Alaska Pension Calculator
Alaska Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) covers state and local government employees who first entered PERS before July 1, 2006 (later hires are in the PERS Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; teachers use TRS). This page explains the benefit formula, lump sum options, and how to calculate your estimated pension.
Official system website: drb.alaska.gov
Avg. monthly benefit
$2,421
Vesting period
5 years
Lump sum option
Not available
Alaska Public Employees Retirement System: How the pension works
Benefit formula
2% x AMS for the first 10 years of service, 2.25% for years 10-20 and 2.5% beyond 20. AMS is the 3 highest consecutive payroll years for Tiers I and II and the 5 highest for Tier III (hired July 1, 1996 to June 30, 2006). Peace officers and firefighters get 2% for 10 years and 2.5% after, on the 3 highest years
The formula above reflects the base structure. Actual benefits depend on your membership tier, bargaining unit, hire date, and whether any additional credits apply. Members hired after benefit restructuring (which happened in most states between 2008 and 2014) are often in less generous tiers than longer-tenured employees.
If you're unsure which tier you're in, your annual benefit statement from PERS will show your projected benefit and current accrued amount. Compare those figures to the formula to back into your effective multiplier.
Covered employees
Alaska Public Employees Retirement System covers state and local government employees who first entered PERS before July 1, 2006 (later hires are in the PERS Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; teachers use TRS). If you're an Alaska public employee and aren't sure whether you're in PERS or a separate retirement system (teachers, police, fire, and judges sometimes have different plans), check your pay stub: if a pension contribution is being deducted and forwarded to PERS, you're in this system.
Vesting and early separation
You need 5 years of creditable service to vest. Before vesting, leaving public employment generally gets you back only your own employee contributions, if your plan required any. Once vested, you're entitled to a future pension benefit even if you leave before reaching retirement age, though you may need to wait until a specific age to start receiving payments.
Leaving before vesting and taking the contribution refund is usually a mistake unless you have a specific cash need. That money grew tax-deferred, and forfeiting the pension benefit means you gave up the employer-funded portion entirely. If you're close to the vesting date, staying is almost always worth it.
Lump sum option
The PERS DB plan pays a monthly pension with no lump sum option. Members earn 4.5% interest on their own contributions and can request a refund of that account after leaving, but a vested member must leave the contributions in PERS to keep the pension. Employer contributions aren't part of the refundable account. The DB plan closed to new members on July 1, 2006; later hires are in the defined contribution plan.
Since PERS doesn't pay a lump sum, the choices that move your numbers are when you retire and which survivor option you pick. The calculator below puts a present value on your estimated monthly benefit, in today's dollars.
What the present value calculation tells you
PERS won't pay this amount out, but the present value still does three jobs. It lets you compare the pension with alternatives, such as leaving for a private-sector job with a 401(k). It shows what a refund of contributions would cost you once you're vested. And it puts a number on the retirement income you've built, which feeds Social Security timing and IRA drawdown decisions.
The IRS 417(e) formula uses three segment rates to discount future pension payments back to today. At current rates (4.07%, 5.15%, 6.01% for 2026), a $2,500/month pension starting at 65 is worth about $369,000 as a single sum under the IRS 2026 mortality table. Public plans don't have to offer that amount, and most don't offer a lump sum at all.
Coordinating your PERS pension with Social Security
Social Security coverage depends on the position. Some state and local government jobs are outside Social Security, and those jobs don't earn Social Security benefits. Check your pay stub: if no Social Security (OASDI) tax is withheld, that job probably isn't covered. Medicare tax on its own doesn't mean the job is covered.
If you have private-sector work history where you did pay into Social Security, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) previously reduced Social Security benefits for workers with government pensions. Both were repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, signed January 5, 2025, effective for benefits payable after December 2023. SSA finished paying the retroactive amounts in 2025. If you think yours is missing, contact SSA.
If your public employment included Social Security contributions, which varies by state and by position, then Social Security timing still matters, and the break-even analysis is worth running separately. The Social Security break-even calculator on this site handles that calculation.
Disclaimer: This page reflects publicly available information about Alaska Public Employees Retirement System. Benefit formulas, vesting rules, and lump sum options change periodically through legislation and collective bargaining. Verify all details at drb.alaska.gov or by contacting PERS directly.
Frequently asked questions
How is a PERS pension calculated?
Alaska Public Employees Retirement System uses this formula: 2% x AMS for the first 10 years of service, 2.25% for years 10-20 and 2.5% beyond 20. AMS is the 3 highest consecutive payroll years for Tiers I and II and the 5 highest for Tier III (hired July 1, 1996 to June 30, 2006). Peace officers and firefighters get 2% for 10 years and 2.5% after, on the 3 highest years. The average PERS retiree receives about $2,421 per month, though amounts vary widely based on salary and years of service.
How many years do I need to vest in PERS?
You need 5 years of creditable service to vest in Alaska Public Employees Retirement System. Before that point, leaving means you're entitled only to your own contributions back, with no pension benefit.
Does PERS offer a lump sum?
The PERS DB plan pays a monthly pension with no lump sum option. Members earn 4.5% interest on their own contributions and can request a refund of that account after leaving, but a vested member must leave the contributions in PERS to keep the pension. Employer contributions aren't part of the refundable account. The DB plan closed to new members on July 1, 2006; later hires are in the defined contribution plan.
Can I withdraw my PERS contributions if I leave?
Before vesting, you can typically withdraw your employee contributions if you separate from Alaska public employment. This forfeits any future pension benefit. After vesting, you can still withdraw contributions in some plans, but doing so usually means giving up the pension rights you've earned.
Where can I find my PERS benefit estimate?
Log in to the member portal at drb.alaska.gov. Most systems offer online calculators and annual statements showing your current accrued benefit and projections at various retirement ages. You can also call PERS directly for a personalized benefit estimate.