Vermont VSERS Retirement Calculator: How to Use It
Group F pays 1 2/3% of your AFC for each year. Your join date decides the cap, the retirement age and how hard early retirement bites.
What this calculator does
It computes the Group F maximum-option benefit from 3 V.S.A. § 459, checks normal retirement under § 455 (62 or 30 years for Group F; 65 or the Rule of 87 for F*), and applies the statutory early reduction. It explains the § 470 COLA but doesn't project it, since it follows the CPI. Groups A, C, D and G, survivor options and disability aren't modeled.
What each input means
Group F membership
Before or after July 1, 2008, by the date you first joined VSERS.
Years of service so far
Creditable service today. The calculator adds the years until your planned retirement age.
Service before Jan. 1, 1991 (Group F only)
Those years earn 1.25% of AFC.
Average final compensation
Your highest 3 consecutive fiscal years, or your last 36 months if higher.
Planned retirement age
If you leave before 55 and before normal retirement, the calculator shows the unreduced benefit at the age you could take it.
Understanding the outputs
Group F*, 25 years, $68,000 AFC, age 62: 62 + 25 = 87, so it's unreduced at 25/60 x $68,000 = $28,333 a year. The same member at 60 with 23 years has 83 points: early retirement with 5/12% a month for 60 months, a 25% cut, from $26,067 to $19,550.
Group F, 30 years, age 55: 30 years means normal retirement at any age, and the benefit is the 50% cap.
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Frequently asked questions
Am I Group F or Group F*?
Group F if you first joined VSERS before July 1, 2008. Group F* if you joined on or after that date. F* has a 60% cap and the Rule of 87; Group F has a 50% cap and unreduced retirement at 62 or 30 years.
Does the multiplier go up after 20 years?
No. Group F earns 1 2/3% of AFC for every year (1.25% for service before 1991). The benefit grows in a straight line until it hits the cap.
How does the Rule of 87 work?
For Group F* members, age plus years of service. At 87 points you can retire with no reduction, even before 65.
Is the COLA limited to the first $24,000 of my benefit?
No. The VSERS COLA applies to the whole benefit. It follows the Northeast CPI-U, capped at 5% (with a 1% floor) for members first eligible for normal retirement by June 30, 2022, and at 4% for members first eligible later.
Do early retirees get the COLA?
Not until they reach normal retirement age, under 3 V.S.A. § 470(c)(4).