25 and Out, 30 and Out
Retire at any age with 25 years of service (Tier 1, earned plus allowed) or 30 years of earned service (Tiers 2, 3 and 4).
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 12-14, Retirement EligibilityMore on this →65 and 5, 67 and 5
Retire at 65 (Tier 1) or 67 (Tiers 2, 3 and 4) with at least five years of earned service, with no cut.
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 12-14, Retirement EligibilityMore on this →Allowed service credit
Service you buy, such as military service or teaching outside New Mexico. It counts in the benefit formula but not toward your retirement date or vesting, except under Tier 1 '25 and Out'.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 7, Allowed Service Credit; pp. 12-14More on this →Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP)
A defined contribution plan, also run by NMERB, that some university and college faculty and staff can choose instead of the pension plan. This site covers the pension plan only.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 6, Alternative Retirement PlanAnti-spiking
A rule that ignores any raise of more than 30% from one year to the next in your final average salary, if that average is above a limit that rises with inflation each July 1.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 16, Anti-spikingMore on this →COLA (cost-of-living adjustment)
The yearly raise retirees get on July 1, once they reach the COLA age for their tier. It is set by a formula based on inflation and the fund's health.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 21, Cost of Living AdjustmentMore on this →Defined Benefit Plan (DBP)
NMERB's pension plan: a monthly benefit for life worked out from your salary and service, not from an account balance.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 6, Defined Benefit PlanEarned service credit
Credit for each calendar quarter you work for an NMERB employer and pay in: at least 16 days in the quarter, in a job over 25% of full time. It counts toward your retirement date and vesting.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 7, Earned Service CreditMore on this →Educational Retirement Act (ERA)
The New Mexico law that sets up NMERB and its pension rules (NMSA 1978, chapter 22, article 11).
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 4, Governing AuthorityFinal average salary (FAS)
The higher of your average pay over your last 20 calendar quarters (five years) and your best 20 quarters in a row. The formula multiplies this by your service and the multiplier.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 16, Final Average SalaryMore on this →FTE (full-time equivalent)
How much of a full-time job you work. Jobs of 25% FTE or less are not NMERB members.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 5, MembershipLayout
The time after retirement when you may not work for any NMERB employer: 90 days in a row for the 60-month and under-$25,000 return-to-work programs.
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 25-27, Working after RetirementMore on this →Local administrative unit (LAU)
NMERB's term for an employer in the plan, such as a school district, charter school, college or university.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 5, MembershipNMRHCA
The New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority, the state agency that offers retiree health coverage and pays part of the premiums. It is separate from NMERB.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 24, NM Retiree Health Care AuthorityMore on this →Option A, B and C
The three ways to take your pension. Option A pays the most, for your life only. Option B pays less but continues 100% to one beneficiary, and Option C continues 50%. You choose at retirement and can't change it later.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 18, Benefit OptionsMore on this →Pre-Retirement Beneficiary Designation
The NMERB form that names who gets your benefit if you die before you retire.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 5, Membership; p. 20, Death Prior to RetirementMore on this →Return to Work (RTW)
NMERB's approved programs for retirees who go back to work for an NMERB employer: 60 months, 0.25 FTE or less, or less than $25,000 a year.
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 25-26, Working after RetirementMore on this →Rule of 75 and Rule of 80
Retire when your age plus your earned service adds up to 75 (Tier 1) or 80 (Tiers 2, 3 and 4). Below age 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tiers 2-4), the benefit is cut unless you have 25 or 30 years.
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 12-14, Retirement EligibilityMore on this →Soft minimum age
In Tiers 3 and 4 you can retire with 30 years at any age, but below 55 (Tier 3) or 58 (Tier 4) the benefit is cut to match what you'd get at that age.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 13, TIER 3; p. 14, TIER 4More on this →Tier
Your set of retirement rules, fixed by the date your NMERB membership began: Tier 1 before July 1, 2010, then Tiers 2, 3 and 4.
Member Handbook 2025, pp. 12-14, Retirement EligibilityMore on this →Tiered multiplier
Tier 4's formula: a different percentage for each band of service years, instead of 2.35% for every year.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 14, New Tiered MultipliersMore on this →USERRA
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Military leave from an NMERB job is credited free if you come back within eighteen months of an honorable discharge.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 9, Military ServiceMore on this →Vested
Guaranteed a pension once you meet the age and service rules. You are vested after five years of earned service.
Member Handbook 2025, p. 3, Glossary; p. 12, When am I vested?More on this →Source: NMERB Member Handbook, 2025 edition, pp. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12-14, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25-27, 25-26. Last reviewed .