This page explains the MainePERS calculator. The rules it uses are explained in plain English on the formula, early retirement and retirement age group pages.
- 1
Find your normal retirement age
60 with 10 years of service before July 1, 1993; 62 with 5 years before July 1, 2011; otherwise 65. Unless you enter those numbers or pick your group, we estimate them from the date you joined, as if you'd worked full time without a break.
Handbook p. 15, Normal Retirement Age; 5 M.R.S. §17851(1-B), (1-C), (1-D), (1-E), (2-B) to (2-E); §17001(23) - 2
Project your service
We add the months from today to your start date to the service you enter (or use your number as is, if you say it's your service at retirement). Start dates move to the 1st of a month.
Handbook pp. 5-6, How Service Credit Accumulates; Handbook p. 14, Terminating Employment - 3
Check the retirement rules
Vested at 5 years. A full benefit from the 1st of the month after you reach your normal retirement age. With 25 years, any age, with a cut. Without 25 years, no early retirement.
Handbook pp. 15-16, Eligibility for a Service Retirement Benefit (Being Vested); Handbook p. 16, Qualifying to Receive a Service Retirement Benefit; 5 M.R.S. §17804 - 4
Apply the formula
Your AFC × years × 2% ÷ 12, rounded to the cent: the Full Benefit. Early, we cut 6% (or about 2.25% in the age-60 group) for each year your age, rounded to the nearest year, is under your normal retirement age. At least $100 a month with 10+ years.
Handbook pp. 16-17, How MainePERS Determines Your Service Retirement Benefit; Handbook p. 17, Note; Ready to Retire (2023) slides 5 (Explanation of Estimate: Rounded Age; DOB 08/29/1960, effective 07/1/2022, age 62) and 9 (Full Benefit $2,126.25); Handbook p. 23, Your Minimum Benefit; 5 M.R.S. §17854 - 5
Options and the COLA
Only the Full Benefit is in dollars; MainePERS publishes no option factors. The COLA is the CPI-U up to 3% on the COLA base, from the first September you qualify.
Handbook p. 18, Selecting a Benefit Payment Option; Handbook p. 22, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA); 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A), (B); MainePERS COLA page - 6
After you retire
Going back to a covered job after the later of 30 days and your retirement date; the State's share of retiree health from your normal retirement age; retiree life insurance from your AFC.
Handbook p. 23; 5 M.R.S. §17859(1); 94-411 C.M.R. ch. 410, §2(4)-(5); 20-A M.R.S. §13451(3)(A)-(F) and last paragraph; Form H0039 (8/24) p. 2; After You Retire (2025) p. 1, Life Insurance Coverage; Handbook p. 14
What the calculator doesn't cover
- The 5% and 10% caps on your AFC. We use the average you enter; MainePERS figures it from your pay records.
- Dollar amounts for Options 1 to 8, and the exact actuarial cut for the age-60 group: MainePERS publishes no factors.
- Disability retirement, survivor benefit amounts, and the cost of buying service.
- Health insurance premiums and your taxes.
- Local district (PLD) plans, legislators, judges and special plans.
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 the worked examples in MainePERS's handbook, handouts, forms and COLA page, and against the edges of each rule (the 1993 and 2011 dates, birthdays, rounding at 6 months, 25 years). The tests run every time the site is built.
- Source
- $36,000
- Our engine
- $36,000
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $1,500.00
- Our engine
- $1,500.00
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $2,126.25
- Our engine
- $2,126.25
- Result
- Match
- Source
- 62
- Our engine
- 62
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $47,250
- Our engine
- $47,250
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $814.28
- Our engine
- $814.28
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $27,956.84
- Our engine
- $27,956.84
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $67.86
- Our engine
- $67.86
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $59.47
- Our engine
- $59.47
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $23,960
- Our engine
- $23,960
- Result
- Match
- Source
- $18,920
- Our engine
- $18,920
- Result
- Match
- Source
- Yes
- Our engine
- Yes
- Result
- Match
- Source
- No
- Our engine
- No
- Result
- Match
- Source
- No
- Our engine
- No
- Result
- Match
- Source
- 0.722
- Our engine
- 0.722
- Result
- Match
Things to check with MainePERS
The sources don't settle these points. Each is labelled "Check with MainePERS" where it shows up on the site. In plain English: what's unclear, what we do about it, and what would settle it.
