- 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).Member Handbook 2025, p. 12, TIER 1
- 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).Member Handbook 2025, pp. 13-14, TIERS 2, 3 and 4
- '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.Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 2 and TIER 3; p. 14, TIER 4
- Your retirement starts on the first day of the month after your last month of work, if NMERB has your application by the last day of the month before. If you work on a nine- or ten-month contract and finish in May, your retirement date is July 1.Member Handbook 2025, p. 17, Effective Date of Retirement
The three ways to retire, by tier
Your tier comes from the date your membership began (see which tier am I in?). Any cut comes off the amount the formula gives.
Tier 1
- 25 and Out: 25 years of earned plus allowed service, at any age. No cut.
- Rule of 75: Your age plus earned service adds up to 75. Cut if under age 60 and under 25 years of earned service.
- 65 and 5: Age 65 with 5 years of earned service. No cut.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 12, TIER 1
Tier 2
- 30 and Out: 30 years of earned service, at any age. No cut.
- Rule of 80: Your age plus earned service adds up to 80. Cut if under age 65 and under 30 years of earned service.
- 67 and 5: Age 67 with 5 years of earned service. No cut.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 2
Tier 3
- 30 and Out: 30 years of earned service. Below age 55 the benefit is cut to match retiring at 55.
- Rule of 80: Your age plus earned service adds up to 80. Cut if under age 65 and under 30 years of earned service.
- 67 and 5: Age 67 with 5 years of earned service. No cut.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 3
Tier 4
- 30 and Out: 30 years of earned service. Below age 58 the benefit is cut to match retiring at 58.
- Rule of 80: Your age plus earned service adds up to 80. Cut if under age 65 and under 30 years of earned service.
- 67 and 5: Age 67 with 5 years of earned service. No cut.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 14, TIER 4
You also need 5 years of earned service. Earned service credit counts for eligibility. Allowed (purchased) service credit counts in the benefit formula but not toward eligibility, except under Tier 1 '25 and Out'. It does not count toward vesting. Member Handbook 2025, p. 7, Allowed Service Credit; pp. 12-14, Retirement Eligibility; NMERB web page Service Credit (See buying service credit.)
The early cut under the Rule of 75 or 80
- 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.Member Handbook 2025, p. 12, TIER 1, Rule of 75
- 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.Member Handbook 2025, pp. 13-14, Rule of 80
- Allowed (purchased) service raises your benefit but does not move up your retirement date. The one exception is Tier 1 '25 and Out', which counts it.Member Handbook 2025, p. 7, Allowed Service Credit; p. 12
The handbook's example: Six months past your 59th birthday: 1.2% reduction. Our calculator gets 1.2%. Member Handbook 2025, p. 12, TIER 1, Rule of 75
Retiring exactly on your birthday, the cut and what you keep:
| Age | Cut | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 0% | 100% |
| 59 | 2.4% | 97.6% |
| 58 | 4.8% | 95.2% |
| 57 | 7.2% | 92.8% |
| 56 | 9.6% | 90.4% |
| 55 | 12% | 88% |
| 54 | 19.2% | 80.8% |
| 53 | 26.4% | 73.6% |
| 52 | 33.6% | 66.4% |
| 51 | 40.8% | 59.2% |
| 50 | 48% | 52% |
| Age | Cut | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | 0% | 100% |
| 64 | 2.4% | 97.6% |
| 63 | 4.8% | 95.2% |
| 62 | 7.2% | 92.8% |
| 61 | 9.6% | 90.4% |
| 60 | 12% | 88% |
| 59 | 19.2% | 80.8% |
| 58 | 26.4% | 73.6% |
| 57 | 33.6% | 66.4% |
| 56 | 40.8% | 59.2% |
| 55 | 48% | 52% |
Our engine on the handbook's rates: 0.6% a quarter from 55 to 60 and 1.8% a quarter before 55 (Tier 1); 0.6% from 60 to 65 and 1.8% before 60 (Tiers 2-4). The cut doesn't apply with 25 years (Tier 1) or 30 years (Tiers 2-4). Member Handbook 2025, p. 12, TIER 1, Rule of 75; Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 2 and TIER 3, Rule of 80; p. 14, TIER 4, Rule of 80
The early cut is charged for each quarter year 'or portion thereof'. We count three-month steps from your retirement date to the birthday and round any part up. That matches the handbook's example, but the handbook doesn't show a birthday in the middle of a month.
