Caitlin joined Teach For America in 2009 and spent two years teaching in Saint Paul Public Schools. Like every Minnesota public school teacher, a portion of each paycheck went straight to the Teachers Retirement Association — money she never had a choice about contributing.
When she left the classroom, she moved on. Nobody told her the money should move with her.
"For some reason I decided to leave it there"
Unlike some former teachers who forget about their pension contributions entirely, Caitlin knew the money was there. She'd logged into her TRA account a few times over the years and checked the balance. But she never pulled the trigger on getting it out.
"I guess I never transferred the money because I didn't understand that it could be better used in a different place. I assumed the TRA was similar to a normal retirement account."
It's a common misconception. When you leave teaching before vesting — and most TFA corps members do — your contributions just sit there. They don't grow. They don't compound. The state isn't investing them on your behalf. Meanwhile, that same money in an IRA could have been working in the market for over a decade.
Caitlin had checked the balance enough times to know it was close to $10,000. But the gap between knowing and acting is where most former teachers get stuck — and it's exactly the gap Recess was built to close.
The portal, the password, and the PDF
When Caitlin first tried to handle it on her own, she called TRA directly. They told her to photocopy her license and mail it in. She looked at the online portal. The form that said "apply online" just downloaded a PDF. The ID.me authentication system kept looping. Her name had changed since she taught, and there was no way to update it in the system without jumping through more hoops.
"I called them and they were telling me to photocopy my license. I was like, really?"
It wasn't one big obstacle — it was a dozen small ones. Each manageable in isolation, but together enough to make a $10,000 task feel like it could wait another year.
One call on a day off
Caitlin connected with Recess in early 2026 through a mutual connection. On a single phone call during a day off, she and Recess founder Shawn Basak worked through the entire process: they confirmed her balance with TRA, opened a Traditional IRA with Fidelity (one click, as Caitlin put it), filled out the withdrawal form with her updated name, completed a remote notarization session with a licensed notary, and packaged everything for submission to TRA's St. Paul office.
The whole process happened on a single call — and a good chunk of that was wrestling with TRA's portal and ID.me authentication, not the actual paperwork.
"Working with you was super easy — I don't know the ins and outs of financial stuff and would likely have gotten stuck at some point and put it on the back burner since there really isn't any huge rush to do it, besides losing money over time."
What happens next
Minnesota's Teachers Retirement Association requires the original notarized application by mail. Once received, TRA has up to 45 days to process the withdrawal. The state will then mail a check directly to Fidelity, where it will be deposited into Caitlin's new Traditional IRA — tax-free, penalty-free, and finally working for her future instead of sitting idle in a system she left 15 years ago.
"It's way faster than if I did it myself."
Sound familiar?
Caitlin is one of thousands of former teachers with pension contributions sitting unclaimed in state retirement systems across the country. If you left teaching before vesting — and most Teach For America alumni did — there's a good chance you have money waiting too.
You might even know it's there. You might have checked the balance. But knowing and doing are two different things — and that's exactly where Recess comes in.
Find out what's yours — free.
Recess handles the forms, the notary, and the follow-up. You just sign.
Check my eligibility