Louisiana LSERS Retirement: Options, DROP, Refund, COLA

Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: At retirement a Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System (LSERS) member picks the maximum allowance or a reduced benefit that leaves one beneficiary a monthly amount. Once the first payment is cashed, the plan and option cannot be changed, and the beneficiary under Options 2 through 4A can never be changed. DROP deposits the benefit for up to 36 months, IBRP pays an initial lump sum of up to 36 months of the maximum benefit, and a refund of contributions ends all eligibility for retirement benefits. The optional 2.5% annual COLA is irrevocable and is estimated to cost about 20%.

What this page covers and what it does not

LSERS covers school workers outside the classroom. The booklet says “LSERS’ members are employees of Louisiana’s public schools who work in a variety of non-instructional jobs and work more than 20 hours per week”, including “school bus operators, janitors, custodians, maintenance employees, school bus aides, monitors, attendants”. This page reads eight LSERS documents of different ages: the Basic Membership Facts booklet (November 2025) and Fact Sheets 10 (printed 11/20 and 10/20), 12 (3/21), 13 (1/20), 24 (12/19), 7 (09/18), 17 (8/17) and 21 (3/14). The IBRP is described from the booklet and Fact Sheets 10 and 24; Fact Sheet 14, the IBRP sheet itself, is not cited here.

When a pension can start and how it is figured

Eligibility and the accrual rate turn on the first state service date.

Fact Sheet 12 prints the formula as “Service Credit x Accrual Rate x FAC + $2.00/mo for each year of service = Maximum Monthly Benefit”. The booklet shows the supplement as “$24.00 per year supplement”, the same amount as $2.00 a month. R.S. 11:1144(C) limits it: “This supplementary benefit shall be limited to an amount which when added to the benefit otherwise provided shall provide a total benefit which shall not be in excess of the average compensation, as determined under R.S. 11:231.” That section, R.S. 11:231, was not read for this page. Final average compensation uses 36 or 60 successive months depending on the membership date. The statute is R.S. 11:1002(6): 36 months where first employment making the member eligible began on or before June 30, 2006, and 60 months where it began on or after July 1, 2006. It also limits how fast pay can count inside the window. For a member whose first employment making them eligible for one of the state systems was on or before June 30, 2010, the pay counted for each later twelve-month period may not exceed the period before it by more than ten percent, and for a member first eligible on or after July 1, 2010, fifteen percent, unless the increase came solely from an act of the legislature or a city or parish system-wide salary increase. Fact Sheet 12 says unused leave can be converted to service credit and may raise the benefit, but “it cannot be used to reach the number of years needed to make you eligible for retirement”. R.S. 11:1136(D) adds: “Unused sick leave and unused annual leave which converts to less than one-tenth of one year shall not be used in the computation of benefits.” A member who takes early retirement on 20 years of service faces a separate bar. R.S. 11:1141(C)(1)(b) says “Any member who retires under the provisions of this Section shall not be eligible for reemployment by the agency from which he retired, the Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, any public school system, or any special education district for a period of five years.”

A computed example from assumed inputs, not an LSERS figure: an assumed 25 years of service, first state service on or after July 1, 2010 (2.5%), and an assumed FAC of $2,400 (computed) a month. Years x accrual rate x FAC is 25 x 2.5% x $2,400 = $1,500 (computed), and $2.00 x 25 years = $50 (computed), so the maximum monthly benefit is $1,550 (computed) in this example.

The benefit option: what it costs and who it protects

Fact Sheet 10 puts the decision this way: “You must decide whether or not to leave a monthly benefit to a single beneficiary at your death”. “If you decide to do so, your monthly lifetime benefit will be reduced in exchange for the beneficiary’s lifetime benefit”. See also single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension. In the sheet’s grid, the maximum allowance is the “Largest payable to you during your lifetime”, and its beneficiary gets a “Lump sum payment of your remaining contribution balance”; the sheet says the contribution balance is depleted in approximately 1 to 2 years. The rule behind that lump sum is in R.S. 11:1150(A): “In no case shall the system pay total benefits of less than an amount equal to the member’s accumulated contributions.” The accumulated contributions include interest: R.S. 11:1002(1) defines the term: “‘Accumulated contributions’ means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest thereon.” Option 1 pays slightly less and depletes the balance more slowly, and the grid marks it “Not available under IBRP”. Options 2 and 2A leave the survivor “Your full monthly benefit for remainder of his/her life”, Options 3 and 3A leave “One-half of monthly benefit paid to you for remainder of his/her life”, and Options 4 and 4A leave a “Specific monthly amount for rest of his/her life”. With an A option the retiree’s benefit “Increases to Maximum Allowance if beneficiary predeceases you”; with the plain options it “Will not change if beneficiary predeceases you”.

