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Louisiana · TRSL · Methods and sources

How we estimate Louisiana TRSL pensions

Every number on the Louisiana pages comes from a publication of the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) or from Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 11. Here's what the calculator does, and what it leaves out.

This page explains the TRSL calculator. The rules it uses are explained in plain English on the benefit formula, early retirement and DROP pages.

  1. 1

    Find your group

    From your plan and two dates: the date you joined TRSL (before or after July 1, 1999) and the date you first joined any Louisiana state system (the 2011 and 2015 lines). Without the second date we use the first.

    Member Handbook p. 13 ('Eligibility requirements are based upon the plan you are in and when you first became a member of one of Louisiana's four state public retirement systems'); p. 8; R.S. 11:761(A)(3)-(4); R.S. 11:701(5)(a); Member Handbook p. 13, Regular Plan: Retirement eligibility (Membership prior to July 1, 1999); R.S. 11:761(A)(1); R.S. 11:768(A); Member Handbook p. 13, Membership between July 1, 1999 - December 31, 2010; R.S. 11:761(A)(2); R.S. 11:768(B); Member Handbook p. 13, Membership between January 1, 2011 - June 30, 2015; R.S. 11:761(A)(3); Member Handbook p. 13, Membership on or after July 1, 2015; R.S. 11:761(A)(4); Member Handbook p. 14, Plan B: Membership prior to July 1, 2015; R.S. 11:802(A); Member Handbook p. 14, Plan B: Membership on or after July 1, 2015; R.S. 11:802(B)
  2. 2

    Project your service

    We add the time from today to your retirement date to the service you enter, one month of credit per month. Unused leave you enter counts in the formula only.

    Member Handbook pp. 7-8, What is service credit?; How do I earn service credit?; R.S. 11:761(A)(2)(b)
  3. 3

    Check the retirement rules

    Your age and service on the retirement date against your group's full-benefit rules, then its earlier rules (the 2.0% factor, or 20 years at any age).

    Member Handbook p. 13, Membership prior to July 1, 1999 (2.5% benefit factor); R.S. 11:768(A)(2); Member Handbook p. 13, Membership prior to July 1, 1999 (2.0% benefit factor); p. 14, NOTE ('Early retirement for those who joined TRSL prior to July 1, 1999, is calculated with a lower 2.0% benefit factor'); R.S. 11:761(A)(1); R.S. 11:768(A)(1); Member Handbook p. 13, Membership between July 1, 1999 - December 31, 2010; R.S. 11:761(A)(2)(a); R.S. 11:768(B)(1); Member Handbook p. 13; R.S. 11:761(A)(3)(a); R.S. 11:768(B)(1); Member Handbook p. 13; R.S. 11:761(A)(4)(a); R.S. 11:768(B)(1); Member Handbook p. 14; p. 23; R.S. 11:802(A); R.S. 11:803(A); Member Handbook p. 14; R.S. 11:802(B)(1); R.S. 11:803(A)
  4. 4

    Apply the formula

    Years × your FAC × the factor, plus $300 a year for members who joined before July 1, 1986, limited to 100% of FAC. That's the Maximum Option.

    Member Handbook p. 7, What will my monthly retirement benefit be?; p. 9, What is a benefit factor?; R.S. 11:768; R.S. 11:768(C); R.S. 11:803(B); DROP Handbook p. 4 ('Some members may work long enough to earn 100% of their average salary (typically 40 years of service for Regular Plan members)'); R.S. 11:768(A)(1), (A)(2)
  5. 5

    Early retirement with 20 years

    TRSL doesn't publish its actuarial cut. We show the benefit before the cut as an "up to" amount and how many years early you'd be. If TRSL gives you your cut, enter it.

    Member Handbook p. 14, What does actuarially reduced mean?; R.S. 11:768(B)(2); R.S. 11:761(A)(3)(b), (A)(4)(b)
  6. 6

    DROP and options

    Your DROP window from the DROP Handbook's rules (36 months plus a 60-day grace period to apply). Payment options other than the Maximum are labelled without amounts.

    DROP Handbook pp. 3-8; R.S. 11:786; R.S. 11:787; Member Handbook pp. 11-12, Choosing a retirement option; Death & Survivor Benefits p. 13; R.S. 11:783(A)

What the calculator doesn't cover

How we check the math

The calculator runs on a small engine that reads every rule from one data file, with a source for each. Automated tests check it against every worked example in TRSL's handbooks and brochures, and against the edges of each rule (birthdays, the 1999, 2011 and 2015 dividing dates, the DROP window). The tests run every time the site is built.

