We offer a range of classes for County and Schools employees for every stage of an employee's career - from new hire to mid-career to approaching retirement. Descriptions of the classes are provided below.
All classes are virtual using Microsoft Teams.
If you are a Schools employee, enroll according to the instructions listed under the specific class.
In this required class for new MERIT employees, we review the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), the Police Officers Retirement System (PORS), and the Uniformed Retirement System (URS). We provide information that a new employee needs to know about participation, contributions, retirement eligibility, and benefits. We talk about how sick leave can be beneficial, naming a beneficiary, accessing their online account, and the possibility of prior service purchases, portability, and outside service purchases for public safety employees.
This is one of three New Employee Orientation classes that can be taken in any order. There are several time-sensitive choices that need to be made. New employees are encouraged to complete these classes within their first 30 days of employment.
This class is generally offered on the first and third Thursday of every month.
This class allows for a deeper dive into the County's Defined Benefit Plan along with general information about retirement.
This class is open to all members of the Employees' Retirement System, including School employee members, as well as members of the Uniformed and Police Officers Retirement Systems.
These classes are offered on the 1st Tuesday of every other month from 10:00am - 11:30am (February, April, June, August, October, and December).
This class that provides an overview of your Defined Benefit 401(a) Pension Plan and an overview of the County's Deferred Compensation 457(b) Plan.
These RwS classes are offered on the 3rd Tuesday of every OTHER month from 9:00am - 11:30am (January, March, May, July, September, and November).
The first half of the class is presented by a representative from the Retirement Systems and covers basic information about your pension with a brief overview of the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). This presentation explains how your pension works and discusses contribution amounts, benefit calculations, the Pre-Social Security benefit or Early Age Option, survivor benefits, how to use the online benefit estimator, and more.
The second half of the class is presented by a representative from T. Rowe Price to give you information about the County's Deferred Compensation 457(b) Plan and help you understand how your Pension and Deferred Compensation can work together to provide you with financial security after you retire.
This class provides information to help you understand how your County pension is calculated and how decisions you make with regard to years of service can affect your annual pension income. Once you understand how your retirement benefit is calculated, you will be able to calculate your own estimated benefit amount using variable salary information and years of service and make adjustments with regard to current or projected accumulated sick leave balances. Information will be provided to help employees understand the differences between Normal Retirement and DROP participation and things to consider when making your decision. These sessions also provide information about County benefits that you may be able to keep when entering retirement (i.e., health, dental, and life insurance) and how length of service can increase your health benefit subsidy.
This presentation is for general county employees within two years of normal retirement eligibility, and are not currently participating in DROP.
This class is generally offered on the last Thursday of each month.
This class is for Public Safety employees (PORS and URS) and provides information to help you understand how your County pension is calculated and how decisions you make with regard to years of service can affect your annual pension income. Once you understand how your retirement benefit is calculated, you will be able to generate your own estimated benefits using variable salary information and years of service and make adjustments with regard to current or projected accumulated sick leave balances. Information will be provided to help Public Safety employees understand the differences between Normal Retirement and DROP participation and things to consider when making your decision.
This session will also provide information about the County benefits you may be able to keep when entering retirement (i.e., health, dental, and life insurance) and how length of service can increase your health benefit subsidy. A representative from T. Rowe Price will also be on hand to cover information related to Deferred Compensation and options related to DROP. This presentation is for Public Safety employees who are within 5 years of normal retirement eligibility, and are not currently participating in DROP.
This class is offered quarterly on the 2nd Thursday of March, June, September, and December.
This fast-paced workshop includes brief presentations by Retirement Systems staff, the County's Deferred Compensation representative, and a member of the County's HR Benefits staff. All DROP participants must exit DROP no more than three years after DROP entry. There are important decisions about your DROP account balance, deferred compensation, and other County benefits after retirement. Attendees receive highlights of the most important details about exiting DROP and transitioning into Retirement.
Workshops are offered the 3rd Tuesday of every other month, from 11:45am - 1:15pm, including half an hour after the presentation for questions. (January, March, May, July, September, and November.) Content will be most helpful for employees who plan to Exit DROP within the following 6 months and still provide the mandatory 60-days notice to exit the program. This workshop is not currently offered for School employees in DROP.
