CalSTRS Retirement Calculator

How CalSTRS calculates your pension

Three numbers determine your CalSTRS benefit: your final compensation, your years of service credit, and the age factor for your retirement age. Multiply them together and you have your annual pension.

Annual Benefit = Final Compensation x Years of Service Credit x Age Factor

A teacher under the 2% at 60 tier retiring at exactly 60 with 28 years of service and an $85,000 final compensation: $85,000 x 28 x 0.020 = $47,600 per year, or $3,967 per month. That's 56% of final pay, for life.

The same teacher at age 63 would get a 2.4% age factor instead of 2.0%. Same service, same salary: $85,000 x 28 x 0.024 = $57,120 per year. Waiting three years adds $9,520 annually, forever. That's the trade-off the age factor table forces on every teacher approaching retirement.

The two tiers: what changed in 2013

California's pension reform legislation (AB 340) created a second tier for public employees hired on or after January 1, 2013. Teachers hired before that date are in the 2% at 60 tier. Everyone hired since is in the 2% at 62 tier.

The differences matter in four concrete ways. First, the age factor table is different. At 55 the 2% at 62 factor is 1.16% against 1.4%, and it doesn't reach 2.0% until 62 instead of 60. Second, the minimum retirement age under 2% at 62 is 55 with no path to retire at 50, regardless of service years. Third, the final compensation is always the 3-year average under 2% at 62. There is no single-year option. Fourth, there is no career factor bonus for 30 or more years of service under the newer tier.

Your tier depends on when you first became a CalSTRS member, and earlier membership in another California public system can matter. Your CalSTRS statement shows which tier you're in.

The age factor table explained

CalSTRS sets the factor by your age in years and months on the last day of the month your retirement takes effect. Retire earlier and the factor is lower, because the checks run longer.

Under the 2% at 60 tier the factor is 1.1% at 50 and climbs 0.005% a month (0.06% a year) to 1.34% at 54. From 55 it climbs 0.01% a month: 1.4% at 55, 1.52% at 56, 1.64% at 57, 1.76% at 58, 1.88% at 59 and 2.0% at 60. After 60 it adds 0.033% each quarter year: 2.133% at 61, 2.267% at 62, and 2.4% from 63 onward. Retiring between 50 and 55 takes 30 years of service. There is no benefit to working past 63 in terms of age factor. Additional years still add service credit, which increases the benefit directly, but the multiplier itself is capped.

Under the 2% at 62 tier the factor is 1.16% at 55 and climbs 0.01% a month: 1.28% at 56, 1.40% at 57, 1.52% at 58, 1.64% at 59, 1.76% at 60, 1.88% at 61 and 2.0% at 62. Then 2.133% at 63, 2.267% at 64 and 2.4% at 65. The same 2.4% ceiling applies. Working past 65 adds service credit but no further factor increase.

The career factor: a meaningful bonus for long-service teachers

Only 2% at 60 members qualify. If you have 30 or more years of earned service credit on the day you retire, CalSTRS adds 0.2% to your age factor, up to the 2.4% maximum. You can use up to 0.2 years of unused sick leave to reach 30.

It counts for the most before 61 and a half, when the combined factor hits 2.4%. At 58 it turns 1.76% into 1.96%. At 60 it turns 2.0% into 2.2%. At 62 the base is 2.267%, so the sum is capped at 2.4%. At 63 the base is already 2.4% and the career factor adds nothing.

Teachers who are 59 with 29 years of service should model carefully. One more year means both the age factor increases and the career factor activates. That's a double benefit from a single year of patience.

Final compensation: the single-year vs. 3-year choice

Under the 2% at 60 tier, teachers retiring with 25 or more years of service credit use their highest 12 consecutive months of compensation earnable instead of the highest 36. Classroom teachers with fewer than 25 years can also use 12 months if their collective bargaining agreement provides for it. This option doesn't exist at all under the 2% at 62 tier.

When does it matter? If your pay jumped in your final year, say from a move into administration, the 12-month figure can beat the 36-month average by a lot. If your salary has been relatively flat, the two figures will be close and the choice doesn't matter much.

CalSTRS uses compensation earnable, which isn't the same as the wages on your W-2. Your annual statement shows what CalSTRS has on record.

Benefit options

The default is the Member-Only Benefit: the highest monthly amount, and nothing continues to anyone after you die. To leave a lifetime benefit to someone, you pick the 100%, 75% or 50% Beneficiary Option (or the Compound Option), and your benefit is multiplied by an option factor based on your age and your beneficiary's age.

The handbook example: a 2% at 60 member retiring at 60 with a $3,192.92 Member-Only Benefit and a beneficiary who is also 60. The 100% option factor is 0.9031, so she gets $2,883.53 and her beneficiary would get the same. The 50% option factor is 0.9549: $3,048.92 for her, $1,524.46 for the beneficiary. A younger beneficiary means a bigger cut.

The calculator uses the handbook's factor extract for member ages 55 to 70 and beneficiary ages 20 to 70. CalSTRS adjusts the factors from time to time, so get your own figure from CalSTRS before you choose.

When to retire: the numbers most teachers miss

The most common mistake is treating the minimum retirement age as the target retirement age. At 55 with 10 years of service, a 2% at 60 member has a 1.4% age factor. At 60 with 15 years, the factor is 2.0% and the service credit is half again as large. The benefit doesn't just increase from the age factor change. It increases from both the age factor and the service credit simultaneously.

Run the actual numbers. A teacher with $80,000 final compensation who retires at 55 with 15 years gets $80,000 x 15 x 0.014 = $16,800 a year. At 60 with 20 years it's $80,000 x 20 x 0.020 = $32,000. That's 90% more a year for five more years of work.

Working longer also increases Social Security credits for teachers who have any covered employment, and it delays the depletion of any supplemental retirement savings. The pension math is compelling. So is the full financial picture.

CalSTRS and Social Security

Most California public school teachers do not pay into Social Security through their CalSTRS-covered employment. That means they don't earn Social Security credits from that work, and they won't collect Social Security benefits based on it.

Teachers who worked in Social Security-covered jobs before or after their CalSTRS career may have earned Social Security benefits from those earnings. For benefits payable before January 2024, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced those benefits, and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) could eliminate spousal and survivor Social Security. Congress repealed both provisions in the Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, effective for benefits payable after December 2023.

If you previously had Social Security reduced by WEP or GPO because of your CalSTRS pension, your benefit should now be paid in full. Contact SSA to confirm the updated amount. Our WEP calculator can show the historical reduction for reference.

The Defined Benefit Supplement account

Beyond the main pension, CalSTRS administers a Defined Benefit Supplement (DBS) account for most members. You and your employer contribute to it on pay for service beyond one year of service credit in a school year, and it earns guaranteed interest plus any additional earnings credits the board declares. The DBS accumulates separately from your pension credit and is available at retirement either as a lump sum or as an annuity.

The DBS is often overlooked because it's not the main pension benefit, but balances can be significant for long-career teachers. Your CalSTRS member statement shows your DBS balance. This calculator models the main defined benefit pension only; your DBS is an additional asset you'd add to any retirement income plan.