ERFC 2001 Tier 1

Information about FCPS health insurance benefits can be found on FCPS' Retirees page. There you'll find Retiree Benefits Publications and Resources, including Retiree Benefits Handbooks, Premium Charts, and more. If you have additional questions about eligibility and health insurance in retirement, please contact HR Benefits at 571-423-3200 (Choose Option #3), visit StaffConnect to request information, or visit the Office of Benefit Services during walk-in hours from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

You should start the process about a year before your retirement date. Download and print ERFC's Tier 1 Retirement Checklist to help you stay on track.

Your ERFC retirement benefits will be paid monthly to you starting from the month of your retirement until your death.

To learn more, watch the ERFC 2001 Tier 1 Information Session available 24/7 on MyPDE.

To calculate your monthly benefit with ERFC, log in to ERFCDirect and click “Create Your Own Estimate'' on the left menu.

If you need help, watch How to Run Your Own ERFC Retirement Estimate.

Not sure how to understand your ERFC estimate? Watch Explaining the 2001 Plan Estimate.

Effective July 1, 2024, unused sick leave is converted to retirement credit at the time of retirement by the HR payroll office. This is added to your service total and included in your retirement calculation. The conversion is as follows:

Number of hours ÷ Contract days ÷ Work hours per day = Amount of service

Please Note: Once your annual leave maximum is paid out, the leftover annual leave is moved to sick leave and then converted into additional service credit. If you retire from ERFC and transfer sick leave to another county, your ERFC pension will be negatively impacted. As such, you'll be contacted the month following your retirement to recoup the overpayment amount, and your future pension will be recalculated based on the new reported hours of unused sick leave.

VRS is the Virginia Retirement System and it's your primary pension. ERFC is an additional pension through Fairfax County Public Schools. It's intended to supplement the retirement benefits you'll receive from VRS and Social Security. In retirement, you'll receive two pension payments: one from VRS and the other from ERFC.

No. ERFC members are not allowed to borrow funds from their member contributions. 

If you leave an ERFC-covered position with FCPS, you have two options when it comes to your ERFC accumulated contributions. 

1.  Leave your accumulated ERFC contributions on deposit.

Vested members (5 or more years of credited service). You can leave your funds with ERFC and become a deferred vested member. Your funds will continue to accrue interest until you’re eligible to retire. If you return to an ERFC-covered position at FCPS before you retire, you’ll return to active member status and resume contributing and earning service years under your current plan.

Unvested members (less than 5 years of credited service). You can leave your funds with ERFC, but they’ll stop earning interest after 10 years. At that time, if you aren't returning to FCPS, you'll want to consider refunding or rolling over your funds. If you leave your funds with ERFC and return to an ERFC-covered position at FCPS before you retire, you’ll resume contributing and earning years of credited service under your current plan.

2. Refund or roll over your accumulated ERFC contributions (plus interest).

Please Note: If you take a direct refund of the amount, meaning you’d get a physical check in the mail, ERFC will withhold 20% federal and 4% Virginia state tax (for Virginia residents). If you refund or roll over your funds, your ERFC credited service will be canceled and, if you were vested, you'll no longer be eligible for a monthly ERFC benefit when you retire.

It's up to you to initiate a refund or rollover of your accumulated contributions. You can do so once FCPS updates your employment status to “terminated” in its system. If you’re not sure, please contact FCPS at 703-423-3200 (Option #3) to verify your employment status. Once your status has been updated, log in to your ERFCDirect account. Under “Forms,” select Election to Request Refund or Rollover of Contributions (ERFC 21A). After you’ve completed the form, mail it to our office or contact erfcretirement@fcps.edu to request a secure email to electronically submit it. Once we approve your ERFC 21A, we’ll process your request within 60-90 days.

Impact of a Refund or Rollover

If you have 5 or more years of credited service in your ERFC plan and you refund or roll over your ERFC contributions, you forfeit your rights to a monthly benefit beginning at your retirement age. Please also note that if you’re rehired into an ERFC-covered position within five years of your FCPS termination, you can redeposit your accumulated contributions with interest within 90 days after you’re rehired. This will restore your previous service credit. However, you’ll be enrolled as a new employee under the ERFC 2001 Tier 2 plan benefit structure, and your previous service will accrue to that plan. It is your responsibility to notify ERFC if you want to redeposit your accumulated contributions if you're rehired.

You're not required to meet with a retirement specialist in order to retire. It's completely up to you. ERFC offers the following virtual or in-person appointments:

• Question Session
  • At any stage in your career prior to initiating the retirement process, you can request a 30-minute meeting with a retirement specialist to discuss any questions you have.
• Retirement Session
  • Once you initiate the retirement process, you can request a meeting to get help filling out your online retirement application.

To schedule an appointment, call ERFC at 703-426-3900, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 

Yes. If you wish to appeal the denial, please submit your written appeal, including any applicable additional information you wish to provide, to the ERFC Board of Trustees, 3110 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 300, Falls Church, VA 22042. After your appeal is received, ERFC will send you an acknowledgment letter and let you know the date of the Board of Trustees meeting at which your appeal will be heard.

Section 11.14 of the ERFC 2001 Plan Document provides that a Member whose claim for benefits under the Plan is denied in whole or in part may appeal to the Board of Trustees. Appeals must be submitted in writing within 180 days of the date of the denial of the claim(s), addressed to the Chair, and may be accompanied by any documents relevant to the appeal. Additionally, an individual who has submitted a written appeal has the option of making an oral presentation to the Board of Trustees at the meeting at which the appeal is first presented to the Trustees. Filing of an appeal as described in Section 16.17 is a prerequisite to the filing of any further claims or actions in any court or other forum.