Planning a July 1 Retirement? Guide to Forms, Deadlines, and Resources
You have weighed your options, evaluated your personal situation, and made the decision to retire. Before heading to the beach, here are the essential forms, deadlines, and resources you must know about to prepare for a July 1 retirement.
Forms
Depending on your position, you are either a member of the Maryland State Teachers’ Pension System (State core pension plan) or the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Pension System (MCPS core pension plan). All MCPS employees are members of the MCPS supplemental pension plan.
Not sure about your core plan membership?
Knowing how you receive your yearly retirement statement will help you identify your core plan. If you are a member of the State core pension plan, you can access your annual statement detailing your projected retirement benefit online from the Maryland State Retirement Agency (MSRA) via the mySRPS website. If you are a member of the MCPS core pension plan, you can access your annual statement of retirement benefits online via PenPoint, MCPS’s self-service retirement system. Keep in mind, though, that both State and MCPS core plan members access their annual statement for their MCPS supplemental plan through PenPoint.
Access the necessary retirement application forms by selecting your plans below:
Deadline for Submitting Forms
You must submit all retirement application forms to the Employee and Retiree Service Center (ERSC) at least 30 days prior to your retirement date. For a July 1, 2025, retirement date, forms will be accepted until May 31, 2025.
If you submit your final retirement forms between June 1 and June 30, 2025, the effective date of your retirement will be August 1, 2025. State core pension plan members: If you retire on August 1, 2025, you will not be eligible to receive your first cost-of-living adjustment to your State pension benefit until July 1, 2027. This is because you must be retired for at least 12 months before you are eligible to receive a cost-of-living adjustment. Since cost-of-living adjustments are made on July 1 each year, the one-month delay in your retirement will delay your first cost-of-living adjustment by 11 months.
If you plan to contribute to your 403(b) or 457(b) retirement savings plans from payments of accumulated sick or annual leave, those forms must be completed and submitted to ERSC by May 31, 2025. You will find the leave payout forms listed as “Additional Related Forms and Information” on the MCPS Core and Supplemental Plan Retirement Application Forms or the State Core and MCPS Supplemental Plan Retirement Application Forms web pages.
As announced in the winter 2025 issue of For Your Benefit, to be eligible for payment of 35 percent of their earned unused sick leave balances, MCEA members retiring July 1, 2025, should have submitted all core and supplemental retirement application forms to ERSC by April 1, 2025. Submitting your retirement forms after April 1 will result in a sick leave payout of 20 percent. See details.
After five years of satisfactory MCPS service, Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP/MCBOA) unit members are eligible for payment of 25 percent of their accumulated sick leave at their current salary rate. Those with 30 years of satisfactory service who give at least 30 days advance notice to ERSC of their intention to retire or terminate will receive payment of 30 percent of their accumulated sick leave. MCAAP/MCBOA members with at least 20 or 30 years of MCPS experience who are retiring on July 1, 2025, or October 1, 2025, needed to have submitted retirement forms to ERSC by February 28, 2025, to be eligible for a higher percentage of unused earned sick leave. Refer to your MCAAP/MCBOA association contract for further details.
Resources
ERSC’s support does not end just because you have made the decision to retire. Here is what we have to offer to help you through the final retirement planning stages and beyond:
- Important Reminders—Review these reminders regarding your system access, leave liabilities, and other important personnel
- Retirement Planning web page—Find links to numerous retirement resources, including PenPoint, retirement forms, a retirement timeline, disability retirement information, and Understanding Your Retirement.
- Retiree benefits—Learn about retiree benefit options and costs in the Retiree Benefit Summary and Retiree Benefit Rate Schedules.
- Retiree web page—ERSC maintains a website dedicated to retirees, where you can find pertinent news, forms, and detailed information about your future retiree benefits. Visit the web page to learn more.