This page explains the TRS of Kentucky calculator. The rules it uses are explained in plain English on the benefit formula, early retirement and account type pages.
- 1
Find your account type
From the date you first entered TRS of Kentucky: TRS 1, TRS 2, TRS 3 or TRS 4. You also tell us whether you work for a school district or agency or for a university.
TRS Basics 1-3 p. 1, TRS Account Types; TRS Basics 4 p. 1 - 2
Project your service
We add the time from today to your retirement date to the service you enter, one month of credit per month. Sick-leave credit you enter is added to the formula service only. The work-longer comparison adds a year of service for each year.
KRS 161.623(2), (8); TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1; TRS 4 SPD p. 17, Sick leave - 3
Check the retirement rules
Your age on the 1st of the month (TRS of Kentucky counts an age as reached on the 1st of the month after your birthday) and your service, against your account type's unreduced rules, then its early rule.
KRS 161.600(1)(a), (c); TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, Service Retirement Eligibility; KRS 161.600(2)(a)-(c); TRS 4 SPD p. 13, Service retirement eligibility; TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1; TRS 4 SPD p. 13, Service retirement eligibility; TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 34; TRS 4 SPD p. 16, Applying for retirement - 4
Pick the multiplier
TRS 1-3: the step your total service falls in applies to every year up to 30; years over 30 use 3% (school districts); TRS 1 service before July 1983 uses 2%. TRS 4: the age factor at your retirement age plus the career factor for your service.
KRS 161.620(1)(d)1.; TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2, Multipliers; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 55, New Retirement Factors; KRS 161.620(1)(f); TRS 4 SPD p. 8, Multiplier; TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, Multipliers - 5
Apply the formula
Service × multiplier × final average salary (your three-highest average if you're 55 or older with 27 years and enter it). Then the $440-a-year minimum for TRS 1 and TRS 2, the early cut, and the cap at the greater of your last salary or your final average salary.
TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, How to Calculate Retirement; TRS 4 SPD p. 7, Calculating foundational benefit annuity; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) pp. 38-39, Annuity Estimate; KRS 161.220(9); TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1; TRS 4 SPD p. 8; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) pp. 38-39; KRS 161.620(3); TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 41, Minimum Value of a Year of Service; KRS 161.620(1)(h); TRS 4 SPD p. 18, Benefit limit; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 39, Step 2 note - 6
Add the dates and health
Earliest and unreduced dates, the first July 1 COLA (prorated), and whether you meet the 5- or 15-year retiree health rule, with the 2026 Medicare plan cost.
KRS 161.620(2); TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 41, Cost of Living Adjustments; TRS 4 SPD p. 19; KRS 161.675(2)(b); 2027 KEHP rate chart p. 1, Time-Specific adjustments; 2026 Turning 65 booklet p. 4
What the calculator doesn't cover
- Your final average salary. We use the number you enter; TRS of Kentucky figures it from your records, including the limit on raises in your last years.
- Option II to Option V amounts. TRS of Kentucky doesn't publish the factors.
- The TRS 4 supplemental benefit account. Its balance depends on contributions and interest credits.
- Your under-65 KEHP premium, disability retirement, reciprocity benefits from other Kentucky systems, and the cost of buying service.
- Kentucky and federal income tax, and the split of your benefit between service before and after 1998.
- Future changes to TRS 4 under the board's risk controls, and ad hoc COLAs.
- University optional retirement plans and the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority systems.
How we check the math
The calculator runs on a small engine that reads every rule from one data file, with a source for each. Automated tests check it against every worked example in TRS of Kentucky's publications and both multiplier charts, plus the edges of each rule (birthdays, the 2002, 2008 and 2022 entry dates, each multiplier step, the 30-year line, the early-cut caps, the COLA proration). The tests run every time the site is built.
