Congratulations on your upcoming retirement!

It is unclear from your comment if you have notified your human resources (HR) office. If you are actively employed with a state agency when you apply for retirement and if you have not already done so, please check with your HR office and follow your employer’s termination process. The termination process with your employer is separate from applying for benefits with MOSERS. Your HR office is the one who can tell you if you need to notify your supervisor or regional office. You will also want to make arrangements with HR to have any unused annual leave and/or comp time paid out to you.

See the Ready to Retire page on our website for additional tips on the MOSERS process.

Keep in mind that there are other benefit providers, including your medical insurance provider, that you may need to coordinate with as you move through the retirement process. See the Destination Retirement brochure for helpful checklists with various benefit providers.

If you are a vested member of MSEP, MSEP 2000, or MSEP 2011 and leave state employment before you are eligible to retire, your pension stays secure with MOSERS and will be available to you when you meet the age requirement for your plan and complete the retirement process. Retirees receive a lifetime payment based on a.) a formula set by law and b.)  the option they elect at retirement. See Leaving State Employment for more information.

If you return to work for the state at a later date, you will start earning service credit immediately and will be eligible to retire once you meet the following requirements based on your plan:

MSEP Normal Retirement Eligibility (Full/Unreduced Benefit)

• Age 65 with 5 years of service or
• Age 60 with 15 years of service or
• At least age 48 with the sum of your age and years of service equaling 80 or more (Rule of 80)

MSEP 2000 Normal Retirement Eligibility (Full/Unreduced Benefit)

• Age 62 with 5 years of service or
• At least age 48 with the sum of your age and years of service equaling 80 or more (Rule of 80)

MSEP 2011 Normal Retirement Eligibility (Full/Unreduced Benefit)

• Age 67 with 5 years of service or
• At least age 55 with the sum of your age and years of service equaling 90 or more (Rule of 90)

Please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor. They can review your individual circumstances and tell you specifically when you will be eligible to retire based on different scenarios.

• The guaranteed payment options allow you to name anyone as your beneficiary(ies) (does not have to be your spouse).
• Your retirement benefit will be reduced, and if you should pass before all the guaranteed payments have been made, any remaining payments will go to your beneficiary(ies).
• You must name a beneficiary or beneficiaries (person, trust, corporation, organization, charity, or your estate) to receive any remaining guaranteed payments.

No survivor payments will be paid if you have received all payments in the guaranteed period (other than the final payment).

There must be one entire month between the date we receive your application and your retirement date. Using your example, if your retirement date is October 1, your Retirement Application is due no later than August 31 and your Retirement Election Form is due no later than September 30. You can submit your retirement application as early as 4 months (120 days) prior to your retirement date.

Visit our Ready to Retire page to view the table showing all due dates. You can also find the due dates on p. 6 of the Retirement Guide along with step-by-step instructions for the retirement process. We also encourage you to participate in a Ready to Retire Webinar or Seminar. 

Yes, you may postpone your retirement.

If you have already submitted a Retirement Application and decide to postpone your retirement date, you must send a written notice to MOSERS. We must receive your written notice prior to issuing your first benefit payment (ideally by mid-February in the situation described). Once your first benefit payment has been mailed or electronically transferred by MOSERS, your retirement election is irrevocable and cannot be changed. You may submit this request on paper or by email to mosers@mosers.org  from an email address we already have on file for you.

Your new retirement date must be the first of the month and within 120 days of the date of your application. If you choose a date that is more than 120 days from the date of your application, you must complete a new application.

Example: If you filed your application on January 6 for a March 1 retirement date, you may postpone until April 1 or May 1 since those dates are within 120 days of January 6. If you decide to postpone your retirement until June 1 or later, you must submit a new application since June 1 is more than 120 days from January 6. 

To establish your eligibility for retirement, you must submit an acceptable proof-of-age and lawful presence document with your retirement application. You can submit one of the following documents:

• U.S. Birth Certificate (certified with embossed or raised seal issued by state or local government)

OR a photocopy of one of the following:

• Valid Missouri Driver’s License or Missouri Nondriver ID

• U.S. Passport (current or expired)

• U.S. Certificate of Citizenship

• U.S. Certificate of Naturalization

• U.S. Certificate of Birth Abroad

You can mail in or drop off your birth certificate and we will return it.

To upload any of the other documents, log in to myMOSERS. Once you are logged in, click Online Documents and then Document Upload.

Once you upload a document, our staff must process it. Please allow 1-2 business days for it to show as complete in our system.

There must be one entire month between the date we receive your application and your retirement date. For example, if your retirement date is March 1, your Retirement Application is due no later than January 31 and your Retirement Election Form is due no later than February 28. You can submit your retirement application as early as 4 months (120 days) prior to your retirement date.

Visit our Ready to Retire page to view the table showing all due dates. You can also find the due dates on p. 6 of the Retirement Guide along with step-by-step instructions for the retirement process. We also encourage you to participate in a Ready to Retire Webinar or Seminar. 

This is a great question. Below is a breakdown of the benefit formula.

If you are a general state employee (including college and university employees), when you apply for retirement, your monthly base benefit* is calculated using a formula, as defined by law, that takes into account the following factors:

• Final Average Pay (FAP) – The average of your highest 36 consecutive months of compensation
• Multiplier – The multiplier established by the legislature (1.6% or 0.016 for MSEP; 1.7% or 0.017 for MSEP 2000 and MSEP 2011)
• Credited Service – Your years and months of credited service earned, purchased, or transferred, and unused sick leave (if applicable)

* Base benefit is the amount before any reductions, taxes, or other deductions.

Examples - Using the multiplier for MSEP 2000 or MSEP 2011 retirees:

$3,000 (FAP)   x   0.017 (Multiplier) 15 years (Credited Service)   =   $765 monthly base benefit

$3,500 (FAP)   x   0.017 (Multiplier) 17.5 years (Credited Service)   =   $1,041.25 monthly base benefit

$4,000 (FAP)   x   0.017 (Multiplier) 30 years (Credited Service)   =   $2,040 monthly base benefit

$_____ (FAP)   x   ____ (Multiplier) x ____ years (Credited Service) = $_______ monthly base benefit

There is also the Temporary Benefit, which is available if you retire under the "Rule of 80" (MSEP 2000) or the "Rule of 90" (MSEP 2011), and it provides you with an additional benefit until age 62 along with your base benefit. The formula for the Temporary Benefit is: Final Average Pay (FAP) x .008 (Multiplier) x Credited Service. At age 62, it ends but your base benefit continues.

You can log in to myMOSERS to generate a benefit estimate or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor. 

Since you are only two years from retirement, we encourage you to attend a Ready to Retire session to learn about the process. Registration is now open for 2022 sessions. Log in to myMOSERS to sign up. You can also contact a MOSERS benefit counselor to make a 1-on-1 appointment. Check out our Ready to Retire page and the Retirement Guide for more information.  

When you log in to myMOSERS to generate a benefit estimate or to retire online, our system will display your “Next Available Retirement Date(s)”. This may be a future date, even if you were already eligible for retirement. This is because there is a deadline for getting your retirement application in. If you don’t submit an application by the deadline for a given month, the system automatically rolls forward to your NEXT available retirement date.

For example, if you were initially eligible to retire on January 1 but didn’t apply, then you logged in to myMOSERS, in February, you would see a retirement date of April 1. Again, the reason for this is to retire on April 1, you need to apply by February 28. See the chart showing deadlines on our Ready to Retire page. You may apply for retirement up to 120 days prior to your retirement date. Please see the Retirement Guide or contact us if you have any questions about the retirement process.