The Age 55 Retirement Program is a retirement plan option that allows participating Tier II, III, and IV members to retire with unreduced benefits before the age of 62. After making Additional Member Contributions (AMCs) to the pension plan during their career, Program participants may retire with unreduced benefits as early as age 55, provided they meet applicable Total Service Credit requirements. The Age 55 Retirement Program was established for employees of the Department of Education (DOE) or participating Charter Schools only, and it is no longer available for members to opt in. 

Under the “55/25” provisions of the Program, participants may retire as early as age 55 if they have at least 25 years of Total Service Credit as of their retirement date. Under the “55/27” provisions, participants must have at least 27 years of Total Service Credit as of their retirement date. The provisions that apply generally depend on participants' TRS membership date:

• Members whose TRS membership began on or before February 27, 2008 and who opted into the program are covered by the “55/25” provisions.
• Members whose TRS membership began after February 27, 2008 and on or before December 10, 2009 are automatically covered by the “55/27” provisions. (Also, certain members whose TRS membership began on or before February 27, 2008 were eligible to opt into the program under the “55/27” provisions.)
• Members whose TRS membership began after December 10, 2009 and before April 1, 2012 (sometimes known as “Chapter 504” participants) are automatically covered by the “55/27” provisions. Prior to Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2022, participants under Chapter 504 needed 10 years of Total Service Credit to become vested.

Age 55 Retirement Program participants who retire before reaching 25 or 27 years of Total Service Credit (as applicable) may retire with reduced benefits. Those who retire at age 62 or older may be eligible for a refund of half of their AMCs after they retire. 

In general, you will be eligible to receive unreduced retirement allowance payments (full benefits) if one of the following statements applies to you:

• You are at least age 62 as of your retirement date and you are vested^; or
• You are at least age 55 as of your retirement date and have attained at least 30 years of Total Service Credit; or
• You are covered by the “55/25” provisions of the Age 55 Retirement Program, are at least age 55 as of your retirement date, and have attained at least 25 years of Total Service Credit; or
• You are covered by the “55/27” provisions of the Age 55 Retirement Program, are at least age 55 as of your retirement date, and have attained at least 27 years of Total Service Credit.

If none of the statements above applies to you, then you do not qualify for unreduced payments of your retirement allowance. However, as long as you are vested^ and at least age 55, you would be eligible to retire with a reduced retirement allowance.

^Tier III and IV members become vested upon attaining five years of Total Service Credit.
Note: Prior to Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2022, 10 years of Total Service Credit were required for members whose TRS membership began after December 10, 2009, and who were working in a title represented by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).

For more information, please see the What is the Age 55 Retirement Program? FAQ below.

Your monthly service retirement allowance is calculated based on several factors including your tier, your age at retirement, and your qualifying years of service. In general, all members receive a pension based on their service credit and their Final Average Salary (or FAS). In addition, the retirement allowances of Tier I and II members may include a pension based on their Increased-Take-Home Pay (or ITHP) and an annuity based on any funds they have accumulated in excess of their required minimum accumulation. Please refer to your Summary Plan Description for more detailed information. While TRS is unable to provide an estimate of your allowance at this time, you may contact your union in this regard.

If you left your QPP accumulations with TRS and returned to active service before the initial payability date of your retirement allowance, you would be reappointed as an in-service TRS member with all the benefits of your former tier; your additional service credit would count toward your future retirement allowance. However, if you withdrew your QPP accumulations, your TRS membership ended when you made your withdrawal; therefore, if you later returned to active service, you would begin a new TRS membership and become part of the tier in effect when you return to service. Please note that if you return to active service after the initial payability date of your retirement allowance, your retirement allowance would stop, and your active membership would be restored.

When an in-service Tier I member dies before becoming eligible for retirement under the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP), the death benefit would equal the member's Annuity Savings Fund (ASF) balance, Increased-Take-Home-Pay (ITHP) balance, and an amount based on his/her salary and years of Total Service Credit.

The following table shows how the member's Total Service Credit affects the death benefit payable.

Note: The member's salary is the average annual salary in the year immediately before the date of death. It is generally not affected by any approved leaves of absence with or without pay.

If the member was eligible for a service retirement at the time of death, or died within the first 30 days after retiring, the death benefit would be the greater of the amount indicated in the first paragraph above or a benefit based on the reserves that would have been payable under Option I Modified had the member retired on the day before he or she died. (Option I Modified is a retirement payment option that provides a lump-sum benefit to the designated beneficiary based on the member's available pension reserves.)

The regular pension portion of your retirement allowance is calculated based on factors such as your Total Service Credit and Final Average Salary (FAS), as indicated below.

The second portion of your retirement allowance is based on your Annuity Savings Accumulation Fund (ASAF) balance. An ASAF account contains monthly supplemental contributions that the Department of Education provides to certain eligible employees who reach the maximum of their salary schedule. At retirement, any ASAF funds you have are transferred into an Annuity Reserve Accumulation Fund (ARAF), which is paid as part of your retirement allowance.

For more information, please see the I am a Tier VI member, how would my Final Average Salary (FAS) be calculated? FAQ above.

When an in-service Tier I member dies before becoming eligible for retirement under the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP), the death benefit would equal the member's Annuity Savings Fund (ASF) balance, Increased-Take-Home-Pay (ITHP) balance, and an amount based on his/her salary and years of Total Service Credit.

The following table shows how the member's Total Service Credit affects the death benefit payable.

Note: The member's salary is the average annual salary in the year immediately before the date of death. It is generally not affected by any approved leaves of absence with or without pay.

If the member was eligible for a service retirement at the time of death, or died within the first 30 days after retiring, the death benefit would be the greater of the amount indicated in the first paragraph above or a benefit based on the reserves that would have been payable under Option I Modified had the member retired on the day before he or she died. (Option I Modified is a retirement payment option that provides a lump-sum benefit to the designated beneficiary based on the member's available pension reserves.)

DOE/Charter School employees whose TRS membership date is after February 27, 2008: As a participant in the Age 55 Retirement Program, you are initially required to contribute 4.85% of your gross pensionable compensation to the QPP.

If your membership date is after February 27, 2008 and before December 11, 2009, your QPP contributions would be reduced to 1.85% once you have attained 10 years of membership or credited service, and would continue until you have attained 27 years of Total Service Credit. If your membership date is after December 10, 2009, your QPP contributions would be reduced to 1.85% once you have attained 27 years of Total Service Credit, and would continue until you retire.

CUNY employees: You are required to contribute 3% of your gross pensionable compensation to the QPP until you have attained 10 years of membership or credited service.

DOE/Charter School employees who are participating in the Age 55 Retirement Program: If your membership date is before February 28, 2008, you are required to contribute 4.85% of your gross pensionable compensation to the QPP until you have attained 10 years of membership or credited service. Your QPP contributions would then be reduced to 1.85% and would generally continue until you have attained 25 years of Total Service Credit.

DOE/Charter School employees who did not "opt in" to the Age 55 Retirement Program: You are required to contribute 3% of your gross pensionable compensation to the QPP until you have attained 10 years of membership or credited service.

M-C-A-F stands for Member Contributions Accumulation Fund. This account contains a Tier III, IV, or VI member's Qualified Pension Plan (QPP) contributions with interest, and includes any contributions that the member paid to purchase credit for optional service.

The ABS provides members with information about their Total Service Credit, benefits eligibility, and designated beneficiary information; benefit estimates and projections are also provided to certain retirement-eligible members. The ABS was designed to help members better understand this information and its relevance to them as TRS members.