We asked a few people who are retired from prosecutor offices (or on the cusp of retirement) to get their perspectives on the Texas County & District Retirement System. Here’s what they had to say.
Assistant prosecutor
26 years in a CDA’s office
How long have you been retired?
A year, but I’m working full time on the other (“dark”) side. It was my hope that I could earn enough in defense work to not have to take my TCDRS retirement yet, and I am thankful that has so far been the case. It also means my TCDRS account continues to grow each year.
How good is the retirement with TCDRS?
As I neared my retirement, I began playing with the retirement calculators on the TCDRS website. I was floored by the amounts I was seeing, not just for the duration of my life, but even the amounts of monthly payments for the duration of my spouse’s life. I worked in two different prosecutor offices with different matching systems, and I could see the results of the automatic 7-percent savings from my paycheck every year, plus the county matching 200–225 percent of that, and on top of that another 7 percent compound interest. I suddenly looked like a financial genius. And I assure you, I am not a financial genius.
In a world where pensions have become almost extinct, prosecutors are growing fantastic retirement accounts sometimes without even realizing it. It’s an amazing, well-deserved reward for all the hard work that prosecutors spend their careers doing.
What would you say to people who are considering a job in a prosecutor’s office, or to those who are thinking about leaving?
I have noticed that most prosecutor recruitment doesn’t focus much on the retirement plan at TCDRS. I can understand that perhaps it’s not a strong selling point to those just out of law school with their entire career ahead of them, but it’s such a strong perk that I think it should be touched on.
I don’t believe anyone should stay in prosecution for the money—it’s a far higher calling than that. That said, if a prosecutor is thinking about leaving with the hopes of dollar signs outside of the profession, it is worth taking a look at the TCDRS website and the benefits calculator. The results may surprise you.
On the defense side, it’s certainly possible to earn more, but it’s important to remember that those paydays require discipline to open and regularly contribute to a 401(k), and there are plenty of attorneys who don’t. You should always make the best financial decisions for you and your family, but retirement for prosecutors is a phenomenal system that greatly rewards a career in public service.
Assistant prosecutor
29 years in a prosecutor’s office
How long have you been retired?
Five years.
How good is the retirement with TCDRS?
The TCDRS retirement is good—better than most. The time value of money—a financial concept that money available today is worth more than the same amount of money in the future due to its potential to earn interest or returns over time—can be surprising. If your county pays a good match and you leave the money alone, it can accumulate surprisingly, even if you leave a prosecutor’s office. In my case, I was surprised how much it built up over the years, even from the counties I left before retirement.
The negative is smaller salaries for beginning prosecutors, especially in comparison to the private sector. A friend’s granddaughter recently graduated from law school, and her first year (beginning) salary will be $230,000!
What would you say to people who are considering a job in a prosecutor’s office, or to those who are thinking about leaving?
Staying in the prosecutor’s office just for the retirement is probably not a good plan. If you don’t have an affinity for the work, you won’t last until retirement.
However, a guaranteed pension is a rarity today; it should be a consideration before abandoning prosecution. If you like the work and you have the patience to vest, you might be surprised at the TCDRS retirement package. A guaranteed 7-percent return on your investment with a county match worked for me.
I was disappointed in TCDRS when it discontinued the HELPS program. HELPS stood for Health-care Enhancement for Local Public Safety Officers, and it allowed eligible public safety officers (including prosecutors) to deduct their health insurance premiums—up to $3,000 worth—from their TCDRS monthly retirement benefit. It lowered my taxable income, but the program was discontinued in 2023.
Other than that, I kept up with the TCDRS literature along the way and have really had no surprises.
DA investigator
18 years in a DA’s office and 17 years in a sheriff’s office
How long have you been retired?
I’ll retire this summer.
How good is the retirement with TCDRS?
I feel TCDRS is a great retirement system compared to other systems, such as 401(k) accounts, mainly because we employees put money in and the county also contributes to it. My monthly retirement will actually be more than my payroll was. It’s all about your salary over the years, your age, and your years of service that determine what you’ll end up with. My retirement, along with the fact that I’ll be taking early Social Security at 65, will be plenty to survive on.
What would you say to people who are considering a job in a prosecutor’s office, or to those who are thinking about leaving?
The benefits of TCDRS are a great reason to work at a prosecutor’s office, not to mention the fact that what we do as an office is an amazing contribution to society in general. Everyone has their own callings in life so if at some point a person decides to leave a prosecutor’s office and not work for an entity covered by TCDRS, it would be a benefit to them to not take their retirement but let it stay and build over the years.
Another good reason to leave your retirement money with TCDRS is you never know: You might go back to a prosecutor’s office later, and then you can continue to put money into your account for a nice nest egg later on, rather than having to start over with a new TCDRS account.
Assistant prosecutor
32 years in a DA’s office
How long have you been retired?
Nine years.
How good is the retirement with TCDRS?
I would call the TCDRS retirement very good. I was in a position where my years of service combined with my age equaled 100, so my retirement benefit was actually more than my monthly net pay. Another major benefit is that my husband also retired from the DA’s office with TCDRS retirement, and we both chose the “pop-up option” with 100 percent going to a beneficiary. If I die before my husband, he will receive my retirement, along with his own retirement. If he dies before me, I will receive his retirement in addition to my own.
What would you say to people who are considering a job in a prosecutor’s office, or to those who are thinking about leaving?
I would not say that it is worth staying in prosecution, or any other career, just for the retirement. Prosecutors should love what they do and be devoted to doing it even with the drawbacks and benefits. However, the retirement and health care benefits are certainly important considerations. When I first started at the DA’s office, an older prosecutor told me that the retirement benefits were really good, but that made little impression on me because retirement was so far in the future. Retirement is very difficult to envision or consider when starting as a new attorney.
I do think that prosecutors who leave the office before their retirement vests should carefully consider before withdrawing their retirement. It is impossible to know exactly what will happen in a career. I’ve seen many people who had withdrawn their retirement when they initially left actually return to prosecution, so they basically had to start over in the system. The retirement benefit should be part of the package you consider when you’re thinking of going into prosecution, but it should not be the reason to be a prosecutor.
Victim services director
33 years in a CDA’s Office
How long have you been retired?
About a year and a half.
How good is the retirement with TCDRS?
I think the TCDRS retirement is fabulous! I actually bring home more money through my retirement than I did with my county pay- check. The best part of the retirement system is that the fund is not based on the stock market unlike other IRAs and 401(k)s. Every evening as I watch the news and see the crazy ups and downs of the stock market, I don’t have to worry about my wonderful little nest egg that sends me money each month.
What would you say to people who are considering a job in a prosecutor’s office, or to those who are thinking about leaving?
The decision to work in a prosecutor’s office for your entire career is based on a number of things: good work hours (a few late nights for trial prep; long trials and waiting for jury verdicts, but this isn’t every week); scheduled sick leave, holidays and vacation time; and a strong, reliable retirement system, to name a few. I will admit that generally these benefits are not what kept me working in the DA’s office for those many years—I truly enjoyed the work, enjoyed “wearing the white hat.” I was honored to serve our citizens and assist those who had suffered at the hands of another.
The biggest downside of working is the election that comes every four years; job security isn’t always based on competency, trust, and reliability, but on the political notion of the new person in office. I will admit, that as the years passed, the retirement system became a greater influence on my staying at the DA’s office. If I had been left to myself to save for retirement, I’m not sure I would have done a very good job planning for the future. Thank goodness for TCDRS!