What is my service retirement benefit?

Eligibility

Your service retirement benefit depends on your average final salary (AFS), the survivor option you choose, and your service credit years at retirement. You are eligible to retire:

At any age, with 25 or more years of service credit, or
At age 55 or older, regardless of the amount of service credit you have accumulated. If you leave your State Patrol commission prior to age 55, you must be vested to receive a benefit.

You must retire no later than the first of the month following the month you reach age 65 unless you are the Chief of the State Patrol.

Benefit formula

Your monthly service retirement benefit is calculated using the following formula:

Service credit months ÷ 12 x 2 percent x AFS

AFS is the monthly average of your 60 consecutive highest-paid service credit months. Your AFS cannot include payments for any voluntary overtime or any type of severance pay, such as lump sum payments for unused sick leave, unused annual leave or holiday pay. The maximum retirement benefit is 75 percent of your AFS.

EXAMPLE
Retirement with 25 years of service credit
Suppose you retire with 300 months (25 years) of service credit. Your monthly average final salary is $4,000. Your monthly benefit will be $2,000. Here is how it is calculated:

300 months ÷ 12 = 25 years
25 years x 2% = .50
.50 x $4,000 = $2,000

The calculation above is based on the standard benefit. Your benefit will be reduced three percent if you choose Option B. Benefit options are described below.

What is my benefit if I am not in service?

If you are a vested employee who terminates employment before retirement, you are entitled to:

A benefit at age 60, or
An “actuarially reduced” benefit as early as age 55.

“Actuarially reduced” means benefit payments are reduced based on factors provided by the Office of the State Actuary. These factors are derived from statistics about life expectancy and projections about the plan’s investment earnings. An actuarial reduction is necessary when benefits are going to be paid over a longer period of time.

Following are the actuarial reductions in effect when this handbook was published in 2005. Your benefit is determined by the percentage in effect at the time your benefit begins.

Age at Retirement	Benefit as a Percentage of What you Would Receive at Age 60
55	66%
56	71%
57	76%
58	84%
59	92%

EXAMPLE
Vested Retirement Benefit
Suppose you leave service with 240 months (20 years) of service credit, but before age 55, with an average final salary of $2,500. If you retire early, your benefit at age 55 is 66 percent of what it would be if you were 60 when you retired, with the same service credit and average final salary. Your monthly benefit of $660.00 is
calculated as follows:

240 months ÷ 12 x 2% x $2,500
240 months ÷ 12 = 20 years
20 years x 2% = .40
.40 x $2,500 = $1,000
$1,000 x 66% = $660.00

Suppose you work another two years. Your benefit at age 57, assuming you have two additional service credit years but the same average final salary, would be
$836.00 per month.