Eligibility for Retirement
You are eligible to retire ‘penalty free’ under the following conditions:
- Completion of 30 years of creditable service – regardless of your age; or
- Completion of 10 years of creditable service, and be age 60 or older.
If you have an active TRS account, you may retire after completion of at least 25 years of service and be less than age 60, but your retirement benefit will be subject to an early retirement penalty. The penalty is determined by whichever is less:
- How close you are to age 60, or
- How close you are to having 30 years of service.
Specifically, if you retire early, your monthly benefit will be permanently reduced by the lesser of one-twelfth of 7% for each month you are below age 60, OR 7% for each year or fraction of a year by which you have less than 30 years of creditable service. A TRS representative can fully explain the penalty calculation to you.
Please note, Georgia law does allow you to purchase, at full actuarial cost, up to 3 years of service. Therefore, you do have the option of purchasing service, up to a maximum of 3 years, to eliminate or reduce the early retirement penalty. Again, a TRS representative can explain this option, and the cost, with you. The service you will purchase is referred to as ‘Air Time’ and additional information can be found by clicking the link to the right.