Short answer: on a $50,000 average, one more year adds $788 a year in the Legacy Plan and $500 in the Hybrid Plan. If you'd retire early, each Legacy year also takes up to 4.8% off the cut. See the formula, early retirement, and retiree health, where premiums drop with more service. Load our Legacy example (age 56, 24 years) in the calculator.
A year of service
On a $50,000 average, one more year adds:
- Legacy: $50,000 × 1.5% + 5% = $788 a year, $65.63 a month. Legacy Member Guide p. 5, Service Retirement; p. 7, Social Security Integration Calculation; Legacy Member Guide p. 4, Benefit Improvement; p. 5, Service Retirement; Legacy flyer p. 1, footnote 1
- Hybrid: $50,000 × 1% = $500 a year, $41.67 a month. Hybrid Member Guide p. 5, Benefit Accrual Factor; p. 6, Service Retirement Formula
Legacy: if you'd retire early, a smaller cut too
Example (our calculator, not TCRS's): age 56 with 24 years and a $55,000 average. Each year adds service and takes 12 months off the 0.4%-a-month cut, until 60.
| Retire | Service | Cut | A month | Gain vs. a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Now (age 56) | 24 | 19.2% | $1,399.86 | — |
| 1 more year | 25 | 14.4% | $1,544.81 | +$144.95 |
| 2 more years | 26 | 9.6% | $1,696.70 | +$151.89 |
| 3 more years | 27 | 4.8% | $1,855.51 | +$158.81 |
| 4 more years | 28 | 0% | $2,021.25 | +$165.74 |
| 5 more years | 29 | 0% | $2,093.44 | +$72.19 |
Starting from $1,399.86, four more years reach a full benefit at 60 and $2,021.25 a month. Legacy Member Guide p. 6, Early Retirement; Legacy actuarial valuation 2025 p. G-4, Early Reduced Benefit and 25 Year Benefit
Hybrid: closer to the Rule of 90
Each year of work adds a year to your age and a year of service, so you get two points closer to 90. Example (our calculator): age 60 with 22 years and a $55,000 average. TCRS doesn't publish the early cut, so early years show the most the check could be.
| Retire | Service | Age + service | A month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now (age 60) | 22 | 82 | up to $1,008.33 |
| 1 more year | 23 | 84 | up to $1,054.17 |
| 2 more years | 24 | 86 | up to $1,100.00 |
| 3 more years | 25 | 88 | up to $1,145.83 |
| 4 more years | 26 | 90 | $1,191.67 |
| 5 more years | 27 | 92 | $1,237.50 |
"Up to" rows are before an actuarial cut TCRS doesn't publish. Hybrid Member Guide p. 6, Early Retirement Formula; Hybrid actuarial valuation 2025 p. 29, Early Retirement Benefit
TCRS cuts a Hybrid early benefit by an actuarial factor that depends on how far you are from full retirement. It publishes only one example: 0.612933 at age 60 with 25 years.
We show your unreduced Hybrid benefit as an "up to" amount. Your real check will be lower. For age 60 with exactly 25 years we use the published factor.
Hybrid Member Guide p. 6-7Working past 65
Legacy members who joined before July 1, 2011 and work past 65 get the larger of their regular benefit or an adjusted age-65 benefit. That needs TCRS's actuarial factors.
We show the regular benefit and a note. Ask TCRS for the comparison.
Legacy Member Guide p. 7From the sources
- Another year adds a year of service to the formula and may raise your five-year average. For a Legacy member under 60 with under 30 years, it can also remove up to 12 months of the 0.4%-a-month early cut (up to 4.8 points).Legacy Member Guide p. 5-6
- For Hybrid members, each year of work raises both age and service, so the Rule of 90 gets two points closer each year.Hybrid Member Guide p. 6
Questions
How much does one more year add to a TCRS pension?
One more year of service in the formula. On a $50,000 average that's $788 a year in the Legacy Plan (1.5% plus 5%) and $500 a year in the Hybrid Plan (1%). A raise, or a smaller early-retirement cut, adds more.
Is it worth working until I qualify for a full benefit?
If you'd retire early, each year of work also removes up to 12 months of the cut. In the Legacy Plan that's up to 4.8% of your benefit a year, on top of the extra year of service.
Source: TCRS Legacy Retirement Plan for Teachers Member Guide and Hybrid Retirement Plan for State Employees and Teachers Member Guide, Legacy 12/2024; Hybrid revised 07/2024, Legacy Member Guide pp. 4, 5, 5-6, 6, 7; Hybrid Member Guide pp. 5, 6. Also: Legacy flyer p. 1; Legacy actuarial valuation 2025 pp. C-10, G-4; Hybrid actuarial valuation 2025 p. 29. Last reviewed .