How your age is rounded for the early-retirement cut
MainePERS's sample estimate shows a member 61 years 10 months old as age 62 with no reduction, so it rounds age. No source states the rule (for example, whether exactly 6 months rounds up).
What we do: We round to the nearest year, with 6 months or more rounding up.
What would settle it: A MainePERS rule or estimate for a member exactly 6 months short of a birthday.Early reduction for the age-60 group
For members with NRA 60 the law uses actuarial annuity tables that MainePERS doesn't publish; the handbook only says about 2 1/4% a year.
What we do: We cut 2.25% for each year under 60 and label it approximate.
What would settle it: MainePERS's board-approved annuity tables, or an estimate for an NRA-60 member retiring early.Which normal retirement age applies to you
Your NRA depends on your service credit on July 1, 1993 and July 1, 2011. If you don't enter those, we estimate them from your membership date as if you had worked full time without a break.
What we do: We estimate your service on those dates from your start date unless you tell us.
What would settle it: The member's annual statement or a MainePERS estimate, which shows the NRA plan.Very early retirement with 25 years
A member with 25 years who is far below NRA (for example 47 in the age-65 group) would lose more than 100% at 6% a year. No source covers this.
What we do: We show the cut as stated and never below $0; check with MainePERS.
What would settle it: A MainePERS estimate for a member with 25 years in their 40s.Amounts for payment options other than the Full Benefit
MainePERS publishes no option factors. Options depend on your age, your beneficiary's age and the board's actuarial tables. Our only example is one 2022 estimate (member 62, beneficiary 60).
What we do: We show the Full Benefit in dollars and explain the options with MainePERS's sample.
What would settle it: MainePERS option factor tables, or the member's own estimate.When the 90-day return-to-work limit ends
The 2026 handbook says the 90-day limit applies until normal retirement age; the rule adopted Aug. 3, 2026 and MainePERS's current form say until 59 1/2 or NRA, whichever comes first.
What we do: We show the handbook's date and note the newer rule.
What would settle it: A revised handbook or MainePERS confirmation.When your first COLA arrives
The handbook and MainePERS's COLA page word the waiting rule slightly differently for NRA 62/65 members (see conflicts). Only a September 1 NRA date is affected.
What we do: We follow the handbook's '12 months after' wording.
What would settle it: MainePERS confirmation or a retiree's first COLA letter.The 5% and 10% salary caps
Raises above 5% a year, or above 10% over the three AFC years, are left out of AFC (except promotions and collectively bargained raises for retirements since Oct. 1, 2019). The calculator uses the AFC you enter, so it can't apply the caps unless you give your yearly pay.
What we do: We use the average you enter; our helper can apply the caps to yearly pay.
What would settle it: The member's last four years of earnable compensation and whether any raise was a promotion or bargained increase.COLA base after 2027
The base rises each year by the COLA granted, and a 2026 law set up a fund that could raise it toward $40,000 if money is appropriated. Projections beyond 2027 assume the base grows only by the COLA.
What we do: We grow the base by the COLA each year and ignore possible appropriations.
What would settle it: Each year's MainePERS COLA announcement.Retiree health premiums
The law sets the State's share (60%) of the retired teacher's share of the premium, but premiums and the retiree's share vary by school unit plan. MainePERS doesn't run health insurance.
What we do: We show the State's 60% share and when it starts, not dollar amounts.
What would settle it: The school unit's or MEA Benefits Trust's retiree premium sheet.Current monthly survivor benefit amounts
The statute's survivor benefits ($300 for a spouse, $250 per dependent child, and others) have been indexed by the COLA since 1990-93. MainePERS doesn't publish today's amounts.
What we do: We describe the survivor benefit without a dollar figure.
