Mail a photocopy of your birth certificate with a letter stating your birth date is incorrect on your Annual Statement of Account to the following address:
California State Teachers' Retirement System
Customer Services Correspondence Center
P. O. Box 15275
Sacramento, CA 95851-0275
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No. In order to register for myCalSTRS, CalSTRS must have your
valid date of birth on record and your correct social security number. Mail a photocopy of your birth certificate with a
letter stating your birth date is incorrect on your Annual Statement of Account to the following address:
California State Teachers' Retirement System
Customer Services Correspondence Center
P. O. Box 15275
Sacramento, CA 95851-0275
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The CalSTRS Web site offers information to help you understand
your Annual Statement. See the Your
CalSTRS Annual Statement page.
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Service credit is calculated in the proportion that a member's
earnings on creditable compensation bears to the compensation
that the member would have earned if he or she had been employed
and worked full-time. If your salary is less than your full
time earnable in any month of the school year, your total
service credit earned for that school year may be less than
one year (1.000).
Another possibility is an error occurred in the reporting
of your service to CalSTRS by your employer. If there are
discrepancies between your records and the transaction information
provided by your employer, contact your employer and request
correction.
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You can update your address through your employer or online
through myCalSTRS. You can also download, complete,
and mail the Address
Change Request form to CalSTRS.
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Please contact your employer concerning the problem and your
employer will notify CalSTRS of the problem. CalSTRS will
request a photocopy of your Social Security card for verification
and a correction will be made to combine the two numbers.
You can also contact
CalSTRS and notify us of this problem directly.
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Contact your employer to submit a name change or correction.
If you are no longer employed by the California public school
system, contact CalSTRS
directly. CalSTRS may then request a photocopy of your Social
Security card to verify your correct name.
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Annual Statements are mailed once each year, usually in early December. All
statements are included in the Retirement Progress Report, which also offers
a planning guide.
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You can view and print your Annual Statement anytime using
the myCalSTRS online features. You can also contact
CalSTRS to request a duplicate statement.
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CalSTRS requires a photocopy of your Social
Security card, marriage certificate, passport, court order,
or birth certificate to verify a name change.
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The only way to receive the contributions
and interest in your account is to terminate employment
and request a refund.
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You can leave your funds on deposit if
you terminate employment. Your account will continue
to accrue interest until you request a refund of the
contributions and interest. If you have five or more
years of service with CalSTRS, you are eligible to receive
a monthly benefit even if you do not return to teaching.
CalSTRS must begin a distribution of a
member's benefits no later than April 1 of the calendar
year following the year the member reaches age 70½.
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The 2004 / 2005 credited interest rate for the Defined Benefit Program
is 1.75 percent and for the Defined Benefit Supplement Program is 5.00 percent. The rate
for the Cash Balance Program is 5.00 percent. Interest rates are adopted each year by the
Teachers' Retirement Board.
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Upon termination from all employment
that performs creditable service in any California
public school, you may request a refund and roll over
your contributions and interest into a traditional
IRA or eligible employer plan that accepts rollovers.
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If you take a refund from your account
without rolling your money over to another plan and
are under age 59½, your refund may be subject
to an additional federal tax of 10 percent as well
as an additional California tax of 2.5 percent.
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Only pre-taxed or taxed deferred contributions
are taxable.
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Most employers report pre-taxed contributions,
which are tax-deferred. Your Annual Statement will
indicate the amount of your pre-taxed contributions
as well any amount of post-taxed contributions. Post-taxed
contributions have already been taxed.
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You should receive your refund three
to four weeks after CalSTRS receives your completed
refund application. Sometimes employers report additional
contributions that are received after your refund
payment has been paid to you. If this is the case,
we will send a second payment within four months.
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No. The total amount of contributions
and interest must be distributed when a refund is
requested.
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No. You must terminate employment and
your employer must certify that you have done so.
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Your spouse's or your partner's signature
is required because of California's community property
laws. If you are unable to obtain the appropriate
signature, you must complete the Justification
for Non-Signature of Spouse or Registered Domestic
Partner form, which is part of your refund application
packet.
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Employer contributions are paid to the
Teachers’ Retirement Fund to finance future
benefits and these contributions are not refundable.
Effective July 1, 2002, employer contributions paid
for service in excess of one year, limited term enhancements,
and some incentives will be credited to your Defined
Benefit Supplement account. These contributions are
refundable.
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The Defined Benefit Program guarantees
a specific monthly retirement benefit based on age,
service credit, and final compensation and is payable
for life. Currently 6 percent of the 8 percent member
contributions go to the Defined Benefit account.
The Defined Benefit Supplement Program
is an additional benefit for members of the Defined
Benefit Program. The Defined Benefit Supplement Program
is designed to provide a lump-sum cash or monthly
annuity benefit in addition to benefits from the Defined
Benefit program at no extra cost. Two percent of the
8 percent of member’s contributions are deposited
in the Defined Benefit Supplement account until December
31, 2010. Defined Benefit Supplements paid do not
affect your life long Defined Benefit.
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CalSTRS does not offer a program where
members can borrow against their retirement account.
However, CalSTRS does offer two types of mortgage
programs that may meet your needs. The Zero-Down Preferred
Program and the 80/17 Program both provide down payment
assistance. For more information on the CalSTRS Home
Loan Program, visit the Home
Loan Program Summary page.
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The time that a member is on disability
Coverage A will not appear on the annual statement.
At the time the member retires from service, CalSTRS
will project the service credit through the duration
of the disability period. The service retirement allowance
will be calculated using the actual and projected
service credit.
Projected service means the sum of credited
service plus the credited service that would have
been earned for the school years during which a disability
allowance was payable if the member had performed
creditable service during that time.
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Mail a photocopy of your Social Security
card to the following address:
California State Teachers' Retirement System
Customer Services Correspondence Center
P. O. Box 15275
Sacramento, CA 95851-0275
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