What would settle it: NMERB's Permanently Reduced Rate Calculation Notice for a member with a mid-month birthday.
The handbook doesn't say whether the Rule of 75 or 80 counts your exact age in years and months, or how part years of service count. We use your exact age in months on your retirement date and your service as you enter it.
What would settle it: NMERB confirmation or an official estimate for a member who reaches 80 mid-year.
A Permanently Reduced Rate Calculation Notice is part of the final retirement documents when retiring under the Rule of 75/80 with a reduction. Steps to Retirement 2026, p. 2, Step 3
The soft minimum age: Tiers 3 and 4
Tier 3 and 4 '30 and Out' below the soft minimum age is reduced to the actuarial equivalent of the benefit at 55 (Tier 3) or 58 (Tier 4). NMERB does not publish the actuarial factors. Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 3 '30 and Out'; p. 14, TIER 4 '30 and Out'
- Tier 3: 30 years of earned service, full benefit from age 55.
- Tier 4: 30 years of earned service, full benefit from age 58.
Below those ages our calculator shows the full amount as "up to", because the cut isn't published. For example, a Tier 4 member at 55 with 30 years and a $60,000 final average salary gets up to $3,525.00 a month, less a cut only NMERB can tell you. 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.
The handbook says the Rule of 80 reduction applies if you are under 65 'and have less than 30 years of earned service credit'. Read literally, a Tier 3 member aged 50-54 (or Tier 4 aged 50-57) with 30 years would retire unreduced under the Rule of 80, which would make the '30 and Out' soft minimum age meaningless. The statute's Rule of 80 reduction (§22-11-30(I)(1), (J)(2)(b)-(c)) has no 30-year exception; the exception arises only because 30-year members retire under '30 and Out'. Our calculator treats 30+ year Tier 3/4 members under the soft minimum age as reduced (actuarial factor unpublished).
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 13-14; NMSA 1978, §22-11-23.2(A)(1), §22-11-30(I), (J)
§22-11-30(J)(2)(c) says a Tier 4 Rule of 80 retiree under 60 gets 'an amount equal to one and eight-tenths percent for each one-fourth ... year before the member reaches sixty' (a drafting slip; it does not say 'reduced by', nor add the 0.6% for ages 60-65). The handbook gives 0.6% per quarter for 60-65 plus 1.8% per quarter before 60, the same as Tiers 2 and 3. Our calculator follows the handbook.
NMSA 1978, §22-11-30(J)(2)(b)-(c); Member Handbook 2025, p. 14, TIER 4 Rule of 80
See what waiting a year is worth on one more year, or check your own dates.
Questions
How much is the NMERB early retirement cut?
0.6% for each quarter year (2.4% a year) from age 55 to 60 (Tier 1) or 60 to 65 (Tiers 2-4), and 1.8% a quarter (7.2% a year) before that. The handbook's example: six months past your 59th birthday: 1.2% reduction.
Is the cut permanent?
Yes. The reduction is permanent.
What is the soft minimum age?
In Tier 3 you can retire with 30 years of earned service at any age, but below 55 the benefit is cut to what you'd get at 55. Tier 4's soft minimum age is 58. NMERB doesn't publish the size of that cut.
Source: NMERB Member Handbook, 2025 edition, pp. 7, 12, 12-14, 13, 13-14, 14, 17. Also: NMERB web page 'Service Credit'; NMERB Steps to Retirement 2026 p. 2; NMSA 1978 §§ 22-11-23.2, 22-11-30. Last reviewed .