Retirement Plans

Benefits of Vesting

If you terminated employment on or after July 1, 2001, with at least 5 years of credited service, and you are under normal retirement age

or…

you terminated employment with 10 or more years of credited service prior to July 1, 2001*, and you are under normal retirement age

...you may elect to vest your account. This means that you will leave your accumulated deductions in the Retirement System Fund, earn 4 percent interest compounded annually, and defer receipt of an annuity until a later date.

When you have vested your account, you become eligible for the following benefits:

An unreduced annuity at normal retirement age.
A reduced annuity at any time prior to normal retirement age. The reduction will be based on your age at the time you apply for monthly benefits.
Death benefits under Option 1 payable to your designated beneficiary. The amount payable will be based on your age at the time of your death.
Withdrawal of your contributions at any time, including accrued interest from your date of termination to the date of withdrawal. In this case you would forfeit any other benefits to which you otherwise may have been entitled.

A monthly annuity is not automatic. You must make application for an annuity when you reach normal retirement age or at any time before then.

Considering Retirement?

If you are considering retirement, you should fill out the Request for Retirement Estimate and submit it to PSERS.

Normal Retirement

To qualify for normal retirement under the PSERS guidelines, employees must meet one of three qualifications:

Age 60 with 30 years of service
Age 62 with 1 year of service
No age requirement with 35 years of service

Not Vested?

Employees who are not vested (have under five years of service), should contact PSERS at (888) 773-7748 to request an "Application for Refund." You may elect to have PSERS directly rollover your lump sum payment to an "eligible retirement plan" that accepts rollovers.

New Employee?

If you are a new employee, see Important Information for New School Employees.

Disability Retirement

A disability retirement benefit is an actual retirement benefit. A member who is granted a disability retirement benefit will receive a monthly payment for as long as the member is deemed disabled. Disability retirement requires five years of credited service and medical eligibilty. For more information see PSERS' disability retirement page.

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