Nevada PERS Retirement Calculator: How to Use It

What this calculator does

The Nevada PERS Retirement Calculator computes your Public Employees' Retirement System defined benefit pension using the 2.5% per year accrual rate (2.25% for regular members hired after 7/1/2015). It checks multiple full-retirement eligibility paths: age 65 with 5 years, age 60 with 10 years, or 30 years at any age for regular members; age 50 with 20 years or age 55 with 10 years for police and fire. Early retirement is available at age 55 with 5 years of service, with a permanent reduction of 4% per year before the full-retirement threshold (6% per year for post-2010 members).

The benefit cap is applied automatically: 75% of FAS for regular members, 90% for police and fire members. The calculator uses the three-year FAS window and shows your estimated annual and monthly gross pension before taxes. The graduated compounding COLA starts at 2% in year 4 and increases to 4% from year 12 onward, providing meaningful long-term inflation protection.

What each input means

Member type (regular or police/fire)

Your member type is determined by your job classification at your PERS-covered employer, not by which government entity employs you. Regular members include teachers, administrative staff, clerks, and most general government workers. Police and fire members include sworn law enforcement officers and firefighters in qualifying positions. If you're unsure which category applies, check your PERS member statement or contact PERS directly.

Hire date

Your original hire date determines which accrual rate and eligibility rules apply. Regular members hired before 7/1/2015 accrue at 2.5% per year. Regular members hired on or after 7/1/2015 accrue at 2.25% per year and have different eligibility thresholds: age 65 with 5 years, age 62 with 10 years, age 55 with 30 years, or 33.3 years at any age. Police and fire members accrue at 2.5% regardless of hire date. The benefit cap is determined by member category, not hire date: 75% of FAS for regular members, 90% for police and fire.

Current age

Your age today. Used to determine whether you meet a full-retirement eligibility threshold (such as age 65 with 5 years, age 60 with 10 years, or 30 years at any age) at your planned retirement date. Also used to check whether the early retirement reduction at age 55 with 5 years applies.

Years of PERS service

Your total creditable service with Nevada PERS. Includes active service in covered positions plus purchased service credit for prior public employment, military service, or approved leaves. Your annual PERS statement lists your confirmed credited service balance. Do not include pending purchases until finalized.

Final Average Salary (3-year)

PERS uses the average of your three highest years of compensation in your last ten years of service. For most members near retirement, this is the last three years of base salary. Compensation generally includes regular base pay and excludes lump-sum leave payouts and most irregular payments. Enter the dollar figure you expect this three-year average to be at retirement.

Planned retirement age

The age at which you plan to start drawing your pension. The calculator checks this against the full-retirement eligibility thresholds for your member type and hire date. If you don't qualify at your planned age, it shows the earliest date you would and the reduced benefit if you retire early at age 55 with at least 5 years of service.

Understanding the outputs

The pension formula is: accrual rate times years of service times FAS, subject to the benefit cap. A regular member with 28 years and a $75,000 FAS gets 0.025 x 28 x $75,000 = $52,500 per year, which is 70% of FAS. That's below the 75% regular cap of $56,250, so the full $52,500 stands. A police/fire member with 25 years and the same FAS gets 0.025 x 25 x $75,000 = $46,875 per year (62.5% of FAS), well below the 90% police/fire cap.

The early retirement reduction is 4% per year before the full-retirement threshold for members hired before 2010, and 6% per year for members hired in 2010 or later. Retiring 3 years early as a pre-2010 member means a permanent 12% reduction.

Nevada PERS provides a graduated, compounding COLA that increases with years retired: no adjustment for years 1 through 3, then 2% for years 4 through 6, 3% for years 7 through 9, 3.5% for years 10 and 11, and 4% from year 12 onward. Because each increase compounds on the already-adjusted benefit, long-retired members see significant purchasing power protection. By year 15, the cumulative effect of the graduated schedule puts the nominal benefit roughly 40% above its starting value.

Nevada PERS members are generally not covered by Social Security. The pension is your primary retirement income from public employment. Factor in any Social Security you may have earned from prior private-sector work separately, and note that the Windfall Elimination Provision was repealed in January 2025 and no longer reduces those benefits.