PERA 1
On or before June 30, 2005
- Age 50 with 30 years
- Age 60 with 20 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 80 from age 55
Colorado specificsShort answer: add your age and years of service; when the total hits your table's number (and you meet its minimum age), the benefit is full: 2.5% of HAS a year. Our PERA 7, Rule of 88 at 64 with 24 years example: $3,600 a month on a $6,000 HAS. Before that, see reduced retirement; your table sets the number. Load that example in the calculator.
How the rule works
Add your age to your years of service credit. When the total reaches your table's number, and you're at least the minimum age, you can retire with a full benefit. You need at least five years of service. C.R.S. 24-51-602(1.5), (1.8); Your PERA Benefits p. 6 (lists 58/30 and 60/28)
Example, PERA 7 (Rule of 88): age 59 with 29 years is 88. PERA's PERA 7 table shows 72.5% at 59 with 29 years, a full benefit (29 × 2.5%). Your PERA Benefits p. 23, PERA 7 Highest Average Salary Percentages for Retirement Benefit Option 1
| Table | Age + service | From age |
|---|---|---|
| PERA 1 | 80 | 55 |
| PERA 2 | 80 | 55 |
| PERA 3 | 80 | 55 |
| PERA 4 | 80 | 55 |
| PERA 5 | 85 | 55 |
| PERA 6 | 85 | 55 |
| PERA 7 | 88 | 58 |
| PERA 8 | 90 | 60 |
| PERA 9 | 94 (adds nothing in practice) | 64 |
Rules in use: Rule of 80, Rule of 85, Rule of 88, Rule of 90. State law gives PERA 9 a Rule of 94 from age 64, but it never comes before 64 with 30 years or 65 with 5 years, so it changes nothing. C.R.S. 24-51-602(1.9); Your PERA Benefits p. 6
Every way to a full benefit, by table
PERA 2
On or before June 30, 2005
- Age 50 with 30 years
- Age 60 with 20 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 80 from age 55
PERA 3
July 1, 2005 - December 31, 2006
- 35 years at any age
- Age 55 with 30 years
- Age 60 with 20 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 80 from age 55
PERA 4
July 1, 2005 - December 31, 2006
- 35 years at any age
- Age 55 with 30 years
- Age 60 with 20 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 80 from age 55
PERA 5
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2010
- 35 years at any age
- Age 55 with 30 years
- Age 60 with 25 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 85 from age 55
PERA 6
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2010 (not eligible on Jan. 1, 2011); or on or before December 31, 2006 with less than five years of service credit on Jan. 1, 2011
- 35 years at any age
- Age 55 with 30 years
- Age 60 with 25 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 85 from age 55
PERA 7
January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2016; or January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2019 with the most recent 10 years of service in the School or DPS Divisions
- 35 years at any age
- Age 58 with 30 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 88 from age 58
PERA 8
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2019, most recent 10 years NOT in the School or DPS Divisions
- 35 years at any age
- Age 60 with 30 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
- Rule of 90 from age 60
PERA 9
On or after January 1, 2020
- 35 years at any age
- Age 64 with 30 years
- Age 65 with 5 years
A worked example
Born January 10, 1971, joined PERA on August 1, 2011 (PERA 7), retiring August 1, 2035 with 64 years 7 months of age and 24 years of service. That's more than 88, so it's a full benefit: 24 × 2.5% = 60% of HAS. On a $6,000 HAS, $3,600.00 a month. (Our example, worked with the engine.)
The booklet's chart and the tables
PERA's booklet lists only fixed age and service pairs, such as 60 with 28 years for PERA 7. State law adds the age-plus-service rules. PERA's own HAS tables show a full benefit in every box those rules reach (we checked every box of PERA 1 to PERA 9), so this is a gap in the chart, not a conflict. We follow state law and the tables. Your PERA Benefits p. 6 and pp. 17-25; C.R.S. 24-51-602
How current the law is Check with PERA
The copy of state law we use includes changes made through 2025. Laws passed in 2026 may have changed some rules.
