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Monthly retirement benefits are effective the first day of any month. A retirement application must be signed, dated, and filed at least one day and not more than 120 days prior to the effective date of retirement.

A delay in filing the Form 6, “Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit,” could delay the first benefit payment. Since the Retirement System processes retirement applications based on the date they are received, the earlier that you file the Form 6 (within the 120-day period), the sooner you will receive the “Choosing Your Retirement Payment Option” form (Form 6E sample) from our office. In other words, even though you are eligible to file your retirement paperwork just one day prior to the effective date of your retirement, the likelihood of your receiving payment of your retirement benefit within the same month of your effective retirement is greatly diminished. If retroactive benefits are payable, your first benefit payment will then include the amount that you are retroactively entitled to receive as of your effective date of retirement. Therefore, we recommend that after you have made your decision to retire, that you file your Form 6 as close to the 120-day advance period as possible in order to increase the likelihood of receiving a retirement payment within the month for which your retirement is effective.