Tier 1
- Full benefit at any age with 25 years, or at 60 once vested.
- No reduced early retirement.
- Formula: 2% a year for the first 25 years, then 2.5% for each year after.
- Vested after 4 years.
- 3% COLA, compounded from age 55.
Mississippi specificsYour Mississippi PERS tier is set by the day you joined: Tier 1 before July 1, 1992, Tier 4 from July 1, 2011 and Tier 5 (the Hybrid Plan) from March 1, 2026. Tiers 1-3 get full benefits at 25 years, Tier 4 at 30; see the formula and early retirement. The calculator picks your tier from your membership date.
Tier 2
- Full benefit at any age with 25 years, or at 60 once vested.
- No reduced early retirement.
- Formula: 2% a year for the first 25 years, then 2.5% for each year after.
- Vested after 4 years.
- 3% COLA, compounded from age 55.
Tier 3
- Full benefit at any age with 25 years, or at 60 once vested.
- No reduced early retirement.
- Formula: 2% a year for the first 25 years, then 2.5% for each year after.
- Vested after 8 years.
- 3% COLA, compounded from age 55.
Tier 4
- Full benefit at any age with 30 years, or at 65 once vested.
- Reduced benefit from 60 with less than 30 years.
- Formula: 2% a year for the first 30 years, then 2.5% for each year after.
- Vested after 8 years.
- 3% COLA, compounded from age 60.
Tier 5 (Hybrid Plan)
- Full benefit at any age with 30 years, or at 65 once vested.
- Reduced benefit from 62 with less than 30 years.
- Formula: 1% a year for every year.
- Vested after 8 years.
- No yearly COLA.
What the tiers change
Tiers 1, 2 and 3 share the same retirement rules: 25 years at any age, or 60 and vested. A Tier 3 member who is 50 with 25 years can retire with a full benefit. Tier 3 differs from Tiers 1-2 in vesting (8 years, not 4) and in the PLSO (no age-63 route). Member Handbook (2024), pp. 15, 25; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-111(a)(2) (H.B. 4073 (2026), § 18, pp. 64-65)
Tier 4 needs 30 years at any age, or age 65. A Tier 4 member who is 55 with 25 years can't retire yet: early retirement starts at 60. The 2.5% years start after 30 years instead of 25. Member Handbook (2024), pp. 15, 25; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-111(a)(2), (e), (f) (H.B. 4073 (2026), § 18, pp. 64-65, 68-69); Mississippi PERS Board Regulation 30, § 102
Tier 5 is a different plan, the Hybrid Plan. See Tier 5: the Hybrid Plan.
Which date counts
Your date of hire and entry into PERS decides your tier. As long as you do not refund your contributions, you stay in the same tier if you leave employment. Member Handbook (2024), p. 25; Pre-Retirement Guide (2024), p. 3
A member who refunded before March 1, 2026 and re-enters on or after March 1, 2026 is treated as a new member on or after March 1, 2026 (Tier 5) and gets no creditable service for the earlier service. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-103 (membership definition) (H.B. 4073 (2026), § 17, p. 63)
- Mississippi public school teachers and school employees are ordinary members of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi (Mississippi PERS). Membership is mandatory in a covered position.Member Handbook (2024), pp. 3, 12
- Your tier depends on when you joined: Tier 1 on or before June 30, 1992; Tier 2 July 1, 1992 through June 30, 2007; Tier 3 July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2011; Tier 4 July 1, 2011 through Feb. 28, 2026; Tier 5 (the Hybrid Plan) on or after March 1, 2026.Member Handbook (2024), p. 25; Hybrid Plan Handbook (2026), p. 10; Retirement Tiers Overview
- You keep your tier if you leave covered work, as long as you don't take a refund. If you took a refund before March 1, 2026 and come back on or after that date, you join Tier 5 and get no credit for the earlier service.Member Handbook (2024), p. 25; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-103 as amended by H.B. 4073 (2026), § 17, p. 63
- You're vested after 4 years of membership service if you were hired on or before June 30, 2007, or 8 years if hired on or after July 1, 2007.Member Handbook (2024), p. 15
- Tiers 1-3: you can retire with a full benefit at any age with 25 years of service, or at 60 once vested.Member Handbook (2024), p. 25
- Tier 4: a full benefit at any age with 30 years, or at 65 once vested. Tier 5: a full benefit at any age with 30 years, or at 65 once vested.Member Handbook (2024), p. 25; Hybrid Plan Handbook (2026), pp. 17-18; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-111(a), (f), (g) (H.B. 4073 (2026), § 18)
- Your retirement date is the first of the month after you've left all covered employers and Mississippi PERS has your completed application (Form 9A SRVC). Apply three to six months ahead. Benefits are paid on the first of each month.Member Handbook (2024), pp. 48-49; Mississippi PERS FAQs (2022), Q3
How age is counted for eligibility Check with Mississippi PERS
Sources say 'age 60 and vested' (63 for the PLSO, 55/60 for the COLA) without saying how age is measured on the effective retirement date.
Completed years of age on the effective retirement date.
What would settle it: A Mississippi PERS regulation or estimate showing age on the first-of-month effective date.
Vesting
Vesting needs years of membership service as a contributing member: 4 years if hired on or before June 30, 2007; 8 years if hired on or after July 1, 2007 (including Tier 5). Member Handbook (2024), p. 15, Vesting Requirements; Hybrid Plan Handbook (2026), p. 12 A vested member who leaves before eligibility and does not take a refund can start the benefit at 60 (Tiers 1-4) or 62 (Tier 5) on the amount earned when they left. Mississippi PERS Board Regulation 28 (amended March 1, 2026), §§ 101-104; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-111(b) (H.B. 4073 (2026), § 18, pp. 65-66)
See your own tier and dates in the calculator, or early retirement in Tiers 4 and 5.
Questions
How do I know my Mississippi PERS tier?
By the date you joined. Tier 1: on or before June 30, 1992. Tier 2: July 1, 1992 through June 30, 2007. Tier 3: July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2011. Tier 4: July 1, 2011 through February 28, 2026. Tier 5 (Hybrid Plan): on or after March 1, 2026.
Does my tier change if I leave and come back?
Not if you leave your contributions in. A refund ends your membership. If you took a refund before March 1, 2026 and come back on or after that date, you join Tier 5 with no credit for the earlier service.
Source: Mississippi PERS Member Handbook, Revised November 8, 2024, pp. 3, 12, 15, 25, 48-49. Also: Hybrid Plan Handbook (2026); Retirement Tiers Overview; Pre-Retirement Guide (2024); Mississippi PERS FAQs (2022); Mississippi PERS Board Regulations 30, 48; Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-11-103, 25-11-111. Last reviewed .