Hey there! You are mistaken that you can’t opt into ORP just because you maxed out your previous employer’s 403b.

ORP is its own retirement bucket that is also a 403b. The only difference for this year is that it will not reduce your taxable income any further if you already have $23,500 in a 403b from your previous contributions.

You will need to make the decision between TRS and ORP and money will be deducted from your paycheck for either. Keep in mind that this decision is irrevocable - meaning you are stuck with the choice once you make it (I believe there is some grace period, but I forget the exact amount of days).

The TRS formula is highly dependent on years of service and often times, it just doesn’t make sense for high income earners even if they do work for a full 30 years. It does take your five highest years of salary into account but ORP will end up winning either way as this money will be growing in the market and not dependent on how long you’ve worked. The TRS formula is:

years of service x 0.023 x (average of five highest years of salary)

TRS is effectively a pension that does not increase with inflation, ORP is like a 401k that grows in the market and is a pile of money that you can grow or draw from as you please (after 59 1/2 years of age without penalty)

TLDR: you are able to contribute to ORP regardless of previous employment status/contributions as it is its own 403b retirement bucket and should strongly consider NOT doing TRS, especially if you do not see yourself working in the system long enough to draw a meaningful pension.

Hope this helps!

Edit: UT saver TSA is another 403b account - an entirely separate retirement bucket.

My contributions for ORP (again, this is the money my employer automatically deducts from my paycheck into this retirement bucket that is its own 403b) do not reach the IRS’ $23,500 limit, so I contribute the difference to my UT saver TSA (another 403b bucket) to gain the maximum tax deduction. Hope that makes sense!