Temporary Employees and TRS

Temporary employees, known to TRS as "less than half-time employees", are employees who work 19 hours or less per week.  If you are a temporary employee, you may be wondering, "Why am I only allowed to work 19 hours per week and how does that relate to TRS?"

TRS rules note that an employee in a "half-time or more" position (an employee working 20 hours or more a week) is subject to TRS membership dues. These dues include a TRS Member Contribution (8%) and TRS Care Contribution (.65%). These amounts are a percentage deducted from the employee's gross paycheck. Temporary employees working 19 hours or less are not subject to these TRS deductions as long as they do not exceed working 20 hours or more in a week.

An example of how TRS contributions may be required or not required is when an employee is hired temporarily to fill a full-time position; typically, that position would require a 40 hour work week. That employee would be subject to TRS contributions/ deductions because they are a "half-time or more" employee (20 hours or more worked a week). A temporary employee would NOT be subject to TRS contributions when they work 19 hours or less, thus making them ineligible for TRS contributions. However, if the temporary employee was to work MORE THAN 19 hours per week, it would render the employee eligible for TRS deductions/contributions. These contributions would continue until the employee returns to "less than half-time" hours as a temporary employee (working 19 hours or less a week).  Additionally, TRS may require that any past-due TRS contributions/deductions be retroactively applied and paid back to TRS from the time the employee initially began working more than 19 hours per week.