The sheet calls these amounts “Amounts are purely for illustrative purposes and based on assumptions in the example”. A computed example from its figures: Option 2 pays $998.38 against a Maximum of $1,083.33, a reduction of ($1,083.33 minus $998.38) divided by $1,083.33, or 7.8%. Option 3 pays $1,039.12, a reduction of 4.1%, and its beneficiary gets $519.56. Because the benefit is figured partly from “This is because the amount of your benefit is determined in part by your and the beneficiary’s age at the time of your retirement”, other ages give other percentages.

What cannot be undone, and the spouse’s role

“Once your very first payment is negotiated; i.e., cashed, you cannot make any changes to your choice of retirement plan and option”. The statute states the same timing from the application side. R.S. 11:1141(A) says “A member may cancel his application for retirement only prior to negotiating, cashing, or depositing any benefit check including an estimated benefit check.” For Options 2 through 4A, “The beneficiary designation for your retirement under any of these options can never be changed, even in case of divorce or your beneficiary predeceasing you”. Under the maximum allowance and Option 1 a member can “change beneficiary at any time”.

A married member faces a consent rule. Fact Sheet 10 says “If you are married and you wish to choose a benefit from Options 2, 2A or 3, you must designate your spouse as the single beneficiary or your spouse must sign a Spousal Consent form to agree on your designation other than him/her”. The booklet says member contributions and retirement benefits are considered community property in Louisiana and refers divorce and remarriage questions to an attorney. See spousal consent to waive a joint-and-survivor annuity. Fact Sheet 10 also says that “If you die within 30 days after your effective date of retirement, you will be considered as an active member at the time of death and different payments may be applicable”; the sheets do not say what those payments are. The statute has the clause in R.S. 11:1150(B): “No optional selection shall be effective in case a beneficiary dies within thirty days after the effective date of retirement, and such a beneficiary shall be considered as an active member at the time of death.” The statute speaks of a beneficiary who dies, where the fact sheet speaks of the retiree, and neither text lists the payments.

DROP: deposits for up to 36 months while still working

A member eligible for regular service retirement who keeps working can use DROP. Fact Sheet 13 describes it: “Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) is an optional retirement method in which LSERS will create a DROP account for you and deposit your retirement benefit into this account for up to 36 months while you continue to work”. During it, “While in DROP, you do not pay contributions into LSERS and you do not earn service credit”. The member chooses a benefit option on entry. R.S. 11:1152(D) says “At the time the member elects to participate in the plan, the member shall exercise a retirement option for service retirement under the provisions of R.S. 11:1150 and no change in the option selected shall be permitted after it has been filed with the board.” R.S. 11:1152(K) says “Once participation in the plan commences, the election to participate is irrevocable and the term of participation may not be extended.” R.S. 11:1152(B) lets creditable service for DROP eligibility include service credit reciprocally recognized under R.S. 11:142, which was not read for this page. The booklet cautions: “Your DROP deposit does not guarantee you an income for your lifetime. Only monthly retirement benefits guarantee an income for life”. DROP is not allowed under early retirement. If participation ends while employment continues, R.S. 11:1152(H) says “Upon termination of participation in the plan but not employment, credits to the account shall cease, and no retirement benefits shall be paid to the participant until employment is terminated. No payment shall be made based on credits in the account until employment is terminated. Employer and employee contributions shall resume.” When the member later stops working, R.S. 11:1152(J) pays the base benefit built from the monthly credits and, if the member kept working, adds an amount for the service credit and the sick and annual leave earned in that added employment. That amount is figured on the final average compensation used for the monthly credit, unless the member kept working at least 36 months (60 months for a member first employed on or after July 1, 2006), in which case the higher of the two final averages is used.