What would settle it: MainePERS Survivor Services.Maine pension deduction after 2025
The deduction cap follows the maximum Social Security benefit each year and the phase-out amounts are inflation-adjusted. Our sources give the 2025 cap ($48,216) only.
What we do: We estimate the deduction for 2025 only.
What would settle it: Maine Revenue Services' Schedule 1 instructions for the tax year.Birthdays on the first of the month
Payment begins the first of the month after the month in which you become eligible. The sources don't say what happens when you reach normal retirement age on the 1st of a month.
What we do: We read 'following' strictly: reaching your NRA on June 1 means a July 1 start.
What would settle it: A MainePERS estimate for a member born on the 1st of a month.First day you can go back to the same employer
The handbook says you must wait 'until after' 30 days after termination; it doesn't spell out whether day 30 or day 31 is the first allowed day.
What we do: We count 30 full days after your last day, so you can start on day 31.
What would settle it: MainePERS confirmation.Where sources disagreed
- The handbook says the COLA applies to 'the first $20,000 of your retirement benefit (indexed)'. The statute reset the base to $24,186.25 effective July 1, 2022, and MainePERS's COLA page gives the 2026 base as $27,142.56 and the 2027 base as $27,956.84. We use the published bases. Handbook p. 22; 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A); MainePERS COLA page
- The handbook says the COLA 'matches' the CPI-U and does not mention the 3% cap. The statute caps it at 3% (higher only by appropriation), and the 2026 COLA was 3.0% with CPI-U at 3.5%. Handbook p. 22; 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A), (B); MainePERSpective Fall 2026 p. 1
- For NRA 62/65 members the handbook says the first COLA is the first September 'at least 12 months after you reach your NRA'; the 2026 COLA page says NRA must have been reached 'by August 31, 2025'. They differ only for a member who reaches NRA on September 1. Our calculator follows the handbook. Handbook p. 22; MainePERS COLA page
- The 2026 handbook applies the 90-days-a-year limit with the same employer until NRA. Rule ch. 410 (repealed and replaced Aug. 3, 2026), Form H0036 (rev. 10/26) and the Return to Work page end it at the earlier of age 59 1/2 and NRA. Our calculator reports the handbook date and also returns the rule's date. Handbook pp. 23-24; 94-411 C.M.R. ch. 410, §2(1)-(3); Form H0036 (10/26)
- The handbook gives the NRA-60 early reduction as 'approximately 2 1/4%' a year; the statute makes it the ratio of a life annuity due at 60 to one due at the retirement age, from board-approved tables that are not published. Our calculator uses 2.25% a year and labels it approximate. Handbook p. 17; 5 M.R.S. §17852(3)(A), (B)
- The handbook says 6% 'for each full year' under NRA; the statute says 6% 'for each year that the member's age precedes' NRA. MainePERS's sample estimate shows a rounded age (61 years 10 months shown as 62, no reduction). Our calculator rounds age to the nearest year and applies 6% per whole year. Handbook p. 17; 5 M.R.S. §17852(3-A)(C), (3-B); Ready to Retire (2023) slides 5, 9
- The handbook and Active Members FAQ say an unvested inactive account may be refunded automatically three years after termination (the statute: inactive 3+ years, capped at $1,000 before the later of 62 or NRA). The Refund Application Package says an unvested inactive account will be refunded before April 1 of the year after you turn 73. Handbook p. 9; MainePERS Active Members FAQs; 5 M.R.S. §17706-A; Refund Application Package (2024) p. 2
- The handbook's purchase table lists Head Start at 2 years and non-military federal service at 5 years. The Active Members FAQ lists Head Start at 'No Limit' and 'Federal Service' (the federal employment service before it returned to state control) at 'No Limit'. We follow the handbook; the 5-year federal limit matches PL 2025, c. 206. Handbook p. 8; MainePERS Active Members FAQs; Legislative Update (July 2025) p. 2
