PERS calculates what your lifetime, monthly pension benefit will be using a basic formula that varies slightly
depending on your service type –
general service or
police officer and firefighter (P&F).
The formula also uses your final average salary. PERS will use one of the following as your monthly final
average salary:
- Your average gross salary* or adjusted total gross earned over three consecutive years in which you earned
the largest total salary from one or more PERS-participating employers, even if one of those years was less
than a full calendar year.
OR
- Your total gross salary* or adjusted total gross earned over the last 36 months in which you worked in a
PERS-qualifying position, divided by the actual number of calendar months of active service within that
36-month period.
(*Gross salary is what you earn before taxes and other deductions are taken out.)
Examples of benefit calculations are shown below, but your monthly pension benefit may not be determined by
these equations alone.
At retirement, you can choose among several survivorship or nonsurvivorship options. With those options, you
decide whether and how a benefit may be paid to a beneficiary upon your death.
The option you choose at retirement will affect your monthly benefit amount. The equations
below show the calculation for the “Single Life” option. If you choose a different option at retirement, your
benefit calculation will include additional adjustments based on factors such as your estimated lifespan and the
estimated lifespan of your beneficiary.
Read more about survivorship and nonsurvivorship options in
Your OPSRP Pension Program and Individual
Account Program (IAP) Preretirement Guide.
Here is the equation that PERS starts with, by service type:
General service
You are most likely in general service, unless you work in a police officer or firefighter (P&F) position.
Your formula:
1.5% × years of total retirement credit × final average salary
Example:
Final average salary: $45,000
Retirement credit: 30 years
Convert 1.5% for ease of
multiplication: 1.5% ÷ 100% = 0.015
0.015 × 30 × $45,000 = $20,250 per year
$20,250 ÷ 12 months = $1,687.50 per month in pension income
Police officer and firefighter
Notice: To retire at the early or normal retirement age for a police officer or firefighter, the retirement
credit in the last 60 months before you are eligible for P&F retirement (early or normal age) must be
classified as P&F.
Your formula:
1.8% × years of total retirement credit × final average salary
Example:
Final average salary: $45,000
Retirement credit: 25 years
Convert 1.8% for ease of
multiplication: 1.8% ÷ 100% = 0.018
0.018 × 25 × $45,000 = $20,250 per year
$20,250 ÷ 12 months = $1,687.50 per month in pension income
All examples are based on a Single Life Option. Learn about the various retirement options you will have,
including beneficiary options, in the
OPSRP preretirement guide.