Utah Retirement Systems or URS offers pension and retirement savings plans to the public employees in Utah, USA. Founded in 1963, the organization’s headquarter is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Employees of more than seven hundred employers are members of URS pension systems. A board of seven members, appointed by the governor runs the Utah Retirement Systems. As of December 31, 2014, URS had over $31 billion in its pension trust funds with around 200,000 members.
Offers and Benefits of Utah Retirement Systems
We will let you know about the various offers and plans for their members:
URS Members
As stated earlier, over seven hundred employers and their employees are members of Utah Retirement Systems. Public Employees Noncontributory Retirement Systems, Tier 1, and Tier 2 comprise 463 employers of the total participating employers. These include employers from Utah’s school districts, the State of Utah, its counties, and several political subdivisions. The numbers of members from other systems are as follows –
Contributory System – 159
Public Safety System – 131
Firefighters’ System – 59
Tier 2 Public Safety and Firefighters’ System – 149
Besides these, there are separate retirement systems for judges, governors, and legislators.
Types of Pension Plans
Utah Retirement Systems offers a wide range of pension plans for the public employees under Tier 1 and Tier 2 in the State of Utah. Let’s discuss in brief individual plans.
Utah retirement systems tier 1 plans:
The Tier 1 plans consist of the following pension plans –
Noncontributory
The Noncontributory Retirement System is a defined benefit retirement plan provided to the employees of public services. Whether you are retired or non-retired, you and your beneficiary will get disability benefits and death benefits, respectively. Under disability benefit, you will get Long Term Disability (LTD) coverage. On the other hand, your beneficiary will receive the death benefits and career benefits.
Public Safety
The Public Safety Noncontributory and Contributory Retirement Systems are defined benefit pension plans. These plans are intended for the employees working at public safety services. You will receive a disability benefit under the Long Term Disability program. Your beneficiary will receive a death benefit under several categories if you die in the line of duty or after retirement.
Firefighters
The Firefighters Retirement Systems is a defined retirement plan for employees working in the fire department. If you cannot work because of any physical or mental condition, you will receive a disability benefit of 50% of your final average monthly salary. In this plan, your beneficiary will also receive a death benefit under several categories if you die in the line of duty or after retirement.
Contributory
The Contributory Retirement System is a defined benefit retirement plan provided to the employees of public services. Employees will receive disability benefits under the LTD program offered by the employee. Beneficiaries will receive death benefits and career benefits after their demise.
Utah retirement systems tier 2 plans:
The Tier 2 plans consist of the following pension plans –
Tier 2 Public Employees
Members of the Tier 2 Public Employees Contributory Retirement System participate in either Tier 2 Hybrid Retirement System or Tier 2 Defined Contribution Plan. In this system, you will receive disability benefits from your employer under the LTD program. The person you select as a beneficiary will get death benefits and career benefits, whether you pass away before or after retirement.
Tier 2 Public Safety/Firefighter
The Tier 2 Public Safety/Firefighters Retirement Systems are intended to serve pension benefits to the employees working in public safety services and fire departments. Employees will receive a 50% disability benefit of their last average monthly salary if they cannot work due to any physical or mental conditions at work. Their beneficiaries will also receive death benefit whether they die in the line of duty or after retirement.
Utah Governors and Legislators
The Utah Governors and Legislators Retirement System is a defined benefit retirement plan intended for Utah’s governors and legislators. Under this plan, the employees’ beneficiaries will receive death benefits, whether the employee dies before or after retirement.
Judges
The Judges Retirement System is intended to serve benefits to the judges in the State of Utah. Employees will receive disability benefits under the Long Term Disability program. Moreover, the employees’ beneficiaries will receive death benefits upon their death before or after retirement under several categories.
Utah retirement systems phone number:
801-366-7770. 800-695-4877. 801-366-7733.
Utah retirement systems address:
Main Office:
560 East 200 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84102-2099
801-366-7700 or
800-365-8772
Southern Utah Branch Office:
20 North Main Street, Suite 206
St. George, UT, 84770
435-673-6300 or
800-950-4877
Frequently Ask Questions:
How does Utah Retirement System work?
If you are 65 years old or above and have committed to 4 or more years of public services, you will be eligible for a monthly retirement benefit under the URS. However, if you have less than 30 years of service and retire before age 65, your monthly benefit will reduce by 7% for each year. If you retire before age 60, it will reduce by 3% for each year between ages 60 and 65.
What is the retirement age in Utah?
The following are the retirement ages in Utah –
- Age 65 or over with a minimum of 4 years of service
- Any age with 25 years of service
- Any age with 30 years of service
- Age 62 with 10 years of service
- Age 60 with 20 years of service
Do Utah teachers get a pension?
In Utah, teachers are also a part of the Utah Retirement System, which provides for both teachers and state employees. It was established from the beginning of 1963. Their Hybrid systems provide a traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plan and a defined contribution (DC), a 401k-style plan, etc.
Is Utah a retirement friendly state?
Utah is tax-friendly for retirees but, the retirement income taxes are comparably unfavorable with other states. For example, Social Security is taxable in Utah, like all other retirement income. Nevertheless, Utah has no estate or inheritance tax.
Is 401k a state retirement plan?
A 401(k) and pension both are employer-sponsored retirement plans. The core difference between the two is that a 401(k) is a defined-contribution plan, and a pension is a defined-benefit plan.
Does Utah tax military retirement pay?
The Taxes of Utah State on Military Retired Pay : ( UC §59-10-1019 ). Utah considers military retirement pensions as taxable income, but they do not provide any additional advantages for Veteran retirees other than for retirement in general.
However, for ages below 65, there will be a certain percentage of benefit reduction every year.
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