“You must begin DROP participation within 60 days after you first become eligible to make deposits for the full 36 months possible”, and joining late shortens the period day by day. “You will not be eligible to receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), if LSERS Board of Trustees grants this increase while you are participating in DROP”. The statute goes further than the sheet. R.S. 11:1152(F)(1) says “A person who participates in the plan shall not be eligible to receive a permanent benefit increase while participating and shall not be eligible for a permanent benefit increase until the employment which made the person eligible to become a member of the system has been terminated for at least one full calendar year.”

A computed example from an assumed $1,550 monthly benefit, not an LSERS figure: 36 months of deposits is $1,550 x 36 = $55,800 before interest. A survivor option lowers each deposit.

On interest: “Your DROP account does not earn interest while you are participating in DROP. The account begins to earn interest after your deposits stop”. For members eligible on or after January 1, 2004 the sheet describes a self-directed plan, and “Your DROP account is guaranteed and protected from negative investment returns except for any self-directed portion”. For members eligible for DROP before January 1, 2004, the sheet says the account’s interest rate equals the realized rate of return on the system’s assets less 0.5%. The sheets do not state the rates actually credited in any year. R.S. 11:1152(F)(3) states the rule rather than a rate for each year. No interest is credited to the subaccount during participation. For a member eligible before January 1, 2004, the balance left after participation ends is credited each plan year with the realized return on the system’s portfolio, less one-half of one percent. For a member eligible from January 1, 2004 until July 1, 2019, the balance went into liquid money market investments, and R.S. 11:1152(F)(3)(c) says “Such subaccounts may be credited with interest at the actual rate of return earned on such subaccount investments less one-fourth of one percent per annum.” The board was to move those subaccounts to the stable value fund of the third-party provider after June 30, 2019, and for a member eligible on or after July 1, 2019 the balance after participation is transferred there. For a member eligible before July 1, 2019, joining the self-directed portion is a separate, irrevocable election that carries the waivers listed in R.S. 11:1152(F)(4)(c). A member eligible on or after July 1, 2019 agrees to those waivers by participating in the plan, under R.S. 11:1152(F)(5)(a).

IBRP: a lump sum now for a smaller monthly benefit

The booklet says “IBRP allows you to take an initial lump sum payment in exchange for taking a reduced monthly benefit for life”. “You cannot retire under IBRP if you participated in DROP”. “The largest initial lump sum payment available is equal to 36 months times your maximum monthly benefit”. The size of the monthly reduction for a given lump sum is not in the documents cited here, so a member weighing it needs an LSERS estimate. The statute sets the principle, not the size. R.S. 11:1152.1(A) says the reduced allowance plus the initial benefit “shall be certified by the actuary to be actuarially equivalent to the member’s maximum or optional retirement allowance and shall be approved by the board of trustees.” It applies to a member who has not participated in DROP and who chooses the maximum allowance or an option under R.S. 11:1150(B)(2), (3) or (4), which fits the sheet’s note that Option 1 is not available under IBRP. R.S. 11:1152.1(C) says “Cost-of-living adjustments granted by the board of trustees to retirees who select the option under this Section shall be computed on the basis of each retiree’s regular monthly retirement benefit or on the basis of each beneficiary/survivor’s benefit based on the option selected as reduced and shall not be computed on the initial benefit received either as a lump-sum or paid pursuant to R.S. 11:1152(G)(1).”

Taking money out of a DROP or IBRP account

For members first eligible to retire on or after 1/1/2004, Fact Sheet 24 says “Your DROP/IBRP account is managed by the Empower Retirement. You must contact Empower Retirement directly regarding all withdrawal schedules, methods, arrangements, etc”. For earlier eligibility LSERS manages the account. Methods are a single lump or partial sum, or fixed withdrawals based on “Balance paid based on IRS life expectancy tables using age at retirement”, or “Balance will be paid over a period of 10 years”.

On tax, “All withdrawals from your DROP/IBRP account are subject to federal income tax and/or penalties; however, they are not subject to Louisiana state tax”. A rollover is a way out: “You may roll over your money to an IRA or other qualified plan”, and “You will not be subject to the 20% withholding”. See 20% withholding on a pension lump sum and Louisiana retirement taxes.