Handbook formula, 30 years × $58,000 × 2.5% (a year)
Source
$43,500
Our engine
$43,500
Result
Match
Member Handbook p. 7, Benefit formula example
Same, a month
Source
$3,625
Our engine
$3,625
Result
Match
Member Handbook p. 7, Benefit formula example
ILSB, age 50, $10,000 lump sum (monthly cut)
Source
$65.90
Our engine
$65.90
Result
Match
ILSB brochure PDF p. 5, Monthly benefit reduction per $1,000 of ILSB amount
Return to work, FAC $4,000 a month (yearly limit)
Source
$24,000
Our engine
$24,000
Result
Match
Returning to Work booklet p. 7, Earnings limit sample calculation
Sick leave, 50 + 123 days, 9-month contract (years)
Source
1.2
Our engine
1.2
Result
Match
Sick Leave brochure PDF p. 6, Example
Survivor, two children (a month)
Source
$600
Our engine
$600
Result
Match
Death & Survivor Benefits pp. 5-8; R.S. 11:762
Survivor, four children (each)
Source
$150
Our engine
$150
Result
Match
Death & Survivor Benefits pp. 5-8; R.S. 11:762
ACO, year 5 from $1,892
Source
$2,140.62
Our engine
$2,140.62
Result
Match
ACO brochure p. 2, ACO retirement benefit example; Comparing benefits
ACO, year 1 from $1,892
Source
$1,939.00
Our engine
$1,939.30
Result
See note
ACO brochure p. 2, ACO retirement benefit example; Comparing benefits

TRSL's ACO brochure prints $1,939.00 for year 1; 2.5% on $1,892 is $1,939.30, which matches the brochure's own cumulative total. See "Where sources disagreed" below.

Things to check with TRSL

The sources don't settle these points. Each is labelled "Check with TRSL" where it shows up on the site.

Check with TRSL

If you joined on or after July 1, 1999 and retire at any age with 20 years, TRSL cuts your benefit by an actuarial factor. It doesn't publish the factors, so we can't show the cut.

We show your full benefit before the cut as an "up to" amount, with how many years early you'd be. If TRSL gives you your reduction, enter it and we'll apply it.

Member Handbook p. 14
Check with TRSL

TRSL doesn't publish how much Options 1 to 4A (or the Annual COLA Option) lower your check. They depend on your age and your beneficiary's age.

We show the Maximum Option amount only. The other options are labelled and have no dollar figure.

Member Handbook pp. 11-12; ACO brochure p. 2
Check with TRSL

State law adds $300 a year for members who joined before July 1, 1986. TRSL's handbook doesn't mention it.

We add $300 a year for those members and say so on the result.

R.S. 11:768(A)(1)-(2)
Check with TRSL

If you joined before July 1, 1999 and retire with 20 years before 60, the handbook shows the lower 2.0% factor and no extra actuarial cut.

We use 2.0% with no other reduction.

Member Handbook pp. 13-14; R.S. 11:761(A)(1); R.S. 11:768(A)(1)
Check with TRSL

Your real service can grow by less than a year a year (part-time work, leave without pay, the one-year-per-fiscal-year limit).

We add one month of service for each month from today to your retirement date.

Member Handbook p. 8, How do I earn service credit?
Check with TRSL

Raises after retirement (permanent benefit increases) need the Legislature's approval and enough money. Their size and timing aren't known.

We don't add any future raise to your estimate. Examples of a 2% raise are labelled as examples.

Guide for Retirees pp. 6-7; R.S. 11:883.5
Check with TRSL

No current TRSL publication explains how Social Security treats members who don't pay into it. The only mention is in a 2017 TRSL brochure.

We say only who pays into Social Security. Ask the Social Security Administration about your own benefit.

Refund brochure PDF p. 4
Check with TRSL

TRSL doesn't set or publish retiree health premiums. Your former employer or the Office of Group Benefits does.

We don't show any premium amounts.

Planning for Retirement p. 14; R.S. 11:827
Check with TRSL

State law words the salary cap for years 4 and 5 of a five-year average a little differently from TRSL's handbook.

We apply your group's cap (10% or 15%) to every year when we explain it. The calculator uses the average you enter.

R.S. 11:701(5)(a); Member Handbook p. 9
Check with TRSL

State law also lets members who joined before 2011 enter DROP at 65 with 20 years. TRSL's DROP Handbook leaves that out.

We follow the DROP Handbook and don't use the age 65 rule.

R.S. 11:786(A)(1); DROP Handbook p. 7

Where sources disagreed

Sources

We cite the page number printed on each document, or the PDF page where a brochure has none. Statutes are from the Louisiana Legislature's site (legis.la.gov). Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.

Found a mistake?Email hello@teacherpensioncalculator.com with the page, what you entered, and what TRSL told you. We fix confirmed errors and note the change.
The official numbersOnly TRSL can tell you your actual benefit. Use the calculator in myTRSL, ask TRSL for an estimate, or call 225-925-6446.

Source: TRSL Member Handbook: Regular Plan & Plan B, Last revised April 2026, pp. 7, 7-8, 8, 9, 11-12, 13, 13-14, 14, 23. Also: DROP Handbook pp. 3-8, 4, 7; Death & Survivor Benefits pp. 5-8, 13; ACO brochure p. 2; Guide for Retirees pp. 6-7; Refund brochure PDF p. 4; Planning for Retirement p. 14; ILSB brochure PDF p. 5; Returning to Work booklet p. 7; Sick Leave brochure PDF p. 6; La. R.S. 11:701, 11:761, 11:762, 11:768, 11:783, 11:786, 11:787, 11:802, 11:803, 11:827, 11:883.5. Last reviewed .