Kansas KPERS Retirement Calculator
Estimate your Kansas Public Employees Retirement System benefit. Pick your tier by hire date, enter your service and salary, and see your monthly benefit, or for KPERS 3, your projected account balance.
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Three tiers by hire date
KPERS 1 covers members first hired before July 1, 2009. KPERS 2 covers those first hired from July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2014. Everyone hired on or after January 1, 2015 is in KPERS 3, a cash balance plan. All three vest after 5 years of service. The rules here come from the Kansas statutes, because KPERS's own site blocked automated access while this page was checked.
KPERS 1
Annual Benefit = FAS x (1.75% x years before 2014 + 1.85% x years from 2014)
Members could elect 1.4% for service from 2014 on instead of 1.85%. Final average salary is your three highest years. If you joined before July 1, 1993, it's the higher of that or a four-year average that counts add-on pay such as sick and vacation leave payouts.
The benefit is unreduced at 65, at 62 with 10 years, or when your age plus service reaches 85 points. Early retirement starts at 55 with 10 years. Between 60 and 62 the cut is 0.2% for each month before 62. Below 60 it's 0.6% for each month before 60, plus the 4.8% for the two years from 60 to 62. At 55 that adds up to 40.8%.
KPERS 2
Annual Benefit = 1.85% x 5-year Final Average Salary x Years of Service
Unreduced at 65 with 5 years, or 60 with 30 years. There's no 85-point rule. Early retirement starts at 55 with 10 years, and the reduction isn't a fixed percentage in the law. It's whatever makes your early benefit the actuarial equivalent of your age-65 benefit, using factors the KPERS board sets. If you have 30 years and retire between 55 and 60, you get the average of that reduced amount and the full one. The calculator shows the unreduced figure for early KPERS 2 retirements and tells you to get the reduced amount from KPERS.
KPERS 3 is a cash balance plan
You put in 6% of pay. Your employer credits 3% of pay with under 5 years of service, 4% from 5 to 11 years, 5% from 12 to 23 and 6% at 24 or more. Both accounts earn a guaranteed 4% a year, credited at least quarterly, plus a dividend credit in years when KPERS's returns beat its threshold. If you leave before 5 years you keep your own contributions but lose the employer credits.
At retirement KPERS converts the balance into a life annuity with 10 years certain, using its board's mortality table and an interest rate of the assumed investment return minus 2%. You can take up to 30% as a lump sum. Normal retirement age is 65 with 5 years or 60 with 30, and with 10 years you can start as early as 55. The calculator projects balances with the 4% credit and flat pay, and doesn't estimate the annuity because the conversion factors aren't in the statute.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the KPERS 1 early retirement reduction?
0.2% for each month you retire before 62 if you're between 60 and 62, and 0.6% for each month before 60 plus 4.8% if you're between 55 and 60. You need 10 years. At 61 the cut is 2.4%, at 58 it's 19.2% and at 55 it's 40.8%. There's no cut once you reach 85 points, 62 with 10 years, or 65.
What is the KPERS 85-point rule?
KPERS 1 members can retire unreduced when age plus credited service equals 85 or more. KPERS 2 and KPERS 3 don't have it. Their unreduced ages are 65 with 5 years or 60 with 30.
How is a KPERS 1 benefit calculated?
Final average salary x 1.75% for each year of service before January 1, 2014, plus 1.85% for each year after (1.4% for members who elected it). Final average salary is the three highest years.
How is a KPERS 2 benefit calculated?
1.85% x five-year final average salary x years of service. Early retirement from 55 with 10 years uses an actuarial reduction set by the KPERS board, so get the exact early amount from KPERS.
How does KPERS 3 work?
It's a cash balance plan for members hired on or after January 1, 2015. You contribute 6% of pay, your employer credits 3% to 6% depending on service, and both accounts earn at least 4% a year. At retirement the balance becomes a lifetime annuity, and up to 30% can be taken as a lump sum.
When do I vest in KPERS?
After 5 years of service in all three tiers.