Massachusetts MTRS Retirement Calculator

How MTRS calculates your benefit

Option A = (age factor x years of service + RetirementPlus %) x salary average
capped at 80% of salary average

The age factor is the percentage of salary average you earn for each year of creditable service, and it depends on your age on the day you retire. MTRS counts years and full months of service, and doesn't round your age up. The rules here come from Chapter 32, section 5 of the General Laws and the MTRS retirement percentage charts for each tier.

Tier 1: membership before April 2, 2012

The age factor is 2.5% at 65 and older and drops 0.1% for each year younger: 2.4% at 64, 2.0% at 60, 1.5% at 55. Tier 1 members can retire with 20 years at any age (with factors below 1.5% before 55) or at 55 with 10 years. The salary average is the highest 3 consecutive years, or the last 3 if higher.

A Tier 1 teacher retiring at 60 with 30 years gets 2.0% x 30 = 60% of salary average. On $78,000 that's $46,800 a year, $3,900 a month. Waiting to 65 with 35 years gives 2.5% x 35 = 87.5%, cut to the 80% cap.

Tier 2: membership on or after April 2, 2012

Tier 2 can't retire before 60 and needs 10 years. It has two age factor tables. Under 30 years: 1.45% at 60, rising 0.15% a year to 2.5% at 67. With 30 or more years: 1.625% at 60, rising 0.125% a year to 2.5% at 67. The salary average is the highest 5 consecutive years, or the last 5 if higher.

A Tier 2 teacher at 62 with 20 years gets 1.75% x 20 = 35%. At 67 the same 20 years is worth 50%.

RetirementPlus

Teachers hired on or after July 1, 2001 are in RetirementPlus automatically and contribute 11% of pay. Once you have 30 years of creditable service, 20 of them as an MTRS or Boston teacher, you get an extra 2% of salary average for every full year above 24 (Tier 1) or 23 (Tier 2). That's 12% at 30 years in Tier 1 and 14% in Tier 2, still subject to the 80% cap. Tier 1 has no minimum age for it. Tier 2 needs age 60.

The Tier 1 teacher retiring at 60 with 30 years goes from 60% to 72% with RetirementPlus: $56,160 a year on a $78,000 salary average. Fall short of 30 years and you get the regular formula plus a refund of the extra RetirementPlus contributions with interest.

Options A, B and C

Option A pays the most and ends at your death. Option B pays about 1% less (MTRS's estimator uses 99% of Option A). When you die, whatever is left in your annuity savings account goes to your beneficiaries as a lump sum. MTRS says that account usually runs out in 10 to 12 years. After that Option B keeps paying you, but nothing goes to anyone else.

Option C multiplies Option A by a factor from the PERAC table, based on your age and your beneficiary's age. At 60 with a 60-year-old beneficiary the factor is 0.9133. At 65 with a 62-year-old beneficiary it's 0.8742. When you die, your beneficiary gets two-thirds of your Option C amount for life. The beneficiary has to be your spouse, parent, sibling, child or unmarried former spouse. If they die first, your benefit pops up to the Option A amount plus any COLAs since retirement.

The COLA

The Legislature votes on an MTRS COLA every year, capped at CPI or 3%, whichever is less. For FY2027 it approved 3% of the first $13,000 of the benefit, at most $390 a year or $32.50 a month, effective July 1, 2026 for members who retired on or before June 30, 2025. The base has been $13,000 since 2012.