If you have at least 10 service credit years, you may retire at or after age 55. However, your benefit will be reduced to reflect the fact that you are likely to be receiving your benefit over a longer period of time. Reductions are prorated based on the length of time before age 65 that your benefits begin. If you have 30 or more years of service credit, the benefit reduction is set at three percent for each year you are under age 65.
The chart below lists the approximate annual reductions in 2006. Your benefit is determined by the reduction percentage in effect at the time your benefits begin.
| Age at retirement | Less than 30 years of service credit |
30+ years of service credit* | Years of reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | .37 | .70 | 10 |
| 56 | .40 | .73 | 9 |
| 57 | .43 | .76 | 8 |
| 58 | .49 | .79 | 7 |
| 59 | .55 | .82 | 6 |
| 60 | .61 | .85 | 5 |
| 61 | .67 | .88 | 4 |
| 62 | .73 | .91 | 3 |
| 63 | .82 | .94 | 2 |
| 64 | .91 | .97 | 1 |
* Factors in this column are effective through August 31, 2008
Suppose you retire at age 55 with 25 years of service credit and an average final compensation of $3,500. Because you are retiring early, your benefit is 37 percent of what it would be if you were 65 when you retired, with the same service credit and average final compensation. Your monthly benefit of $323.75 is calculated as follows:
1% x 25 years x $3,500 x 37% = $323.75
Suppose you work another five years rather than retiring at age 55. At age 60, you will have 30 service credit years. Assuming you have the same average final compensation, your benefit would be calculated as follows:
1% x 30 years x $3,500 x 85% = $892.50
A TRS Plan 3 member who has earned enough service credit to be eligible for retirement when they reach age 65 (see “How do I retire?”), may use service credit earned in a public school teachers’ retirement system in another state to meet the service credit requirements for early retirement. Out-of-state service is not used in the calculation of your TRS benefit amount; it affects only your retirement eligibility date and the reduction table used in the calculation.
If you elect to use out-of-state credit to qualify for retirement, your benefit will be reduced to reflect the early retirement. If the out-of-state credit raises your service credit total to 30 years or more, the early retirement reduction rate may possibly be reduced. See “How does early retirement affect my benefit?”. You can obtain an information packet on out-of-state service by contacting DRS.
Effective January 1, 2007, a TRS Plan 3 member may qualify to make a one-time purchase of up to seven years of public education service earned as a teacher* outside of TRS. The purchased service credit will be added to the member’s total service credit and used to qualify for regular or early retirement.
To qualify as public education experience, the service must:
To qualify to purchase, a member must:
* As defined by your former retirement system.
For more information about purchasing out-of-state service earned outside TRS, see the brochure Using service credit earned outside the Washington State Teachers’ Retirement System or contact DRS.