The Nevada PERS formula: service × multiplier × average pay

The formulaService Credit x Benefit Multiplier x Average Monthly Compensation = Unreduced Monthly Benefit (Option 1, the Unmodified Allowance). Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 5, Benefit Formula

• Service credit x benefit multiplier x average monthly compensation = your unreduced monthly benefit (Option 1).Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 5, Benefit Formula
• Multipliers: enrolled before January 1, 2010, 2.5% for each year earned before July 1, 2001 and 2.67% for each year after; January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2015, 2.5%; on or after July 1, 2015, 2.25%.Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), pp. 4-5; NRS 286.551(1)
• The benefit is capped at 75% of average compensation if you enrolled on or after July 1, 1985 (90% if before). That is 30 years at 2.5%, or 33 1/3 years at 2.25%.NRS 286.551(2); Official Policies (2024), p. 53, Policy 10.5; Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 12
• Nevada PERS's example: 10 years and $3,000 a month average compensation gives $801 at 60 if enrolled before 2010 (at 2.67%), $750 at 62 if enrolled 2010-2015, and $675 at 62 if enrolled after July 1, 2015.Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 5, Example

Your multiplier

The multiplier and cap depend on the date your membership began (your enrollment group).

"Yrs" is when the cap is reached at the newest multiplier (more if you have years at 2.5% before July 1, 2001, which take longer). Maximum benefit: 75% of average compensation for members enrolled on or after July 1, 1985 (service credit stops counting at 30 years, or at 33 1/3 years if enrolled on or after July 1, 2015); 90% for members enrolled before July 1, 1985 (service stops at 36 years). NRS 286.551(2); Official Policies (2024), p. 53, Policy 10.5; p. 62, Policy 10.29(d); Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 12

Nevada PERS's examples

The Summary Plan Description works one member three ways: 10 years of service and $3,000 a month average compensation.

The Pre-Retirement Guide shows how the two pre-2010 rates combine: 25 years, 23 of them before July 1, 2001, on $2,800 a month.

Pre-Retirement Guide example23 × 2.5% + 2 × 2.67% = 62.84%. 62.84% × $2,800 = $1,759.52, which Nevada PERS prints as $1,760 a month. Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 6, Benefit Calculation and Optional Plans Example

Average compensation

• Average compensation is the average of your 36 highest consecutive months of compensation as reported by your employer.Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 4, Average Compensation; NRS 286.551(3)
• If you enrolled on or after January 1, 2010, each 12-month period of salary in the calculation may not rise more than 10% over the one before, unless the increase comes from a promotion or assignment. If the cap limits you, Nevada PERS refunds the extra employee contributions within 6 months of retirement.Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 4; NRS 286.551(4)-(5), 286.555
• Counted pay: base pay, longevity, shift differential, hazardous duty, extra duty assignments, holiday, standby and call-back pay. Not counted: overtime, terminal leave and pay from secondary employment.Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 1, Introduction
• Under the Employer-Pay plan, your average compensation is increased at retirement to what it would have been under the Employee/Employer plan. A Nevada PERS estimate usually ends the 36 months with your latest payroll report and does not project your salary forward.Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 4, Average Compensation; Official Policies (2024), p. 54, Policy 10.8
• For members enrolled on or after July 1, 2015, compensation used for benefits is capped. The cap is $265,446.97 for 2026.Nevada PERS memo, Active Member Salary Limitation - Members enrolled on or after July 1, 2015 (Dec. 5, 2025); NRS 286.535(3)

In Nevada PERS estimates, the 36-month period usually ends with the last payroll reports received and does not project your current salary to the retirement date. Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 4, Average Compensation

The 10% rule (enrolled on or after January 1, 2010)

The limits apply over a 60-month period that starts 24 months before the 36 highest consecutive months. Each 12-month block (months 13-24, 25-36, 37-48, 49-60) may not exceed by more than 10% the lesser of the previous block's maximum allowed amount or its actual amount. Compensation from a promotion or assignment is excluded when calculating the limits. NRS 286.551(4)-(5); Summary Plan Description (REV 8/25), p. 4; Official Policies (2024), p. 54, Policy 10.7(b)

Our illustration of how it works, if pay jumped from one 12-month block to the next:

Our numbers, not a Nevada PERS example. A promotion's pay is left out of the test. If the cap limits your average compensation, you get a refund of the difference between your employee contributions and what they would have been had they been actuarially set for the limit, within 6 months of retirement. NRS 286.555

Other limits

• Under the Employer-Pay Contribution plan, your average compensation is increased at retirement to what it would have been under the Employee/Employer plan (by 50% of the employer-paid contribution for months after June 30, 1975). The calculator expects the average compensation as Nevada PERS calculates it. Official Policies (2024), p. 54, Policy 10.8; NRS 286.421(3)(b); Pre-Retirement Guide (REV 1/25), p. 4
• A regular part-time employee (half-time or more but less than full-time) has the allowance computed from the full-time salary if that gives a greater benefit. NRS 286.551(7); Official Policies (2024), p. 54, Policy 10.6
• If you enrolled on or after July 1, 2015, pay counted for benefits is capped: $265,446.97 in 2026. Nevada PERS memo, Active Member Salary Limitation - Members enrolled on or after July 1, 2015 (Dec. 5, 2025), pp. 1-2

The calculator runs this formula with your numbers. Retiring before your unreduced age? See early retirement. Close to the cap? See one more year.

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