Minnesota TRA's member handbook is dated April 2022, before the 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 law changes to normal retirement age (now 65 for everyone) and the early-retirement cuts. Where they differ, we use the 2026 Minnesota Statutes and TRA's newer publications (its website, newsletters, 2025 financial report and actuarial valuation).
TRA Handbook (2022), pp. 14-17, 21; Minn. Stat. 354.44 (2026); Minn. Stat. 356.415, subd. 1d (2026)Level formula: the regular cut
4% for each year from 55 through 58, then 7% for each year from 59 to 65. Since July 1, 2024 there's no augmentation offset. Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e)(2) (2026)
| Age | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut | 58% | 54% | 50% | 46% | 42% | 35% | 28% | 21% | 14% | 7% | 0% |
| You keep | 42% | 46% | 50% | 54% | 58% | 65% | 72% | 79% | 86% | 93% | 100% |
Our engine's numbers match Minnesota TRA's published table at every age.
The law gives the early reduction per year of age. It doesn't say how TRA handles a retirement partway through a year of age.
We prorate by completed months of age (and compound augmentation over fractional years). At whole ages this matches TRA's tables exactly.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e) (2026)Level formula with 60-and-30: a much smaller cut
Retire at 60 or older, on or after June 30, 2025, with 30 years, and the cut at 60 drops from 35% to 13.05% (15.14% if you started work after June 30, 2006). How 60-and-30 works.
Tier I Step formula: 0.25% a month
Reduced by one-quarter of one percent for each month you are under normal retirement age (65), except that with 30 or more years of allowable service the reduction applies only for each month you are under age 62. The handbook calls this a 3 percent per year reduction. Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(2) (2026)
Rule of 90: If your attained age plus credited allowable service totals 90 or more, you get the full Step benefit without any early-retirement reduction. Not available under Tier II. Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(3) (2026)
| Age | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 years | 30% | 27% | 24% | 21% | 18% | 15% | 12% | 9% | 6% | 3% |
| 30+ years | 21% | 18% | 15% | 12% | 9% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Step cut before the Rule of 90. If your age plus service reaches 90, the cut is zero. Example: 58 with 32 years.
For Tier I members with 30 years, the law says the Step formula reduction stops at 62. TRA's 2025 financial report and actuarial valuation say 60.
We use the statute (62).
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(2) (2026)The law doesn't spell out how TRA counts age for the Rule of 90, or whether service in other Minnesota plans counts.
Age in completed months plus TRA service only.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(3) (2026)Examples (our calculator, $80,000 high-five)
- Tier II, 62 with 25 years: 21% cut, $2,449.00 a month instead of $3,100.00.
- Tier II, 60 with 30 years (60-and-30): 13.05% cut, $3,188.01 a month. Without 60-and-30 it would be 35%, $2,383.34.
- Tier I, 55 with 25 years: Step is cut 30% to $1,936.67; Level is cut 58% to $1,302.00. TRA pays the Step amount.
- Tier I, 58 with 32 years: Rule of 90, no cut: $3,560.00.
These are our engine's results, not TRA examples.
Only Tier I members can retire before 55, and only with 30 years.
Tier I: Step formula only before 55. Tier II: earliest age 55.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 14, Retirement eligibilityThe details
- Normal retirement age is 65 for all members, beginning July 1, 2024.Minn. Stat. 354.05, subd. 38 (2026)
- Check with TRABefore July 1, 2024 a Tier II member's normal retirement age was the Social Security full retirement age, capped at 66. TRA says Tier II members who terminated service on or before May 24, 2023 still have normal retirement age 66.minnesotatra.org, Nearing retirement, Retirement eligibility
- Tier I: the Step formula is unreduced at 65, at 62 with 30 years of service, or at any age once your age plus service reaches 90 (Rule of 90).Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c) (2026)
- If you reach normal retirement age with at least one year of service but aren't vested, you can take a proportionate annuity.TRA Handbook (2022), p. 15, Proportionate annuity
- You can start a reduced benefit at 55 once you're vested (three years of service). Tier I members with 30 years can retire at any age.TRA Handbook (2022), p. 14, Retirement eligibility
- Level formula, regular reduction: 4% for each year from age 55 through 58 and 7% for each year from 59 to 65. Retiring at 60 cuts the benefit 35%; at 55, 58%.Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e)(2) (2026)
- 60-and-30: if you retire at 60 or older on or after June 30, 2025 with at least 30 years of service, the reduction is 5% a year with augmentation added back, about 2.5%-3% a year net. At 60 the cut is 13.05% (15.14% if you started work after June 30, 2006).Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors
- Check with TRATo use 60-and-30 you must also have been active in a Minnesota public retirement system on May 23, 2025. Service with MSRS, PERA or the St. Paul Teachers' fund can count toward the 30 years, but the lower reduction applies only to your TRA benefit.minnesotatra.org, Early retirement, Eligibility for the 60-and-30 provision; FAQs
- With 30 years you can stop working and wait until 60 to start your benefit and still qualify for 60-and-30. Thirty years doesn't help if you start before 60.minnesotatra.org, Early retirement, FAQs
- 60-and-30 replaced the old 62-and-30 rule, whose reductions were about 3%-4% a year. TRA says an average member retiring at 60 with 30 years in 2025 gets nearly $1,000 more a month than in 2023.TRIB Winter 2026 (Active), p. 2, President's corner
- Tier I Step formula: reduced 0.25% for each month under 65 (3% a year), or under 62 if you have 30 years. No reduction under the Rule of 90.Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(2)-(3) (2026)
- Check with TRATRA's 2025 financial report and actuarial valuation describe the Step reduction for 30-year members as running to age 60, not 62.ACFR FY2025, p. 121, Plan Statement
- If poor health is your reason for retiring early, ask about disability benefits; they're usually larger than an early retirement benefit.TRA Handbook (2022), p. 20, In case of poor health
If you left TRA work on or before May 24, 2023 and deferred your benefit, TRA says your normal retirement age is still 66.
We use 65 for everyone; the calculator is for current members.
minnesotatra.org, Nearing retirement, Retirement eligibilityQuestions
When can I retire early from Minnesota TRA?
At 55 once you're vested (3 years). Tier I members with 30 years can retire at any age.
How much is the Level formula's early cut?
4% for each year from 55 through 58 and 7% for each year from 59 to 65. At 60 that's 35%; at 55, 58%. With 60-and-30 it's much smaller.
How much is the Tier I Step formula's cut?
0.25% for each month under 65, or under 62 if you have 30 years. Nothing under the Rule of 90.
Is the cut permanent?
Yes. An early retirement reduction stays for life.
Source: TRA Handbook of Benefits and Services, April 2022, with 2023-2026 law changes from Minnesota Statutes 2026 and TRA's 2025-2026 publications, TRA Handbook (April 2022) pp. 14, 20. Also: Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025) pp. 74-75; minnesotatra.org; TRIB Winter 2026 (Active) p. 2; ACFR FY2025 p. 121; Minn. Stat. § 354.44 (2026). Last reviewed .