| Example | Source shows | Our engine | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRS 4, age 65, 5 years, $40,000 (a year) | $3,800 | $3,800 | TRS 4 SPD p. 8, Calculating foundational benefit annuity Match |
| TRS 4, age 65, 5 years (a month) | $316.67 | $316.67 | TRS 4 SPD p. 8, Calculating foundational benefit annuity Match |
| TRS 4, age 57, 30 years, $60,000 (a year) | $39,600 | $39,600 | TRS 4 SPD p. 8, Calculating foundational benefit annuity Match |
| TRS 4, age 57, 30 years (a month) | $3,300.00 | $3,300.00 | TRS 4 SPD p. 8, Calculating foundational benefit annuity Match |
| TRS 4 early cut, age 57 with 10 years | 18% | 18% | TRS 4 SPD p. 13 Match |
| TRS 4 early cut, age 58 with 11 years | 12% | 12% | TRS 4 SPD p. 13 Match |
| TRS 4 early cut, age 58 with 29 years | 6% | 6% | TRS 4 SPD p. 13 Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 4 school district, age 61, 10 years | 1.74% | 1.74% | TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 4 school district, age 63, 20 years | 2.07% | 2.07% | TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 4 school district, age 65, 30 years | 2.4% | 2.4% | TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 4 university, age 62, 30 years | 1.28% | 1.28% | TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 2 school district, 9 years | 2% | 2% | TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 3 school district, 26 years | 2.3% | 2.3% | TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 3 school district, 27 years | 2.5% | 2.5% | TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 3 university, 26.99 years | 1.85% | 1.85% | TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2, Multipliers Match |
| Multiplier: TRS 3 university, 27 years | 2% | 2% | TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2, Multipliers Match |
Things to check with TRS of Kentucky
The sources don't settle these points. Each is labeled "Check with TRS of Kentucky" where it shows up on the site.
TRS of Kentucky's examples of the early-retirement cut use whole years only (5% or 6% for each year). The sources don't say what happens with part of a year.
We prorate by month: age 57 and 6 months counts as 2.5 years under 60.
KRS 161.600(1)(b), (2)(d); TRS 4 SPD p. 13TRS of Kentucky says you reach an age on the first of the month after your birthday. It doesn't say what happens if your birthday is on the 1st.
We follow the rule as written: born March 1, you reach the age on April 1.
TRS 4 SPD p. 13; TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1The 3% rate for years over 30 (TRS 1, 2 and 3, school districts and agencies) is approved by the TRS of Kentucky board, which can limit what kinds of service qualify. Those limits aren't in the sources.
We apply 3% to every year over 30.
KRS 161.620(1)(c), (d)2.; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 39Sick-leave service credit counts in the formula but not toward eligibility. The sources don't say whether it can move you into a higher multiplier step (for example past 26 or 30 years).
We use the formula service you enter (including sick leave) to pick the multiplier step.
TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1; KRS 161.623(2)The law says the TRS 4 age factor rises "incrementally each month" after 60, but TRS of Kentucky's chart only shows whole ages (1.74% at 61).
We add 0.04% / 12 for each full month past 60, so 61 and 6 months = 1.76%.
KRS 161.620(1)(f)1.; TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1TRS 1 service before July 1, 1983 is valued at 2%, and years over 30 at 3%. No example shows both together.
We count pre-1983 years at 2%, the years over 30 at 3%, and the rest at 2.5%.
TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2; KRS 161.620(1)(a), (c)TRS of Kentucky doesn't publish the factors for Options II to V. They depend on your age and your beneficiary's age.
We show the Option I amount only. Ask TRS of Kentucky (or use Pathway) for the other options.
TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 37; TRS 4 SPD pp. 14-15What TRS of Kentucky pays toward an under-65 retiree's KEHP premium depends on your years and entry date. The current dollar charts didn't extract cleanly, and the percentages in the 2011 SPD are old.
We show the 15-year rule and the 2026 Medicare plan costs, but not your under-65 KEHP premium.
2027 KEHP rate chart p. 2; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 58We found the 2026 Medicare Eligible Health Plan costs but not 2027's.
We show the 2026 table and label it 2026.
2026 Turning 65 booklet p. 4The TRS 1-3 Summary Plan Description is from 2011. It's still the one TRS of Kentucky links, but the law has changed since.
We use it only where the current law or newer bulletins agree, and cite the law.
TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) p. 1Your actual service credit depends on your contract days (at most one year per fiscal year).
We add one year of service for each year from today to your retirement date.
TRS 4 SPD p. 7Kentucky's pension income exclusion is $31,110 for tax years since 2018. Tax law can change each year.
We show $31,110. Check the Kentucky Form 740 instructions for the year you file.
KRS 141.019(1)(g)1.b.; TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin p. 2The retiree health rules count years of service. The sources don't say whether sick-leave service credit counts toward the 15-year (or 5-year) rule.
We count your Kentucky service without sick-leave credit.
