Allison joined Teach For America after college and spent two years teaching in Baton Rouge in a challenging environment. She was 22, overwhelmed, and focused on surviving the classroom. Like every Louisiana public school teacher, a portion of each paycheck went straight to the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana. She had no idea it was happening.
When she left teaching, nobody told her what would happen to that money. It fell off her radar completely.
The to-do list item that never got done
Allison first became aware of the money years later, but the process of getting it back felt intimidating and impossible to navigate on her own. It became a permanent fixture in her "do eventually" Gmail folder, always starred, never acted on. TRSL even mailed her the refund paperwork in 2021. She never filled it out.
"I had no idea what a teachers pension was, let alone that money was being deducted from my paycheck for one. I was 22, overwhelmed, and just trying to survive teaching. The last thing on my mind was retirement."
For over 14 years, she carried that nagging feeling. Meanwhile, her $7,273 in contributions sat with the state earning zero interest, losing value to inflation every year it wasn't invested.
"I definitely used to think, 'It's probably not enough money to matter.'"
Under 30 minutes, start to finish
Allison connected with Recess through a fellow TFA alum in early 2026. From there, Recess handled everything: the back-and-forth communication with TRSL, confirming the state would accept remote online notarization, navigating an address and name change, and pre-filling all the paperwork. Allison completed a four-minute online notary session, and that was it.
"It was incredibly simple. I set up an IRA account, electronically signed paperwork, did the four-minute online notary, and that was basically it. Recess handled all of the back-and-forth communication and the actual logistics."
"I was shocked by how much was handled without me needing to do literally anything myself. That was probably the most surprising part. The online notary also blew my mind a little. I didn't even know that existed."
For Allison, getting the money back was about more than the dollar amount. It was about closing a chapter she'd been carrying for over a decade. Something she'd wanted to deal with for years but could never get past the complexity and the inertia.
"It genuinely felt like finding money I didn't even fully realize I had. I'm really grateful because this was something I had wanted to deal with for years, but it always felt overwhelming and inaccessible."
What she'd tell other former teachers
"I would tell anyone who taught for even a couple years to check. The process ended up being so easy that it was completely worth it."
"I am 1000% a flake in personal admin as a busy educator and even I could do it! I think there are probably so many former teachers with money sitting in these systems because the process feels intimidating and impossible to figure out on your own. Recess made something I had avoided for over 10 years feel easy and manageable."
Sound familiar?
Allison is one of thousands of former teachers with pension contributions sitting unclaimed in state retirement systems across the country. If you left teaching in Louisiana before vesting, there's a good chance you have money waiting too.
Find out what's yours — free.
Recess handles the forms, the notary, and the follow-up. You just sign.
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