If you have at least 20 service credit years, you may retire as early as age 55. Your benefit will be reduced to reflect the fact that you will probably receive your benefit over a longer period of time. The reductions are prorated based on the length of time prior to age 65. Once you are at least age 55, and attain 30 years of service credit, you qualify for alternate early retirement and your benefit reduction is set at three percent for every year you are under age 65.
The table below provides the approximate reductions in effect on June 1, 2006. Your benefit is determined by the percentage in effect at the time your benefits start.
| Age at retirement | 20 to 29 years of service benefit as a percentage of age 65 benefit. | 30+ years of service benefit as a percentage of age 65 benefit. |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | 37% | 70% |
| 56 | 40% | 73% |
| 57 | 43% | 76% |
| 58 | 49% | 79% |
| 59 | 55% | 82% |
| 60 | 61% | 85% |
| 61 | 67% | 88% |
| 62 | 73% | 91% |
| 63 | 82% | 94% |
| 64 | 91% | 97% |
| 65 | 100% | 100% |
An example of early retirement (age 55) is shown below. Bold indicates the amount used in the example.
Suppose you retire at age 55 with 25 service credit years and average final compensation of $3,500. Because you are retiring early, your benefit is 37 percent of what it would be at age 65 if you retired with the same service credit and average final compensation. Your monthly benefit of $647.50 is calculated as follows:
2% × 25 years × $3,500 × 37% $ 647.50
Suppose you work another five years, for a total of 30 service credit years, and have the same average final compensation. Your benefit is 85% of what it would be at age 65.
Your monthly benefit of $1,785 is calculated as follows:
2% × 30 years × $3,500 ×.85 = $1,785
If you are vested, you may use up to 45 days of unused sick leave to qualify for early retirement. Sick leave not cashed out by your employer may be converted to a maximum of two months of service credit. This service credit is not used in the calculation of your benefit. It can only be used to qualify for early retirement.
Vested TRS members may use service credit earned in another state’s public school teachers’ retirement system to qualify for an earlier retirement. (See “Vesting” .) However, it’s important to remember that out-of-state service is not used in the calculation of your TRS benefit.
If you use out-of-state service to retire earlier than you could on your Washington state service alone, your benefit will be reduced. The reduction is based on the difference between the age you retire using the out-of-state service credit and the age you could retire using Washington state service credit alone.
For more information, read the publication Using out-of-state service credit.
Suppose you are 57 years of age, with 17 years of Washington state service credit and a monthly average final compensation (AFC)* of $5,000. In order to meet the 20-year service credit retirement requirement, you would like to use three years of out-of-state service credit.
Your benefit would be computed based on your number of years of Washington state service credit, and would be reduced by an early retirement factor. This early retirement factor is based on the number of years between your age at retirement and age 65. Your benefit would be calculated with an early retirement factor of .43.
2% × 17 years × $5,000 (AFC) × .43 = $731
Effective January 1, 2007, a TRS Plan 2 member can purchase 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.