Which Colorado PERA table am I on?

Three questions

1. When did your PERA membership begin? On or after January 1, 2020 is PERA 9. In 2011 through 2016 is PERA 7.
2. Joined in 2017 through 2019? PERA 7 if your most recent 10 years of service are in the School or DPS Divisions. PERA 8 if not.
3. Joined before 2011? It depends on your service on January 1, 2011, and whether you could already retire that day (with a full or a reduced benefit). Could retire: PERA 1, 3 or 5. Couldn't yet: PERA 2, 4 or 6. Joined before 2007 with less than five years on that date: PERA 6.

Your PERA Benefits p. 16, Highest Average Salary Percentages Tables (chart)

The nine tables

"Full benefit" means 2.5% of HAS for each year of service. "Reduced" means a smaller percentage from your table, for life. The salary cap limits how much each year's pay can rise in your HAS.

The HAS raise cap is 15% for membership on or before Dec. 31, 2006 and eligible to retire on Jan. 1, 2011; 8% for membership on or before Dec. 31, 2006 and not eligible to retire on Jan. 1, 2011; 8% for membership on or after Jan. 1, 2007. Your PERA Benefits p. 7

Denver Public Schools

Employees of Denver Public Schools. The Denver Public Schools Retirement System (DPSRS) merged into PERA on January 1, 2010. Members who began with DPS before 2010 may have a DPS benefit structure account; membership with a DPS employer that began on or after January 1, 2010 is under the PERA benefit structure. The School Division covers school districts other than DPS. Your PERA Benefits p. 1, Program Overview; p. 13 (DPSRS merged into PERA Jan. 1, 2010); Survivor Benefits booklet p. 1, Overview

If you have a DPS benefit structure account, its rules differ. In short:

• DPS benefit structure service retirement: members with five years of service credit on Jan. 1, 2011 - age 50 with 30 years, 55 with 25 years (15 earned), or 65 with 5 years; members with less than five years on Jan. 1, 2011 - 35 years at any age, 55 with 30 (20 earned), 60 with 25, or 65 with 5.Your PERA Benefits p. 9, DPS Benefit Structure, Service Retirement Eligibility
• DPS reduced service retirement: with five years on Jan. 1, 2011 - 25 years at any age or 55 with 15; otherwise 50 with 25, 55 with 20, or 60 with 5. With less than five years under the DPS structure only a refund/rollover is available.Your PERA Benefits p. 9, DPS Benefit Structure, Reduced Service Retirement Eligibility
• DPS benefit: the higher of a minimum benefit ($15 a month for each of the first 10 years plus $20 for each additional year, plus a money purchase amount) or 2.5% of HAS per year, with reduced percentages from the DPS 1-4 HAS tables.Your PERA Benefits p. 10, Benefit Calculation
• DPS payment options are A (life, no match on the remaining balance), B (life with a guarantee period), P2 (50% to a cobeneficiary) and P3 (100% to a cobeneficiary).Your PERA Benefits p. 11, DPS Benefit Structure Benefit Options
• DPS benefit structure members get the same AI terms as PERA benefit structure members who joined before 2007 (1.0% in 2026).Annual Increases fact sheet p. 1, AI Overview
• DPS Division employer contribution: 18.40% total (January 2026); the member rate is 11.00%, the same as the School Division.Contribution Rates fact sheet PDF pp. 1-2

We don't model the DPS benefit structure. If your membership with Denver Public Schools began on or after January 1, 2010, you're under the PERA benefit structure and these pages apply.

Not covered by this calculator. Safety Officers (state troopers and others) and Judges have different eligibility, HAS and contribution rules. Your PERA Benefits p. 1; pp. 8-9, Safety Officer Provisions

From the sources

• Colorado school district employees (except Denver Public Schools) are in PERA's School Division. Membership is generally required, and the retirement plan is the PERA Defined Benefit Plan.Your PERA Benefits p. 1, Program Overview; p. 2, Membership and Contributions
• Your benefit rules depend on when your PERA membership started. PERA sorts members into nine tables (PERA 1 through PERA 9) by membership date, by whether you had five years of service on January 1, 2011, and by whether you could retire on that date.Your PERA Benefits p. 16, Highest Average Salary Percentages Tables
• If you joined on or after January 1, 2020, you are on the PERA 9 table. If you joined between 2011 and 2016, you are on PERA 7. If you joined in 2017 through 2019, you are on PERA 7 when your most recent 10 years are in the School or DPS Divisions, and on PERA 8 otherwise.Your PERA Benefits p. 16
• Check with PERAYour PERA account shows which table applies to you. Our calculator works it out from your dates, and when you don't enter your service on January 1, 2011, it estimates that from your membership date.Your PERA Benefits p. 16
• Denver Public Schools employees are in a separate DPS Division. Some have a DPS benefit structure account with different rules. If your DPS membership began on or after January 1, 2010, you are under the PERA benefit structure.Your PERA Benefits p. 1; pp. 9-11; Survivor Benefits booklet p. 1
• Check with PERASchool Division employees don't appear on PERA's list of who can choose the PERA Defined Contribution (DC) Plan. The list covers State employees, community college employees, some classified college and university employees, and Local Government Division employees.DC Plan overview p. 1, PERAChoice
• Where the PERA DC Plan applies, you have 60 days from your hire date to choose it. If you don't choose, you go into the Defined Benefit Plan. DC members always keep 100% of their own contributions. Employer money vests at 50% right away and rises 10% a year to 100% after five years of participation.C.R.S. 24-51-1502(1); DC Plan overview p. 3, Vesting
• School Division members contribute 11% of salary to PERA. Employers contribute 21.40% (as of January 2026). Both rates can rise or fall by up to 0.5% a year under PERA's automatic adjustment provision.Your PERA Benefits p. 2; Contribution Rates fact sheet PDF p. 2; Automatic Adjustment fact sheet p. 1

Questions

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