The myCalSTRS secure member portal is being improved to give you an efficient way to quickly calculate retirement estimates, check your retirement balances, update your profile and preferences, easily access CalSTRS documents, expanded use of secure messages, manage your direct deposit and more. These enhancements include:

• Generate retirement benefits estimates using your account information and review estimate history.  
• View Pension2 account balances.   
• Enhanced account details such as purchased service credit.  
• View, download and print 1099-R, W-2 and 1042-S forms.  
• Sign up for and manage direct deposit.  
• Change or add beneficiaries.  
• Save messages, attach and send documents with secure messaging. 
• Access CalSTRS generated documents and upload your documents.  
• Add multiple addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers to your profile.
• Enhanced secure log-in with two-step authentication. 

These improvements are part of a larger pension administration system upgrade enhancing how school districts and county offices of education report information needed for your CalSTRS retirement benefit to our team.

To ensure a smooth transition, we must shut down the old system and install the upgraded system before it can be accessed by members and the CalSTRS teams who support members.

Please be aware if we received a request to change your direct deposit bank account after August 29, processing will be delayed until October.

Please be aware if we receive a request to change your address after September 9, processing will be delayed until October.

Online Service Retirement Application submission will not be available through September 23.

To minimize the impact of delays, submit requests for CalSTRS information and benefits online and early. 

Requests for direct deposit or updating your existing direct deposit account is unavailable after August 29.

You will be able to apply for retirement online after September 23.

If you plan to apply for retirement between August 29 and September 23, you must send a paper application. Please note, paper applications take longer to process than submitting online applications. We strongly encourage you to apply online after September 23 if you haven’t done so before August 29.

Once the new system is available, applications will be processed in the order received.

If you submit a paper application, any questions and requests for additional information will be sent to you via U.S. mail.

Your monthly retirement benefit will not begin until your application is processed, and your retirement benefit can be calculated.

Due to the system upgrade, processing times will be longer. It could take up to 90 days from the date your application is received before you start receiving a benefit.

If you submit your retirement application after September 23, we expect longer processing times as we work through applications received from July to early September. This may impact when you start receiving your monthly retirement benefit.

Once the new system is available, you will be able to apply online for Service Retirement or complete and mail a paper application to us. We encourage you to apply online. Paper applications take longer to process.

Retirement applications will be processed based on the date we receive them.

Paper applications take longer to process because all communication is sent using postal mail. 

If you submitted a paper application and found an error, your application will be processed faster if you wait until myCalSTRS is available and then apply online. You may also mail corrected forms, but this will further delay processing. If you have questions about this process, please call our Contact Center at 800-228-5453.

If you have received a benefit check before September 1, you will continue to receive payments during the system upgrade.

The 2% annual increase will not be impacted and will be included in the benefit payment you receive in October.

These payments will not be impacted. Eligibility is determined annually in September. Once you are eligible, a separate payment will be issued quarterly, starting with your October payment.

There is no impact to unused sick leave. School districts will provide any unused sick leave you have. Retirement benefit payment calculations are not dependent on when CalSTRS receives this information from your school.

Once your unused sick leave is shared with us, your retirement benefit will be adjusted based on how much unused sick leave you have. In the months following your first retirement payment, you may see an increase.

We expect Retirement Progress Reports to be available in October. However, once myCalSTRS is back online, you will need to re-register to access your myCalSTRS account and your retirement information.

You will be able to sign in to the improved myCalSTRS portal before the October 15 tax filing deadline, but this information will not be available during most of September.

Please call us at 800-228-5453. Our Customer Service team will be able to mail a copy of your verification of benefits letter.

Please call us at 800-228-5453 if you believe your retirement benefit check is lost or missing. Typically, it takes approximately 30 business days to reissue a paper check. It will take longer while we update our system.

If you already have a bank account on file with CalSTRS for direct deposit, no action is needed. However, if you need to  add or change your bank account information before September 23 when myCalSTRS is offline, you will need to wait until the system relaunches to make those changes. Please note that these requests will not be processed until the system comes back online. 

If you need to change your address, our Contact Center will be able to assist you until September 9 with making this change. You will be able to resume self-service online address changes once the system relaunches.

Call us at 800-228-5453. We have a dedicated team to help people who have lost a loved one. You can also report this using CalSTRS.com. In either case, you will need your loved one’s birth date and Social Security number.

You can submit a Notification of Death on CalSTRS.com or call our contact center to have an agent manually enter the information on your behalf.

During the system upgrade period, which is expected to start on September 5, we will be unable to authorize one-time death benefits. We expect a four to six-week delay in our processing time. We expect payments will be released within 90 days once all information, including a death certificate, is received and the beneficiary on file is confirmed.

Call us. We have a dedicated team to help families who have lost a loved one. You can also report this using CalSTRS.com. In either case, you will need the member’s birth date and Social Security number.

It may take up to 90 days before you receive a monthly benefit.

Yes, you can still call our Contact Center at 800-228-5453 and select Option 3 to schedule appointments with our benefit specialists.

Yes, the Pension2 account portal will remain available.

Yes. Member Service Centers will be open to answer general questions and provide guidance to walk you through forms but benefit specialists will have limited system access and account information.

You can call our Contact Center at 800-228-5453 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Time), Monday through Friday.

Please contact the Community Property Office at 916-414-1722.  Requests can also be mailed to CalSTRS Community Property, P.O. Box 15275, Sacramento, CA 95851-0275.