Fact Sheet 24’s life-expectancy example divides $25,000 by 344 payout months; a computed check gives $72.67 a month, while the sheet prints $73.00, so its figure is rounded.

The optional COLA, and what it costs

Fact Sheet 21 (3/14) describes “Retiring members may elect to receive a self-funded, guaranteed annual 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) by taking a lifetime actuarially reduced benefit”. “The annual COLA would not begin until the anniversary date of his or her retirement after reaching age 55 after being retired for one year”. Its cost estimate: “In general, the reduction is estimated to be about 20%”. “The decision to participate in this plan is voluntary and the election is permanent and irrevocable”.

A survivor wrinkle: “If the retiree chooses Option 2, 2A, 3 or 3A as their plan of retirement and names a beneficiary who is not the spouse, at the time of the retiree’s death, the non-spousal beneficiary will not be entitled to any future annual COLA increases under this plan”. The sheet’s table for a $1,000 benefit shows $779 at the start, $998 on the 10th year anniversary date and $1,129 on the 15th. A computed check: ($1,000 minus $779) divided by $1,000 is 22.1%, a little more than the 20% in the text.

Leaving before retirement: refund or vested benefit

A refund is requested on Form 7 “to receive a refund of all contributions that you paid into LSERS”. “You should receive your refund check or direct deposit approximately 4 months after your last day of employment”. The cost: “You and your heirs will lose all eligibility for future retirement benefits”. The documents read do not say whether a refund includes interest. The statute does. R.S. 11:1002(1) defines accumulated contributions as the deductions from pay “together with regular interest thereon.” R.S. 11:1148(A) says of a member who ceases to be an employee other than by death or retirement that “he shall be paid, subject to the provisions of Subsection B hereof, such part of the amount of the accumulated contributions standing to the credit of his account in the annuity savings funds as he shall demand.” So the statute allows a partial demand, and the sections read do not say what a partial withdrawal does to eligibility. R.S. 11:1148(B) says that when the contributions are paid out, “there shall be deducted a service charge in the amount of one dollar for each year the interest is credited to his account but in no case shall the total amount of the service charge exceed the amount of fifty percent of the interest credited to the member’s account.” R.S. 11:1115(C) ends membership for a member who withdraws accumulated contributions, and R.S. 11:1133(1) provides for restoring cancelled credit: “Credit for service cancelled by the withdrawal of accumulated contributions by a member may be restored by the payment to the system of the amount withdrawn plus interest at the board-approved actuarial valuation rate compounded annually from the date withdrawn until paid.” See pension refund versus leaving it.

The vested path keeps the pension. The booklet says “if you terminate your employment and have the number of years to retire but do not have the age, you may leave your contributions in the system and will be eligible for a monthly benefit when you do attain retirement age”. Its thresholds are “At least 5 years of service; retirement eligible at age 60” for first state service from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2015, “At least 5 years of service; retirement eligible at age 62” from July 1, 2015; earlier members have the longer service tests in the table above. The statute is R.S. 11:1142: a member first eligible on or before June 30, 2010 needs ten or more years of creditable service to leave contributions in the system and draw an allowance at age sixty; a member first eligible on or after July 1, 2010 needs five years and age sixty; and for first employment on or after July 1, 2015 R.S. 11:1142(C) requires five years of regular, full-time service, with the allowance at age sixty-two.

A third path for members with at least 5 years: “If you have at least 5 years of service in LSERS and stop working in the position that made you eligible for membership in LSERS, you may be able to remain in LSERS or join a different retirement system”, but the sheet attaches a condition: the new position must be one that would normally mandate membership in Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) or the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS). “you must notify us in writing of your election to remain within 30 days after you change employment. Once you make this election, it is irrevocable and you cannot change your mind at a later date”.

On tax: “LSERS will withhold 20% federal income if you choose to receive your refund of contributions directly”, and “If you are over the age of 59 1/2 or you roll over your refunded contributions to another qualified plan, this penalty will not apply”. A computed example from an assumed $10,000 taxable refund, not an LSERS figure: 20% of $10,000 is $2,000 withheld, leaving $8,000 before any further tax. “LSERS strongly recommends that you consult a tax advisor or financial planner before you apply for a refund of contributions”.

