SPTRFA member signatures, a 100-word candidate statement, and a picture. Please review filing details below.
Candidates for the position of Trustee must be nominated by ten members of SPTRFA.
- Request a nomination form: call or email us at, nominations@sptrfa.org.
- Have ten SPTRFA Members sign your nomination form. Signatures may be from both Active and Retired SPTRFA Members. Handwritten ink signatures are required. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.
- Return completed Nomination Form, Candidate Statement, and Picture before the Nomination Deadline via: email to nominations@sptrfa.org, mail, or through the SPTRFA mail drop slot located outside the SPTRFA office.
Nomination Deadline: Close of business by 4:00 p.m. Friday, January 17, 2025.
All nominations submitted by the deadline will be included in the proxy vote.
Active Members
SPTRFA Fall 2024 Retirement Benefit Seminars:
Review the October 10, 2024 Pre-Retirement presentation materials online. From SPTRFA’s October 10, 2024 Pre-retirement Seminar.
Review the October 2024 Member Annual Estimate presentation. From SPTRFA’s October 28, 2024 and October 30, 2024 presentations.
Retired Members
The 2023 1099-R tax statements were mailed on January 12, 2024.
The January 2024 monthly benefit payment was deposited on January 2, 2024, and the annual SPTRFA benefit increase letter was mailed on December 26, 2023.
One-Time COLA Explanation:
The Minnesota State Legislature approved a one-time COLA for eligible retirees in payment status as of July 1, 2022. This one-time COLA was paid on January 1, 2024.
All SPTRFA eligible members will receive a one-time COLA of 1.5%. In addition, Basic Plan members, who were hired before July 1, 1978, will receive an additional one-time COLA of 1.5%, for a total one-time COLA of 3.0%. Basic Plan members did not contribute to Social Security, so most do not receive a Social Security benefit and have not received Social Security COLA’s.
Please email your requests to info@sptrfa.org.
Member News
Annual Meeting of the Members
March 14, 2024 was the SPTRFA Annual Meeting of the Members. A copy of the presentation is available here:
March 14, 2024 – Annual Meeting of the Members Presentation
We’re excited to announce the SPTRFA Member Annual Statements for FYE 2023 were emailed to all enrolled members at their SPPS email week of October 9th!
Are you nearing retirement?
Review the 2024 Pre-Retirement presentation materials online. From SPTRFA’s February 12, 2024 Pre-retirement Seminar.
Watch the recording of FYE 2023 Member Annual Estimate Presentation: SPTRFA reviews benefit enhancements resulting from the passage of the 2023 legislative pension package and explain how your defined benefit amount is calculated and more.
If you are retiring in the next few years we strongly encourage you to contact us before submitting your SPTRFA retirement application. Before your appointment please use the resource materials below to review pension application paperwork and familiarize yourself with your retirement benefits by reading your personalized Annual Member benefit estimate.
• Review SPTRFA’s Retirement Application
Important Reminder: All SPTRFA Retirement Application paperwork, required certificates, and documentation must be submitted before receiving your pension benefit.
A Few Things to Know About Your Estimate
Your estimate is intended to give you a sense of approximately how much you could expect to receive when you begin to draw your SPTRFA benefit (assuming that you continue to work at your current FTE and retire on July 1 of any given year). It also illustrates how the value of your retirement benefit values increase the longer you work.
Important Note: these calculations are estimates only – they rely on many assumptions including: retirement service credit, fiscal year salary, current MN public pension laws, and continued employment with SPPS. Additionally, your current estimate is based upon data reflected in your SPTRFA retirement file as of June 30, 2023.
We would like to announce news about the 2023 legislative pension package:
Read about the legislative accomplishments in the Summer 2023 newsletter.
Governor Walz ratified HF3100, HF2950 and HF1938 that include the following items for SPTRFA members:
- Unreduced early retirement benefits at age 62 with 30 years of retirement service credit, effective July 1, 2023, only for SPTRFA members;
- For a FAQ summary on how retiring at age 62 with 30 years of service impacts your retirement planning, visit the 2023 Legislation Update: 62/30 FAQ document.
- Decreased normal retirement to age 65 for all Minnesota teachers, effective July 1, 2025;
- Provides one-time 1.5% COLA for all retirees, in addition to 1.0% annual increase,
(COLA 2.5% total for 2024); - Provide additional one-time 1.5% COLA for Basic Plan retirees,
(COLA 4.0% total for 2024 for Basic Plan); - Reduced taxes for Basic Plan pensions and Social Security.
- Secures additional funding to insure pension plan security.
Additionally, the pension package:
* Grants retirees joint and survivor benefits option for qualifying Same Sex marriages;
* Extended military service buyback timeframe;
* Adopts conservative rate of return assumptions to safeguard the long-term fiscal stability of your pension plan
The pension package is funded through one-time aid totaling $15.7 million, and payroll contribution increases starting July 1, 2025, of 0.75% for Saint Paul Public Schools and 1.25% for SPTRFA members. The total contribution rate as of July 1, 2025 will be 9.75% for Saint Paul Public Schools and 9.00% for SPTRFA members.
New Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer
Welcome to Phill Tencick, who was selected by the St. Paul Teachers’ Retirement Fund Association (SPTRFA) Board of Trustees to be the new Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer(CIO) for the Fund.
Mr. Tencick has been the Retirement Director and CIO for the Spokane Employee Retirement System for the past eight years. He has also served in a number of finance and leadership roles for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and private corporations. Mr. Tencick has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Washington University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University, and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Phill enjoys trail running, soccer, mountain biking, camping, snowboarding, and reading so will find many new areas to explore as he transitions to his new role with the SPTRFA.
Serving our members is why we are here!
The staff of the SPTRFA is ready and able to serve our members via phone or Zoom meetings. Our regular office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. but we will do everything possible to meet with you or answer your questions at a time that works for you. If you have any questions or to set up a convenient Zoom meeting to review your benefits, please contact us by phone at 651-642-2550 or email at info at sptrfa.org.
Thanks again for your dedication to the vital art of teaching. We appreciate you and look forward to helping you along your journey.