ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS – MARCH 13, 2025
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
The Annual Meeting of the Members will be held virtually on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 4:00 PM CDT. Access is available via “Zoom” or by telephone dial-in. The purpose of the meeting is to 1) elect three trustees to serve for a term of three years (bios of candidates who have filed letters of intent are included HERE); and 2) provide members with reports on the fiscal and actuarial status of the fund.
Please note, this year you must register in advance to access the meeting.
Registration opens February 21 and runs through March 10, 2025, at 4:30 PM CDT.
To register for the Annual Meeting of the Members, please send an email to register@sptrfa.org. You must include your full name, preferred email address, and contact phone number.
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
Active Members
SPTRFA Fall/Winter 2024-2025 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.
Review the February 27, 2025 Pre-Retirement presentation materials online. From SPTRFA’s February 27, 2025 Pre-retirement Seminar.
Retired Members
The 2024 1099-R tax statements were mailed on January 23, 2025.
The January 2025 monthly benefit payment was deposited on January 2, 2025, and the annual SPTRFA benefit increase letter was mailed on December 27, 2024.
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 2024 were emailed to all enrolled members at their SPPS email week of October 9th!
Are you nearing retirement?
Review the February 27, 2025 Pre-Retirement presentation materials online. From SPTRFA’s February 27, 2025 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.
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.