Check with NMERBEstimate only, not an official benefit amount. Confirm with NMERB (1-800-663-1919) before you decide.
Your estimated monthly check
Fill in the form and we'll show your tier, the rule you'd retire under, your percentage of salary, any early retirement cut, Option A in dollars, your first COLA date, and what working longer would add.
Your percentage of salary
Retire as planned, or work longer?
Your check at every age
Tier 1: 25 and Out, Rule of 75, 65 and 5. Tiers 2-4: 30 and Out, Rule of 80, 67 and 5. You need 5 years of earned service. Tiers 1-3 earn 2.35% a year; Tier 4 uses a stepped multiplier. Tier 3 and 4 "30 and Out" has a soft minimum age of 55 and 58.
The handbook's own examples
Load an example from the NMERB Member Handbook 2025 into the calculator. Dollar amounts use a $60,000 final average salary, our illustration.
- Tier 4, 15 years at 67: 25.25% of salary, $1,262.50 a month. Member Handbook 2025, p. 15, For example (15 years)
- Tier 4, 32 years at 58: 75.3% of salary, $3,765.00 a month. Member Handbook 2025, p. 15, Another example (32 years)
- Tier 1, Rule of 75, 6 months before 60: a 1.2% cut. Member Handbook 2025, p. 12, TIER 1, Rule of 75
- Tier 4, 30 years at 55: "30 and Out" below 58: up to $3,525.00 a month before an unpublished cut. Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 3 '30 and Out'; p. 14, TIER 4 '30 and Out'
Below the soft minimum age Check with NMERB
In Tier 3 under age 55, or Tier 4 under age 58, a '30 and Out' benefit is cut to match what you would get at that age. NMERB doesn't publish the size of the cut, so we show the full amount as 'up to' and you need NMERB's estimate for the real figure.
What would settle it: NMERB's actuarial reduction factor table for '30 and Out' below the soft minimum age, or an official estimate for such a member.
Common questions
How is an NMERB pension calculated?
Final average salary × years of service × 2.35% for Tiers 1, 2 and 3. Tier 4 uses a stepped multiplier: 1.35%, 2.35%, 3.35%, 2.4% for each band of years. The answer is your yearly benefit; NMERB pays a twelfth of it each month. 30 years on a $60,000 average is $42,300 a year in Tiers 1-3.
Which tier am I in?
It depends on when your NMERB membership began: Tier 1 before July 1, 2010, Tier 2 from then until July 1, 2013, Tier 3 until July 1, 2019, and Tier 4 after that. A refund and return can change your tier.
When can I retire with a full benefit?
Tier 1 can retire under '25 and Out' (25 years of earned plus allowed service, any age), the 'Rule of 75' (age plus earned service of 75 or more) or '65 and 5' (age 65 with five years of earned service). Tiers 2, 3 and 4 can retire under '30 and Out' (30 years of earned service), the 'Rule of 80' (age plus earned service of 80 or more) or '67 and 5' (age 67 with five years of earned service). '30 and Out' has no minimum age in Tier 2. Tier 3 has a soft minimum age of 55 and Tier 4 of 58. Retire younger with 30 years and your benefit is cut to the actuarial equivalent of retiring at that age.
How big is the early retirement cut?
Tier 1 retirees under the Rule of 75 who are under 60 with less than 25 years of earned service take a permanent cut. It is 0.6% for each quarter year, or part of one, between 55 and 60 (2.4% a year), plus 1.8% for each quarter year before 55 (7.2% a year). Six months short of 60 means a 1.2% cut. Tier 2, 3 and 4 retirees under the Rule of 80 who are under 65 with less than 30 years of earned service take a permanent cut. It is 0.6% for each quarter year, or part of one, between 60 and 65 (2.4% a year), plus 1.8% for each quarter year before 60 (7.2% a year). Retiring at exactly 60 means a 12% cut. NMERB does not publish the actuarial factors for a Tier 3 or Tier 4 '30 and Out' retirement below the soft minimum age. Ask NMERB for an estimate.
Is this the official NMERB calculator?
No. This is an unofficial estimate built from the NMERB Member Handbook 2025, NMERB's other publications and the Educational Retirement Act. It isn't affiliated with NMERB (the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board), which decides your benefit. NMERB's toll-free number is 1-800-663-1919.
Compare New Mexico with other states
- States where teachers don't get Social Security
- Teacher DROP plans by state: No. NMERB has no DROP. Retirees who go back to work use the return-to-work programs.
- Teacher pension COLAs by state: A yearly July 1 raise from inflation (CPI), cut until the fund is fully funded: 1.60% for most in 2026. Tiers 3-4 start at 67.
- State taxes on teacher pensions, by state: Taxed by New Mexico. At 65 or older you may exempt up to $8,000 each if your income is under a limit.
- Teacher pension multipliers by state: Tiers 1-3: 2.35% a year. Tier 4 (hired July 2019 or later): 1.35% to 3.35% by years. Average of your best 60 months in a row.
- Teacher retirement age by state: Tier 1: 25 years, Rule of 75 (age + years = 75), or 65 with 5. Tiers 2-4: 30 years, Rule of 80, or 67 with 5.
Plain-English guides
How your pension works
Which tier am I in?Tiers 1 to 4 by the date your membership began: July 1, 2010, 2013 and 2019.→The formula and the Tier 4 multiplierSalary × years × 2.35%, Tier 4's 1.35% to 3.35% bands with the handbook's 15- and 32-year examples, and anti-spiking.→Rule of 75, Rule of 80 and early retirement25 and 30 and Out, the 0.6% and 1.8% quarterly cuts, and the soft minimum ages of 55 and 58.→Buying service creditMilitary and other education service (5 years each, 10 in all), refunded service and unused sick leave.→NMERB glossaryPlain-English definitions of allowed service, the Rule of 80, layout and other NMERB terms.→
Planning your exit
Leaving: refund or wait?Vesting at 5 years, a refund of your contributions plus interest, and what a refund costs you.→Taxes on your pensionNo New Mexico pension exemption, the age-65 exemption of up to $8,000, and the Social Security exemption.→NMERB and Social SecurityWhat NMERB's publications say, what they don't, and New Mexico's Social Security exemption.→
After you retire
Working after retirementReturn to Work: 60 months, 0.25 FTE, or less than $25,000 a year after a 90-day layout.→The COLAFrom 65 or 67, the 2026 rates of 1.8% and 1.6%, the median test and the history since 2013.→Retiree health (NMRHCA)Coverage comes from the New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority, not NMERB.→Death and survivor benefitsA refund or a lifetime benefit before retirement, the handbook's age-42 example, and what each option leaves.→
More calculators
NMERB has no DROP. No DROP (deferred retirement option plan) appears in the Member Handbook 2025, NMERB's saved web pages or the Educational Retirement Act. Retirees who go back to work use the return-to-work programs instead. Member Handbook 2025 (no DROP section); NMSA 1978, §§22-11-1 to 22-11-55 (no DROP provision) See working after retirement. Rules by tier: Tier 1: 25 and Out, Rule of 75, 65 and 5; Tiers 2-4: 30 and Out, Rule of 80, 67 and 5. Check with NMERB for anything the calculator labels.
Source: NMERB Member Handbook, 2025 edition, pp. 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 12-14, 13, 13-14, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18-19, 21. Also: NMERB web pages 'Cost of Living Adjustment', 'FAQ Flip Cards', 'Inactive Members'; NMSA 1978 §§ 22-11-1, 22-11-55. Last reviewed .