Retiree health care for school workers (TRS-Care)

Key facts

• Plan: TRS-Care, run by the state for retired school workers¹
• Who can join: retirees with at least 10 years in the teacher retirement system¹
• District paid (2024-25): $2.66 million; workers $2.17 million; the state $6.22 million¹
• District’s share of the plan’s gap: $88.9 million¹

In short

Retired school workers can buy health coverage through a state plan called TRS-Care.¹ Workers, the district and the state each pay a small share of pay into it.¹ The plan pays as it goes and saves little.¹ Leander ISD’s share of its gap is about $89 million. The state covers about $111 million more tied to the district.¹

How it works

• State plan. The Legislature sets who pays and how much. The school board does not.¹
• Pay-in rates (2024-25). Workers paid 0.65% of pay. The district paid 0.75%. The state paid 1.25%.¹
• Retirees pay premiums too. A retiree on Medicare paid $135 a month. One not yet on Medicare paid $200.¹
• Hiring retirees costs extra. When a district hires a retiree, it pays the plan $535 a month for that person.¹

The numbers (2024-25 school year)

	Amount
District payment	$2,657,464
Worker payments	$2,168,865
State payment	$6,224,185
District’s share of the gap	$88,859,459
State’s share tied to the district	$111,339,697

Source: district annual financial report, Note 12.¹

The other side

• The district does not run this plan. It cannot change benefits or rates.¹
• The gap depends on guesses. With an interest-rate guess 1 point lower, the district’s share would be about $105.6 million. With one 1 point higher, about $75.4 million.¹
• The plan can change. It is paid for year by year, and benefits can change if funding changes.¹

Questions to ask

• When will the district report what it will pay for retiree health care this year?
• Where does the district post its share of the state plan’s costs?

What you can do

• Ask your state lawmakers about TRS-Care. The Legislature sets the rules.
• See the teacher retirement page for the pension side.

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.

What we still don’t know

• What the district will pay in 2025-26. That report is not out yet.

No numbers on this page are our own math. All come from the district’s report.

Footnotes

1. Leander ISD, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2025 (year ended June 30, 2025), Note 12 (TRS-Care): eligibility, 2025 premium table, contribution rates, FY2025 contributions, $535 retiree surcharge, net OPEB liability $88,859,459 and state share $111,339,697, sensitivity at 2.87% and 4.87%. Final report posted to the Nov. 20, 2025 board meeting. https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/DownloadAgenda/795?meeting=714882 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