Learn how to use the benefit estimator tool which is accessible in your online retirement account. Follow step-by-step instructions to calculate your own estimated retirement benefit and review the results.
The enrollment for this class is limited to allow class participation and questions. The workshop is offered the 2nd Tuesday of every Oother month from 10:00am - 11:30am. (February, April, June, August, October, and December).
This class allows for a deeper dive into the County's Defined Benefit Plan along with general information about retirement.
This class is open to ALL members of the Employees' Retirement System, including School employee members.
These classes are offered on the 1st Tuesday of every other month from 10:00am - 11:30am. (February, April, June, August, October, and December).
To register, send an email to RetirementCommunications@fairfaxcounty.gov with your requested class date. Make sure to provide your full name and the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. Do not provide your employee number.
This class is for School Employee members of FCERS:
This 2.5-hour class provides a comprehensive overview of the Defined Benefit Retirement Plan followed by a presentation about HR Benefits. This class is offered approximately three times each year on Teacher Workdays.
When classes are scheduled, a targeted email is sent to participating members of FCERS with dates and specific enrollment information. For questions, please email retirementcommunications@fairfaxcounty.gov.
| Date | Time | Class |
| 1st & 3rd Thursdays | 9 – 10 am | New Employee Orientation Part 3 |
January | 1/20 | 9 – 11:30 am | Retiring with Security Mid-Career Planning |
1/20 | 11:45 am – 1:15 pm | DROP Exit Workshop | |
1/29 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
February | 2/3 | 10 – 11:30 am | The Road to Retirement |
2/10 | 10 – 11:30 am | Benefit Estimator Workshop | |
2/26 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
March | 3/12 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - Public Safety |
3/17 | 9 – 11:30 am | Retiring with Security Mid-Career Planning | |
3/17 | 11:45 am – 1:15 pm | DROP Exit Workshop | |
3/26 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
April | 4/7 | 10 – 11:30 am | The Road to Retirement |
4/14 | 10 – 11:30 am | Benefit Estimator Workshop | |
4/30 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
May | 5/19 | 9 – 11:30 am | Retiring with Security Mid-Career Planning |
5/19 | 11:45 am – 1:15 pm | DROP Exit Workshop | |
5/28 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
June | 6/2 | 10 – 11:30 am | The Road to Retirement |
6/9 | 10 – 11:30 am | Benefit Estimator Workshop | |
6/10 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - Public Safety | |
6/25 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
July | 7/21 | 9 – 11:30 am | Retiring with Security Mid-Career Planning |
7/21 | 11:45 am – 1:15 pm | DROP Exit Workshop | |
7/30 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
August | 8/4 | 10 – 11:30 am | The Road to Retirement |
8/11 | 10 – 11:30 am | Benefit Estimator Workshop | |
8/27 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
September | 9/10 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - Public Safety |
9/15 | 9 – 11:30 am | Retiring with Security Mid-Career Planning | |
9/15 | 11:45 am – 1:15 pm | DROP Exit Workshop | |
9/24 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
October | 10/6 | 10 – 11:30 am | The Road to Retirement |
10/13 | 10 – 11:30 am | Benefit Estimator Workshop | |
10/28 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
November | 11/17 | 9 – 11:30 am | Retiring with Security Mid-Career Planning |
11/17 | 11:45 am – 1:15 pm | DROP Exit Workshop | |
December | 12/1 | 10 – 11:30 am | The Road to Retirement |
12/3 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - ERS | |
12/8 | 10 – 11:30 am | Benefit Estimator Workshop | |
12/10 | 12:30 – 4:30 pm | Planning for Retirement - Public Safety |
We offer special on-site classes for any County agency (or Schools department) that requests one. This class provides a 45-50-minute Defined Benefit Plan overview with time for questions after.
To arrange a class for your Department or Agency, please contact Amy Bain by email.
All classes must be approved by the department head of the requesting agency. We ask that you request a class at least 2 months prior to the requested class date.
Generally speaking, we rely on the requesting agency to provide all logistics for the class.