When a TRS member earns a year of creditable service within the current TRS fiscal year, and then transitions into a less than half-time position, they must be reported as TRS-eligible for the remainder of that fiscal year (which runs through Aug. 31). This applies to less than half-time or temporary positions but does not apply to members who transfer into a position that is a substitute, per the TRS definition of that term.
Reporting a member as eligible through the end of a fiscal year will require a slightly different process than reporting other employees. The ED40 posted when the employee transfers into the ineligible position (less than half time or temporary) should include the end date of the current year’s work agreement. When the employee returns to work under a contract/work agreement for the new school year prior to Aug. 31, and they continue to work in an ineligible position, the employee will require two ED40s. One ED40 will report the beginning date of their new contract/work agreement through Aug. 31 with an Employment Type of less than half time or temporary and a TRS eligibility flag of ‘Yes.’ The second ED40 will record the employee’s true Employment Type and TRS eligibility assigned for the new school year; TRS Eligible ‘No’ with a beginning date of contract/work agreement of Sept. 1 through the end of their actual work agreement.
A teacher worked in a TRS-eligible position until March 15, 2026 and earned their creditable year of service. Effective March 18, 2026, the employee began a less than half-time position and will continue working in that position in the upcoming school year as well. The staff return to work on Aug. 12, 2026 for the new school year.
| TRS Fiscal Year | Position Code | TRS Eligibility Flag | Beginning Date of Contract/Work Agreement | Ending Date of Contract/Work Agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2025-26 | 02 | Yes | Aug. 12, 2025 | March 15, 2026 |
| FY 2025-26 | 03 | Yes | March 16, 2026 | June 7, 2026 |
| FY 2025-26 | 03 | Yes | Aug. 12, 2026 | Aug. 31, 2026 |
| FY 2025-26 | 03 | No | Sept. 1, 2026 | June 5, 2026 |
Many TRS REs pay in arrears, which causes the final compensation for the eligible position to be paid in the month after the position ends. The report-when-paid rule requires REs to report the compensation to TRS in the month it is paid. However, if the compensation was earned while the employee was working in a TRS-eligible position, then it must be reported as TRS-eligible compensation with contributions.
- If the employee in our example above concludes their TRS-eligible position at the end of August and continues their employment in the less than half-time position at the beginning of September, then the compensation for time worked in August is paid in September. Since the time worked for the eligible position was paid in September, the compensation is creditable compensation and contributions must be withheld. The September RP report may require a TRS override in this scenario.
A teacher aide is paid $1,500 in September for time worked Aug. 12-31, 2026. The $1,500 is subject to member and employer contributions on the September 2026 RP report.
- If the same teacher, in example one, receives compensation for their prior eligible position and for their new ineligible position in the same report month, and the position codes are the same, the current month RP record will include both payments. Compensation earned in the eligible position will be reported in Eligible TRS Gross Compensation. The Total Gross Compensation will include the compensation paid for both positions since this field is to report eligible and ineligible compensation. If the positions fall under separate position codes, two current month RP records must be reported. One for each position code.
The teacher aide is paid $1,500 in September for time worked Aug. 12-31, 2026, and $500 for time worked Sept. 1-15, 2026. The $1,500 is subject to member and employer contributions on the September 2026 RP report. The $500 is not subjected to member and employer contributions; this amount should only be included on the Total Gross Compensation field of the RP 20 record for September 2026.