Thank you for visiting MOSERS online. My name is Jamie Mullen, and I am a Benefits Technician here at MOSERS. In this video, we will identify the first step in becoming eligible to receive a retirement benefit from MOSERS, discuss some basic features of the MOSERS retirement plan, and find out how your retirement is funded.

Do you qualify for a retirement benefit from MOSERS? You will if you are vested. Vesting essentially means that you are guaranteed a future lifetime retirement benefit when you meet the age and service requirements. The vesting requirement is established by the state legislature. Currently, as a general state employee, you become a vested member of MOSERS when you have earned five years of service credit.

Service credit is earned by working in a benefit-eligible position. As a member of MOSERS, you earn one day of service credit for each day of work. The accrual of service credit stops when you leave state employment. However, once you become vested, you will always be vested. As a vested member of MOSERS you will be eligible for a retirement benefit at some future date, regardless of any change in job status.

As a vested member, if you later return to work, your prior service will be immediately reinstated. If you leave state employment and ARE NOT vested, you will forfeit your accrued service credit and will not be eligible for a future retirement benefit. If you then later return to work, you must remain continuously employed for one year before your prior service can be reinstated.

Now that you understand how you become a vested member of the retirement plan, you may want to know more about your plan. MOSERS administers your retirement program as a Defined Benefit Plan. This means that your retirement benefit is based on a predetermined formula established by law. This formula takes into account your Final Average Salary, your total Service Credit, and a Multiplier. Being a member of a Defined Benefit Plan also means that your benefit is guaranteed to you once you meet the age and service requirements for retirement.

A Defined Benefit Plan is designed to provide you with a monthly retirement benefit for life. Since the benefit is paid for your lifetime, the longer you live, the greater the eventual payout you will receive from the retirement system.

There are other advantages of MOSERS Defined Benefit Plan. You do not bear the risk of investing for retirement yourself. You will automatically receive an increase in your benefit amount each year based on Cost-of-Living Adjustments or COLAs. You will also have the option of passing on some (or all) of your retirement benefit to your spouse after your death. You must complete the retirement application process and terminate employment before you can begin to receive retirement payment from MOSERS. Remember, you cannot outlive your retirement benefit under this type of plan.

The MOSERS retirement plan is an employer-sponsored plan. Your employer makes a monthly contribution to the MOSERS Trust Fund to pay for your retirement. Each year, the MOSERS Board of Trustees establishes a contribution rate as a percentage of the state’s payroll. The rate is set at a level that will cover the cost of paying for all of the plan’s benefits (both now and in the future) and administrative costs. Investment earnings made on those contributions are also used to help fund your retirement. So there is absolutely no cost to you as a member of the retirement plan! This is unlike many other public employee retirement plans across the nation, where employee contributions are common, and the average employee contributes approximately 5% of pay. By national standards, MOSERS is funded at a very healthy level for a public pension fund.

In addition to its funding level, the MOSERS retirement system is considered very stable. In the years since its inception in 1957, MOSERS has consistently been recognized as a leader in the field of public pension funds and retirement systems.

So let’s review what we just discussed: you become vested when you earn five years of service credit. This is your first step toward retirement! Once you are vested, you are then eligible to receive a retirement benefit at some future date when you meet the age and service requirements. MOSERS is a Defined Benefit Plan so you are guaranteed a lifetime retirement benefit. MOSERS is also an employer-sponsored plan. It is paid for entirely by state contributions and the investment earnings on those contributions.

We hope you find this information helpful. For additional information regarding your MOSERS benefits, we encourage you to explore our website. In addition to videos, the MOSERS website contains other benefit information, such as forms, handbooks and brochures, and provides secure access to your personal data through our Member Login.

Thank you