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Retirement Application Checklist & Timeline

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URS Checklist & TimelineRetirement Application Checklist

You'll Need the Following:

  • Copy of birth certificate for you and, if married, for your spouse. III
  • Copy of marriage certificate, if applicable. III
  • Bank account number and routing number.
  • Your myURS login information to access the application. IV

Begin Application Process

  • Verify that your contact information is up to date. If the email address on file with URS is a work address, change it to a personal email address prior to retirement.
  • 90 days prior to your retirement date, call the Retirement Benefits Department at 801-366-7770 to begin the retirement application process. On the call, let the representative know if you plan to reinstate prior service or purchase additional service credit.
  • Once approved, access the on line retirement application by logging in to myURS at www.urs.org.IV Once logged in, the application is located in the Overview tab under the Pension section. Click on the green Click to Proceed button to complete and submit your application for retirement.
  • When requesting the application, if desired, you can schedule an appointment with a retirement counselor who can assist you in completing the forms.

Completing the Application

  • The Application for Service Retirement form is where you choose a payout option, elect or decline life insurance coverage, choose or decline a PLSO option (if available), etc.
  • Complete all other retirement forms including PLSO application (if applicable), tax-withholding, direct deposit authorization, post-retirement rules, notice of termination, etc. Service Purchases and Future Service Purchases require additional paperwork and must be paid in full prior to your effective retirement date.
  • Scan or copy birth certificate(s) and marriage certificate and upload with your application. If you've requested a paper copy, send the certificates with the application via normal mail to Utah Retirement Systems, Attn: Retirement Benefits Department, PO Box 1590, Salt Lake City, UT 84110. Or you can drop off your paperwork to the Retirement Benefits Department at 560 E 200 S, Suite 240, Salt Lake City, UT.

Retirement Savings Plans (401 (k), 457(b), and IRAs)

  • Your savings plans can stay at URS indefinitely. They DO NOT have to be rolled over to an outside firm once you retire.
  • If you wish to start withdrawals from your retirement savings plans, log in to myURS at www.urs.org, click the Forms link, and select and complete the withdrawal form that pertains to your plan (e.g., 401 (k) withdrawal application for a 401 (k), Roth withdrawal for a Roth IRA, etc.). Call 801-366-7720 for assistance.

Steps to Retirement Timeline

Within 5 Years of Retirement

Within 3 Years of Retirement

  • Request a pension estimate from the Retirement Benefits Department on line (if available) or call 801-366-7770.
  • Review the Retirement Guidebook applicable to your system or plan, along with the other publications in the Retiring Soon section of the URS website at www.urs.org/us/retiresoon.

12 Months Before Retirement

  • Request an updated pension estimate from the Retirement Benefits Department on line (if available) or call 801-366-7770. This is a prerequisite to receiving your retirement application. The estimate received in an Individual Retirement Planning Session does not satisfy this prerequisite.
  • If you are planning on purchasing Service Credit,I other than Future Service Credit, contact the Retirement Benefits Department at 801-366-7770 for the required forms.
  • Check with your employer regarding health insurance coverage after retirement.

3 Months Before Retirement

  • Contact the Retirement Benefits Department at 801-366-7770 for a retirement application. You can apply if you are within 90 days before and up to 90 days after your last day worked. The Retirement Benefits Department must complete a pension estimate before you will receive your application.
  • If you are planning to purchase Future Service Credit, 11 contact the Retirement Benefits Department at 801-366-7770. (Future Purchases must be completed before you file a retirement application with URS.)

1 Month Before Retirement

  • If you mailed your retirement application and haven't been notified that we've received it, call the Retirement Benefits Department at 801-366-7770.

Important Notes:

  1. The lifetime benefit is paid monthly on the last business day of the month.
  2. It can take up to 90 days from your retirement date with URS to receive your first check. Consequently, your first check will likely be larger than subsequent checks since it is paid retroactively back to your official retirement date.
  3. The first payment may be estimated. Once all service and salary are verified, your estimated benefit will be finalized, and you will receive a letter confirming your final benefit amount. The difference between the estimated benefit and the finalized benefit will be paid to you.
  4. If you selected the Partial Lump-Sum Option (PLSO), it is paid when we issue your first pension check.
  5. If your benefit check is estimated, we will only pay you 80% of your PLSO. At the time your benefit is finalized, we will pay the remaining 20%.
  6. Estimates provided by the Retirement Benefits Department in the 3 years prior to retirement are a prerequisite to receiving your retirement application. They do not project an increase in salary from raises and do not include the last six months of income. This estimate is a "conservative soft audit" of your years of service and income as it has been reported to URS from your employer and can be different than the estimate provided in the Individual Retirement Planning Sessions.
  1. See Purchasing Service Credit brochure.
  2. See Purchasing Future Service Credit brochure.
  3. See your applicable Retirement Guidebook at wwwurs.org/us/retiresoon for a list of all acceptable proof-of-age documents.
  4. If you have forgotten your myURS username and/or password, please call URS at 801-366-7770 or 801-366-7720.
  5. If you prefer, you can request the application be mailed to you, but doing so may delay the application process and the time it takes to receive your first pension check.