If a member dies before retirement

Fact Sheet 17: “A member must have 5 or more years of service for any survivor benefit to be payable”. “The member must have contributed to the retirement system at least 2 years immediately prior to death unless the member has at least 20 years of service”. The sheet adds: “If no survivor benefits are payable, LSERS will refund the member’s contributions to the designated beneficiary(ies)”. For a spouse, “The spouse must have been legally married to the deceased for at least 2 years if the member’s first state service was prior to 7/1/2010, and at least 1 year if the member’s first state service was on or after 7/1/2010”. Children covered: “An unmarried child up to age 18 or up to age 23, if a full-time student”. The sheets give no dollar amount or percentage for a survivor benefit. R.S. 11:1151, which covers members whose first employment making them eligible for a state system was on or before June 30, 2010, does. For a surviving spouse with a minor child, R.S. 11:1151(B)(1) provides: “A surviving spouse with a minor child or children shall be paid per month seventy-five percent of the deceased member’s average monthly compensation or three hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater, provided the deceased member was in service at the time of death and had five or more years of service credit, at least two years of which were earned immediately prior to death or provided the deceased member had twenty or more years of service credit regardless of when earned or whether the deceased member was in service at the time of death.” One-third of that amount goes to the spouse and two-thirds to the children. For a surviving spouse without a minor child, R.S. 11:1151(E) provides: “A surviving spouse without a minor child or children shall receive a monthly allowance equal to fifty percent of the deceased member’s average monthly compensation or two hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater, provided the deceased member either had at least ten years of creditable service, at least two years of which was earned immediately prior to death, and was in service at the time of death or had twenty years or more of service credit regardless of when earned and whether the deceased member was in service at the time of death; however, in either case the surviving spouse must have been married to the deceased member for at least two years prior to the death of the member.” R.S. 11:1151(E) adds: “Benefits will not be paid to any surviving spouse who has remarried since the death of the member; however, if the member was eligible for regular retirement on the date of death or had twenty years of service credit on the date of death, benefits will be paid to the surviving spouse for life.” The section for members first eligible after June 30, 2010 was not among the sections archived for this page, so the amounts for later hires are not stated here.

Buying service credit

The booklet says “All service credit must be purchased before retirement or entering DROP”. The price is not given in the pages read, but the statute states the rule. R.S. 11:1133(2) says that, for credit for in service, payment must be “an amount which, on an actuarial basis, totally offsets the increase in accrued liability of the system resulting from the receipt of the credit by the member.” The employing agency may pay up to fifty percent of that amount, and R.S. 11:1133(3) requires payment before the effective date of retirement. R.S. 11:1137 prices service as an employee under R.S. 11:158, which was not read for this page; the general tool is the pension buyback calculator.

What the IRS adds on tax

A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of LSERS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that if you roll it over yourself “you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. LSERS’s own sheets say that a direct rollover avoids the 20% withholding on the rolled-over amount. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.

On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan”. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.

Where the sources disagree

Survivor service. The booklet (November 2025) says “You must have a minimum of 5 years for surviving minor children to be eligible or 10 years for a surviving spouse to be eligible for survivor benefits”. Fact Sheet 17 (8/17) says “A member must have 5 or more years of service for any survivor benefit to be payable” and sets a marriage length for the spouse, not a 10-year service minimum. Confirm the current rule with LSERS. For members first eligible on or before June 30, 2010, R.S. 11:1151 supports both documents on different facts: five years of service credit (two of them immediately before death) or twenty years for a spouse with a minor child or for a child alone, and ten years (two immediately before death) or twenty years for a spouse without a minor child. The fact sheet’s statement that five years suffices holds for a spouse with a minor child and for a child alone, but not for a spouse without a minor child, which is the case the booklet’s ten years describes.

Spousal consent. Fact Sheet 10 requires consent for Options 2, 2A or 3 unless the spouse is the sole beneficiary; Fact Sheet 12 requires it unless the option leaves at least 50% to the spouse. They do not address the same options. The LSERS statute sections archived for this review, R.S. 11:1001 to 11:1006 and 11:1111 to 11:1171 as archived, do not contain the word consent, so the consent step comes from the system’s fact sheets and rules, not from those sections. Title 11 provisions outside that range were not read.