KRS 161.675(2)(a)-(b); TRS 4 SPD p. 17Where sources disagreed
- University contribution rate for members before Jan. 1, 2022. TRS Basics 1-3 (Dec. 2021), p. 1: 8.185% KRS 161.540(1)(b), effective June 27, 2025: 10.4% (7.625% pension + 2.775% health) What we do: The bulletin predates the 2025 amendment, so the current statute is shown. Not used in any calculation.
- WEP / GPO. TRS 4 SPD (Jan. 2022), p. 6 says WEP and GPO reduce Social Security benefits. TRS web page (Nov. 2026) says both were repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act (Jan. 5, 2025). What we do: Follow the newer TRS web page; the SPD predates the repeal.
- Number of tiers. TRS publications use four account types: TRS 1 (before July 1, 2002), TRS 2 (July 1, 2002-June 30, 2008), TRS 3 (July 1, 2008-Dec. 31, 2021), TRS 4 (Jan. 1, 2022 on). Same dates in KRS 161.620(1)(a)-(g) and 161.600. What we do: Our task brief described three groups and called the 2022 plan 'Tier 3'; TRS calls it TRS 4, and TRS 1 and TRS 2 differ (2% for under 10 years in TRS 2; health subsidy). Four account types are modeled.
- 3-highest final average salary. TRS 1-3 Service Retirement (Mar. 2023), p. 1 states it as the rule at 27 years and age 55. KRS 161.220(9): the board 'may approve' it. What we do: Follow the bulletin (the board has approved it, per the bulletin).
- Retiree life insurance amounts. Retirement 101 Notes (May 2014), p. 2: $2,000 active, $5,000 retired. KRS 161.655(1): same for pre-2022 members; TRS 4 is $5,000 active, $10,000 retired. What we do: No conflict for TRS 1-3; TRS 4 amounts from the statute and TRS 4 SPD p. 12.
Sources
- TRS 4 Summary Plan Description January 2022 (printed page = PDF page)
- Summary Plan Description for TRS 1, TRS 2 and TRS 3 (KTRS) Updated through 2011 (printed page = PDF page - 1). Still the TRS 1-3 SPD linked from TRS's plan information page on Nov. 11, 2026.
- TRS 1, TRS 2 and TRS 3 Service Retirement (information bulletin) Revised March 2023
- TRS 4 Service Retirement (information bulletin) March 2023
- TRS 1, TRS 2 and TRS 3 Teachers' Retirement System Basics Revised December 2021
- TRS 4 Teachers' Retirement System Basics December 2021
- TRS 1, TRS 2 and TRS 3 Retirement Options (information bulletin) Revised December 2021
- TRS 4 Retirement Options (information bulletin) December 2021
- 2026 Turning 65 booklet (Medicare Eligible Health Plan) 2026 web version
- 2027 KEHP Rates (Under Age 65 and NOT Medicare-Eligible) August 2026
- TRS KEHP Fact Sheet, 2027 Retiree Open Enrollment 2027 open enrollment (Oct. 5-26, 2026)
- TRS web page: TRS and Social Security Saved Nov. 11, 2026 (page footer (c) 2026)
- Retirement 101 Notes for KASBO (TRS presentation) May 2014 (background only; older than the other sources)
- TRS Law Book (unofficial text of statutes) 2023 Edition (printed page = PDF page - 1). Superseded where the current KRS PDFs below were amended in 2025-2026.
- Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 161.220-161.716 (selected sections) and KRS 141.019 apps.legislature.ky.gov PDFs downloaded Nov. 11, 2026; each file shows its own 'Effective:' date (161.520, 161.605, 161.620, 161.700 and 141.019: July 15, 2026)
We cite the page number printed on each page. TRS of Kentucky says the law prevails over its publications. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.
Source: TRS Summary Plan Descriptions and Service Retirement bulletins, TRS 4 SPD January 2022; TRS 1-3 SPD 2011; Service Retirement bulletins March 2023, TRS 1-3 Service Retirement bulletin pp. 1, 2; TRS 4 SPD pp. 7, 8, 13, 14-15, 16, 17, 18, 19; TRS 4 Service Retirement bulletin p. 1; TRS 1-3 SPD (2011) pp. 1, 34, 37, 38-39, 39, 41, 55, 58. Also: TRS Basics 1-3 p. 1; TRS Basics 4 p. 1; 2027 KEHP rate chart pp. 1, 2; 2026 Turning 65 booklet p. 4; KRS 141.019, 161.220, 161.600, 161.620, 161.623, 161.675. Last reviewed .