Member News
Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year to our active SPTRFA Members.
Exciting News!
Watch your SPPS email for our first Fund Fact Friday email September 11, 2026! This series runs from September through June 4, 2027! This informative email series provides current SPPS educators with useful information about your retirement Fund.
Upcoming Seminars
Watch for upcoming Fall 2026 Seminar events in your SPPS Email.
Prior SPTRFA’s Pre-Retirement Seminars:
Email us at info@sptrfa.org if you have any questions.
2026 Legislative Update
The Minnesota State Legislature passed and Governor Walz ratified the 2026 Pension Omnibus Bill (HF 4074). The bill includes a number of improvements to your SPTRFA pension:
- 1.0% Decrease in Employee Contribution Rate – Starting July 1, 2026, employee contributions are reduced to 8.0% of pay. This brings the employee contribution rate down to the same level as TRA’s employee contribution rate. This change will save educators $969 per year, on average.
- Funding – The pension package is funded through $3.4 million of ongoing direct state aid.
- Administrative Changes
- Extended the suspension of an earnings limitation for rehired retirees through June 30, 2029
- Clarification that leave paid through the Minnesota Paid Medical and Family Leave program does not count as pensionable salary, but SPTRFA members may purchase service credit for time spent on Minnesota Paid Medical and Family Leave
- Physician Assistants added to the list of medical professionals certified to evaluate disability claims
Annual Meeting of the Members – March 12, 2026
The Annual Meeting of the Members was held virtually and in-person on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. CDT. Virtual access was available via “Zoom” or by telephone dial-in for members who registered in advance. In-person attendance was held at 2550 University Ave W, Conference Room 320N, Saint Paul, MN 55114. The purpose of the meeting was to 1) certify election results for three trustees to serve for a term of three years; and 2) provide members with reports on the fiscal and actuarial status of the Fund.
The results of the 2026 annual election and and the reports on the status of the Fund for Fiscal Year 2025 are in our presentation:
March 12, 2026 Annual Meeting of the Members Presentation
Retired Members
The 2025 1099-R tax statements were mailed December 31, 2025.
The 2025 tax year Basic Plan service retirement benefit confirmation letters were mailed on January 5, 2026. SPTRFA Basic Plan member wages were not subject to Social Security. Only SPTRFA retirees and payees whose pensions are based on member Basic Plan service receive this letter.
The SPTRFA annual increase letter was mailed on December 22, 2025.
Please email your requests to info@sptrfa.org.
Active Members
Pension Estimate
Did you know you can request a personalized pension estimate for a specific pension date? All you need to do is provide us the information in our REQUEST BENEFIT ESTIMATE form or email our Member Benefits Team at: info@sptrfa.org.
Counseling Appointment
For counseling appointment requests, provide us information in our MAKE AN APPOINTMENT form or please email our Member Benefits Team at: info@sptrfa.org. At your appointment we’ll go over your pension estimate, your Lifetime Options, retirement application paperwork, and required documents.
Are you nearing retirement?
Review the November 20, 2025 Pre-Retirement Seminar Presentation. From SPTRFA’s November 20, 2025 presentation.
If you are retiring in the next few years we strongly encourage you to contact us to request a pension estimate and schedule a retirement counseling appointment.
Before your retirement counseling appointment, you can familiarize yourself with reading your SPTRFA Member Annual Estimate and SPTRFA’s Retirement Application documents (see link below).
• Review SPTRFA’s Retirement Application
Important Reminder: All SPTRFA Retirement Application documents, required certificates, and all required documentation must be submitted before SPTRFA will process your first pension payment.
Your SPTRFA Member Annual Estimate
Your SPTRFA Member Annual Estimate/Statement for FYE 2025 was emailed October 21, 2025 or mailed to you in mid-October 2025.
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, 2025.
Serving our members is why we are here!
SPTRFA staff is ready and able to serve our members via phone, Teams, or in-person 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 Teams meeting to review your pension benefits, please contact us by email at info@sptrfa.org or phone at 651-642-2550.
Thanks again for your dedication to the vital art of teaching. We appreciate you and look forward to serving your retirement needs along your journey.