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Teachers Retirement System of Georgia Board of Trustees Meeting - May 2026

  • Jul 24
  • 2 min read

The Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) held its bimonthly Board of Trustees meeting May 13, 2026.



The full agenda can be found by clicking the button below.


TRS Begins Approvals for New Return-to-Work Program, Special Education is the Most Cited Qualifying Subject Area

One of PAGE’s 2026 member-driven legislative priorities on reducing teacher vacancies was approved by the Georgia General Assembly in SB 150.

 

SB 150, sponsored by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) and carried in the House by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), reauthorizes Georgia’s educator return-to-work (RtW) program, which allows retired educators with at least 30 years of service to work full time after a one-year waiting period and draw retirement benefits while teaching in qualified positions. Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 150 several months ago, and it is now law.

 

The new law designates subjects that would qualify for RtW on a statewide basis. These include English language arts (as long as the teacher holds a current dyslexia or reading endorsement approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission), science, special education, math, and Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE).

 

Educators may also return to work in one of three subject areas of local highest need. Educators hired in these locally designated areas of highest need will continue to qualify for RtW, even if their district later changes its designated subjects.

 

In collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC), TRS has published a helpful RtW FAQ.

 

TRS staff have opened a portal to auto-approve RtW eligibility for teachers qualifying in subject areas of statewide high need. As of July 7, 134 teachers have qualified, 42.5% in special education. Math and science were the second-and third-most-cited areas in which teachers qualified for the new RtW program.

Fiduciary Net Position & FY 26 Rate of Return


  • The TRS net position in March 2025 was $109 billion.

  • The TRS net position in March 2026 was $122 billion.

  • The TRS net position in April 2025 was $109 billion.

  • The TRS net position in April 2026 was $130 billion.



TRS reports a 13.51% rate of return for FY 26, which began in July 2025.



FY 2028 TRS Contribution Rates


In addition to a brief operational report from TRS Executive Director Jason Branch, meeting action included trustees' adoption of Fiscal Year (FY) 2028 employer and employee contribution rates of 22.32% and 6%, respectively


FY 2027 Officer Elections


Before adjourning, trustees elected current board chair Deborah Simonds to continue serving in the same role for FY 2027. Kenneth Dyer will serve as vice president. Trustees were also assigned to committees.




Next Meeting

 

The Board of Trustees will next meet July 22, 2026.



The full calendar of 2026 TRS Board of Trustees meetings can be found HERE.


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