The DROP total. Fact Sheet 13 prints $416.67 x 36 = $14,928.12, but the product is $15,000.12 (computed), a difference of $72.00 (computed). Its other lines multiply correctly, so use the monthly figure times 36.

The COLA cost. The text says about 20%, while the sheet’s table implies 22.1% in year one.

Age. Fact Sheets 7, 17, 21 and 24 predate the November 2025 booklet; procedures may have changed.

What this page could not settle

• The pages read give no option reduction beyond two hypothetical examples, one in Fact Sheet 12 and one in Fact Sheet 13, and both rest on assumed ages and benefits. The statute fixes no percentage either. R.S. 11:1150(B) lets a member take a reduced allowance that is the actuarial equivalent of the retirement allowance, and R.S. 11:1171(E)(1) says that, unless different assumptions are formally adopted and disclosed, “Interest shall be compounded annually at the rate of seven percent annually.” and “Annuity rates shall be determined on the basis of the 1971 Group Annuity Mortality Tables.” The board may authorize different interest and mortality rates under 11:1171(E)(2).
• The pages read do not state the IBRP monthly reduction for a given lump sum; R.S. 11:1152.1 requires only that it be actuarially equivalent.
• The pages read do not state whether a refund includes interest; R.S. 11:1002(1) and 11:1148 do, as the refund section above explains.
• The pages read do not state the amount or percentage of a survivor benefit.
• The pages read do not state the price of purchasing service credit.
• The pages read do not state what different payments apply if a retiree dies within 30 days of the effective date.
• Fact Sheets 14, 11, 15 and 20 were not cited, and disability retirement was not examined. The earnings limit is in R.S. 11:1006. R.S. 11:1006(B) says “If the earnings of the reemployed retiree in any fiscal year are in excess of fifty percent of average compensation, an amount equal to the amount of the earnings in excess of fifty percent of average compensation for the fiscal year shall be repaid to the retirement system, either through direct reimbursement to the system or by suspension of benefits; however, the repayment amount shall not exceed the amount of retirement benefits received by the retiree for the fiscal year.” R.S. 11:1006(A)(3) says “For the purposes of this Section, there shall be an annual cost-of-living adjustment to the average compensation figure used in these computations. This cost-of-living adjustment shall be based upon and directly reflect the annual percentage increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding year.” R.S. 11:1006(D) sends retired bus operators who return to a bus operator position to R.S. 11:1007, which was not read for this page.

Common mistakes

• Joining DROP after the 60-day window and receiving fewer than 36 months of deposits.
• Choosing a survivor option without a benefit estimate, then finding the beneficiary under Options 2 through 4A can never be changed.
• Electing the irrevocable COLA option without weighing that the benefit stays reduced for more than 10 years.
• Taking a refund and losing all eligibility for retirement benefits when a vested benefit was available.

Related on this site: Louisiana retirement taxes, does Louisiana tax pensions, Louisiana TRSL retirement decisions, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, pension refund versus leaving it, 20% withholding on a pension lump sum and public pension retirement decisions by system.

Sources

• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Basic Membership Facts (Your Membership), November 2025: https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Your_Membership.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 10, Benefit Options (printed 11/20 and 10/20): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-10-Benefit-Options.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 12, Regular Service Retirement (printed 3/21): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-12-Regular-Service-Retirement.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 13, DROP Deferred Retirement Option Plan (printed 1/20): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-13-DROP-Deferred-Retirement-Option-Plan.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 24, DROP/IBRP Account Withdrawals (printed 12/19): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-24-DROP-IBRP-Account-Withdrawals.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 7, Refunds and Vested Retirement (printed 09/18): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-7-Refunds-and-Vested-Retirement.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 17, Survivor Benefits (printed 8/17): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-17-Survivor-Benefits.pdf
• Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, Fact Sheet 21, Act 270 of 2009 Annual Cost of Living Option (printed 3/14): https://lsers.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Fact-Sheet-21-Act-270-of-2009-Annual-Cost-of-Living-Option.pdf
• IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
• IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558

Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 16, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.