As a full-time employee of North Harris Montgomery Community College District, you are required to participate in a state sponsored retirement plan. The District does not participate in the Social Security System. Any employee hired after April, 1986, is required to participate in the Medicate portion of the Social Security Program. Therefore a 1.45% Medicate tax deduction per month will be deducted from an employees check. All non-faculty employees who work full-time are required to be members of and make contributions to the Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS). All contracted employees (faculty and/or administrators) who work half-time or more may have a choice of participating in either the Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS) or the Optional Retirement Program (ORP). It is important to review these programs before making what will be a lifetime retirement decision.

TIAA/CREF: All adjuncts, Continuing Education instructors, and other part-time employees must participate in the TIAA/CREF plan. The employees will contribute 6.2% of their salaries, which will be matched by a contribution of 1.3% by the District. Part-time employees who are contributing to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) as a result of another position at an independent school district, or a public college, or university must complete paperwork accurately prior to the first paycheck to have their contribution be directed to their TRS account.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS): TRS is a defined benefits program administered by the state of Texas. All full-time employees participate in TRS unless they are eligible and select to participate in the Optional Retirement Program (ORP). The employees will have 6.4% of their bi-weekly paychecks deducted for TRS; the State of Texas matches the contribution at a rate equal to 6.0%.

Optional Retirement Program (ORP): The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board administers this higher education-specific defined contribution retirement program. Administrative employees and faculty are eligible to select ORP (unless they selected TRS instead of ORP in a previous position in Texas higher education). The ORP member contributes 6.5% of their salary, and the State contributes 6%. (You might hear from some employees who were hired before 1995, that the District has elected to grandfather them when the state lowered the ORP contribution level, and continues to make an 8.5% contribution to their ORP account.)

NHMCCD ORP Matching Contributions

Retirement Overview
Find detailed information on NHMCCD’s retirement options and contact information for the district’s benefits department.