Wyoming WRS Pension Calculator
Estimate your Wyoming Retirement System Public Employee pension. Pick your tier, enter your service, highest average salary and retirement age, and see the monthly benefit and any early retirement cut.
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The formula
Tier 1 members, whose first contribution was before September 1, 2012, earn 2.125% of highest average salary for each of their first 15 years and 2.25% for every year after that. Tier 2 members earn a flat 2%. HAS is the highest 36 continuous months for Tier 1 and 60 for Tier 2.
Thirty years on a $60,000 HAS pays a Tier 1 member (15 x 2.125% + 15 x 2.25%) x $60,000 = $39,375 a year. A Tier 2 member with the same numbers gets $36,000.
Full retirement and the Rule of 85
You vest after 48 months of service. Tier 1 retires with a full benefit at 60 once vested, Tier 2 at 65. Either tier can go earlier with a full benefit when age plus WRS service reaches 85. A 55-year-old with 30 years qualifies.
Early retirement
Tier 1 can retire reduced at 50 and Tier 2 at 55, once vested. Anyone with 25 years can retire reduced at any age. The cut is 5% for each year below 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2), prorated by the month, and it lasts for life.
A Tier 2 member at 58 with 22 years has 80 points, short of 85, and is 7 years below 65: a 35% cut. Working two and a half more years reaches the Rule of 85 and removes it.
COLAs
WRS raises come from the Legislature, and statute bars one unless projections show the plan staying above 100% funded afterward. The self-funded COLA is the alternative you control: take a starting benefit 1%, 2% or 3% lower and get a guaranteed increase each July 1 following your second retirement anniversary.
What this calculator leaves out
It shows the Option 1 single-life benefit with no self-funded COLA. It assumes you work full time until your retirement age. It covers the Public Employee Pension Plan only, not the Law Enforcement, State Patrol, Warden and Criminal Investigator, Judicial or firefighter plans. Members who started before July 1, 1981 may get a higher money-purchase calculation that isn't modeled.
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Frequently asked questions
How is a Wyoming WRS pension calculated?
Tier 1 members get 2.125% of highest average salary for each of their first 15 years and 2.25% for each year after. Tier 2 members get 2% a year. A Tier 1 member with 25 years and a $60,000 HAS gets (15 x 2.125% + 10 x 2.25%) x $60,000 = $32,625 a year.
Which tier am I in?
Tier 1 if your first contribution to WRS was before September 1, 2012. Tier 2 if it was on or after that date.
When can I retire with a full benefit?
Tier 1: age 60 once you have 48 months of service. Tier 2: age 65 once vested. Either tier: the Rule of 85, when age plus WRS service reaches 85.
How much is the early retirement reduction?
5% for each year you are below 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2), prorated by the month, unless you meet the Rule of 85. A Tier 1 member retiring at 55 with 20 years loses 25%. A Tier 2 member at 60 with 20 years also loses 25%.
When can I retire early?
Tier 1 at 50 once vested, Tier 2 at 55 once vested, or either tier at any age with 25 years of service.
Does WRS have a COLA?
Not an automatic one. The Legislature decides, and statute requires actuarial projections showing the plan would stay above 100% funded after the increase. At retirement you can choose a self-funded COLA, which lowers your starting benefit by 1%, 2% or 3% in exchange for a guaranteed yearly increase starting July 1 after your second retirement anniversary.