- To keep free retiree life insurance, the handbook requires the retirement application no later than 31 days after the retirement effective date; Form H0039 requires it within 31 days of terminating employment. Both require the effective date within 31 days of termination. Our calculator follows the handbook; H0039's three examples come out the same under both. Handbook pp. 13-14; Form H0039 (8/24) p. 1
- The handbook says retiree life coverage decreases 15% a year 'until it is 40% of your AFC'; Form H0039, After You Retire and the policy schedule add 'or $2,500, whichever is greater'. Our calculator applies the $2,500 floor. Handbook p. 14; Form H0039 (8/24) p. 2; Group life Schedule of Benefits p. 2
- The handbook's RMD table has overlapping rows ('Between July 1, 1949 and December 31, 1950: 72' and 'Between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1959: 73'). We read the second row as starting January 1, 1951. Handbook p. 9, Required Minimum Distributions
- MainePERS's pension deduction page says the phase-out starts at $187,000 for head-of-household filers; the statute says $187,500. Our calculator uses the statute. MainePERS Pension Income Deduction page; 36 M.R.S. §5122(2)(M-3)(2)
- In MainePERS's sample estimate, Option 4 is labeled 33% but the beneficiary's $711.23 is 36.2% of the member's $1,964.66 (33.4% of the $2,126.25 Full Benefit). Option 8, also labeled 33%, pays the beneficiary exactly 33% of the member's amount ($637.81 of $1,932.76). We quote the sample as printed. Ready to Retire (2023) slide 9, Explanation of Options
- The handbook tests service 'before July 1, 1993' and 'before July 1, 2011'; the 2023 Ready to Retire slides say 'by June 30, 1993' and 'by June 30, 2011'. These are the same dates. Handbook p. 15; Ready to Retire (2023) slide 4
Sources
- MainePERS Benefits for Teachers: Teacher Member Handbook 2026
- MainePERS presentation for Teacher Members (Ready to Retire handout) 2023 (sample estimate dated effective 07/1/2022)
- Choosing a Benefit Payment Option When You Retire Rev. 3/25
- After You Retire 2025
- MainePERS Annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) page and State/Teacher COLA page Saved Nov. 12, 2026 (2026 COLA adopted Aug. 13, 2026)
- MainePERSpective (member edition) Fall 2026
- MainePERSpective (member edition) Fall 2025
- Retired and Returning to Work (Form H0036) Rev. 10/26
- 94-411 C.M.R. ch. 410, Retirees Returning to Work Repealed and replaced Aug. 3, 2026 (filing 2026-178)
- Group Life Insurance Coverage into Retirement (Form H0039) Rev. 8/24
- Group Term Life Insurance Coverage (Form H0069) Dev. 6/24
- MainePERS Group Life Insurance Schedule of Benefits (Group Policy GP-727621) Issue/effective date July 1, 2009
- MainePERS Refund Application Package 2024 (cover rev. 2/20; forms rev. 10/2023 to 02/25)
- MainePERS Legislative Update, 132nd Second Regular Session May 6, 2026
- MainePERS 2025 Legislative Update July 17, 2025
- MainePERS web pages: Teacher Member Handbook (HTML), Return to Work, Retired and Returning to Work, Health Insurance, Maine Pension Income Deduction, Benefit Payment and Tax Information, Group Life Insurance, Active and Retiree FAQs, Laws & Rules Saved Nov. 12, 2026
- Maine Revised Statutes: 5 M.R.S. Part 20 (selected sections of chapters 421 and 423), 20-A M.R.S. §13451, 36 M.R.S. §5122 legislature.maine.gov, data extracted 10/05/2026, saved Nov. 12, 2026
We cite the page number printed on each MainePERS document (the handbook's "- n -" footer), the slide number of the Ready to Retire handout, or the section of the Maine Revised Statutes. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.
Source: MainePERS Benefits for Teachers: Teacher Member Handbook, 2026, pp. 5-6, 14, 15-16, 16-17, 18, 22, 23. Also: Ready to Retire (2023); MainePERS COLA page; Form H0039 (8/24); After You Retire (2025); MainePERSpective Fall 2026; MainePERSpective Fall 2025; 5 M.R.S. §§ 17001, 17804, 17806, 17851, 17854, 17859; 20-A M.R.S. § 13451; MainePERS rule 94-411 C.M.R. ch. 410. Last reviewed .