CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Stock Market Performance and TRSL
March 19, 2020
TRSL members can rest assured that their defined benefits are secure, even as financial markets react to the uncertainties of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. If you receive a TRSL benefit, you will continue to receive it—as usual.We are monitoring the changing economic environment. It's important to know that the TRSL investment portfolio is intentionally designed to withstand the most dramatic of market fluctuations, even those we have witnessed over the past few days. Our investment strategies are long-term, and our portfolio is highly diversified across multiple asset classes, hundreds of firms and thousands of securities.
Additionally, retirement benefits for TRSL members who participate in the defined-benefit plan are guaranteed by the state constitution. These benefits are based on the member’s years of service, average salary, and a benefit accrual factor—usually 2.5%; they are not based on the value of the TRSL trust.
Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP):
Members with DROP accounts can take comfort that these accounts are safe, too. While the interest rate earned on these accounts varies with the market, the funds already on deposit are secure.
Optional Retirement Plan (ORP):
Some employees who work in the field of higher education opted to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP)—a defined-contribution plan—rather than become members of TRSL’s defined-benefit plan. These individual retirement accounts are self-directed and account balances are determined by the value of the investments the ORP participant selected.
It is good practice for all ORP participants to regularly review their investment portfolios with their ORP carriers or financial advisors. This helps ensure that participants use thoughtful, deliberate investment strategies that match the level of risk with which they are comfortable.
At TRSL, your retirement security is our foremost concern.
And as always, we are committed to managing your retirement system in a manner that creates the highest degree of confidence in our integrity, efficiency, fairness, and financial responsibility.