What we use: We use PERA's 2026 booklets first, and the 2025 law where the booklets are silent.
Colorado PERA Law 2025 (title page)Part years of age Check with PERA
State law adds your age and your years of service, but doesn't say whether part years of age count.
What we use: We use your age in years and months plus your exact service.
C.R.S. 24-51-602A birthday in your retirement month Check with PERA
PERA's sources don't say exactly how a birthday that falls in your retirement month counts.
What we use: We count the age you reach by the last day of your retirement month, both for eligibility and for the column of the table.
Retirement Process p. 4, Effective Date of RetirementFrom the sources
- If you joined on or after January 1, 2020, you can retire with full benefits at any age with 35 years of service, at 64 with 30 years, or at 65 with at least 5 years.Your PERA Benefits p. 6; C.R.S. 24-51-602(1.9)
- If you joined in 2011 through 2016 (or in 2017 through 2019 with your most recent 10 years in the School or DPS Divisions): full benefits with 35 years at any age, at 58 with 30 years, at 65 with 5 years, or from age 58 when your age plus service adds up to 88 (Rule of 88).C.R.S. 24-51-602(1.5), (1.8); Your PERA Benefits p. 23, PERA 7 table
- If you joined in 2017 through 2019 and your most recent 10 years were not in the School or DPS Divisions: full benefits with 35 years at any age, at 60 with 30 years, at 65 with 5 years, or from age 60 under the Rule of 90.C.R.S. 24-51-602(1.7); Your PERA Benefits p. 24, PERA 8 table
- If you joined in 2007 through 2010, or joined earlier but had less than five years of service on January 1, 2011: full benefits with 35 years at any age, at 55 with 30 years, at 60 with 25 years, at 65 with 5 years, or from age 55 under the Rule of 85.C.R.S. 24-51-602(1)(a.7), (1)(d); Your PERA Benefits p. 6
- If you joined before July 1, 2005 and had five years of service on January 1, 2011: full benefits at 50 with 30 years, at 60 with 20 years, at 65 with 5 years, or from age 55 under the Rule of 80. If you joined from July 1, 2005 through 2006 with five years by 2011, 35 years at any age also qualifies, and the 50-with-30 rule becomes 55 with 30.C.R.S. 24-51-602(1)(a), (a.5), (c); Your PERA Benefits p. 6
- PERA's eligibility charts list only fixed age and service pairs. The age-plus-service rules (80, 85, 88, 90) come from state law, and PERA's own benefit tables show full benefits wherever those rules apply. For example, the PERA 7 table pays the full 72.5% at age 59 with 29 years.Your PERA Benefits p. 6; p. 23, PERA 7 table; C.R.S. 24-51-602
- Your retirement takes effect on the 1st of the month after your last day on the job or your termination date, whichever is later. If you left PERA work earlier, it can take effect on the 1st of the month in which you meet the age and service requirement.Retirement Process p. 4, Effective Date of Retirement
- Check with PERAOur calculator counts a birthday that falls in your retirement month toward eligibility.Retirement Process p. 4
Questions
What is the Rule of 80, 85, 88 or 90 in Colorado PERA?
You can retire with a full benefit once your age plus your years of service add up to the number, as long as you've reached your table's minimum age and have at least five years of service. Which number applies depends on when you joined PERA.
Is there a minimum age?
Yes. The Rule of 80 and the Rule of 85 start at age 55. The Rule of 88 starts at 58 and the Rule of 90 at 60.
Why doesn't PERA's booklet list the Rule of 88?
The booklet's eligibility chart lists only fixed age and service pairs, like 60 with 28 years. State law adds the age-plus-service rules, and PERA's own HAS tables show full benefits in exactly those boxes.
Source: Your PERA Benefits: A Summary of the Colorado PERA Defined Benefit Plan, Revised April 2026, pp. 6, 17-25, 23, 24. Also: C.R.S. 24-51-602; Retirement Process p. 4. Last reviewed .