10 Year Certain
A smaller monthly amount for your life; if you die before 120 payments, your beneficiary gets the rest of the 120.
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1; 162 CSR 4 § 5.1.4, p. 6More on this →Accumulated contributions
What you paid in (6% of pay) plus 4% yearly interest. It is what a refund pays.
W. Va. Code §18-7A-3 ('Accumulated contributions', 'Regular interest'); West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1More on this →Actuarial equivalent
A different amount worth the same in total, figured with the mortality table and interest rate the board adopts. Early retirement and the survivor options use it.
W. Va. Code §18-7A-3 ('Actuarially equivalent'), §18-7A-25(c), -25b(d)More on this →Bona fide separation from service
Ending every kind of work with any West Virginia TRS employer for at least 60 consecutive days after retiring, with no prearranged return.
W. Va. Code §18-7A-3More on this →Contributing service
Years you actually paid in. Tier II eligibility counts only contributing service.
West Virginia TRS Tier II brochure (2023), p. 1; W. Va. Code §18-7A-25bMore on this →CPRB
The West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board, which runs West Virginia TRS. Phone 304-558-3570 or 800-654-4406.
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 2Critical-need substitute
A retired teacher hired as a substitute under a county's State Board-approved critical need policy, who can work past the 140-day limit.
W. Va. Code §18A-2-3(d); CPRB form WVTF0015 (Nov. 3, 2025), p. 1More on this →Deferred retirement
Starting your pension later after leaving school employment without taking a refund. Tier I at 62 (or 60 with 20 years); Tier II at 64 (or 63 with 20 years).
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1; West Virginia TRS Tier II brochure (2023), p. 1; W. Va. Code §18-7A-23(a)(2), -25b(b), (c)More on this →Effective retirement date
The first of the month after you leave employment, meet the age and service rules, and CPRB gets your completed application.
162 CSR 4 § 5.2, p. 7; West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1More on this →Final average salary
The average of your 5 highest fiscal-year salaries in your last 15 years.
W. Va. Code §18-7A-26(c)More on this →Joint & Survivor
A smaller monthly amount for your life, then 100% or 50% of it for the life of the survivor you name.
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1; 162 CSR 4 §§ 5.1.2-5.1.3, p. 6More on this →PEIA
The Public Employees Insurance Agency, which offers health coverage to West Virginia public employees and retirees.
W. Va. Code §5-16-13(h); PEIA Benefits Guide Plan Year 2027, pp. 43-44More on this →Prior service allowance
The part of a retiree's benefit that stops when a retiree works too many days or returns full time. CPRB says it is a different amount for every retiree.
CPRB form WVTF0255 (June 15, 2026), p. 1; 162 CSR 4 § 6.2, p. 7More on this →Required beginning date
The latest date your pension must start under federal tax rules: April 1 after the later of the year you retire and the year you reach 73 (72 if you turned 72 before 2023; 75 if you turn 74 after 2032).
W. Va. Code §18-7A-3 ('Required beginning date')Service credit
The years and fractions of a year counted in your benefit formula. A school year of full-time work is a year; no more than one year counts in a fiscal year.
W. Va. Code §18-7A-17(a); 162 CSR 4 §§ 4.5-4.6, p. 4More on this →Straight Life
The payment option with the largest monthly amount, for your life only. It is the formula amount with no reduction.
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1; 162 CSR 4 § 5.1.1, p. 6More on this →TDC
The Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System, a savings-account plan for people hired from July 1991 to June 2005. It is closed to new members.
CPRB TDC web page; W. Va. Code §18-7B-7aMore on this →Tier I
Members who first joined West Virginia TRS before July 1, 2015. Full benefits at 60 with 5 years, 55 with 30, or any age with 35.
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), p. 1; W. Va. Code §18-7A-25More on this →Tier II
Members hired for the first time who first joined West Virginia TRS on or after July 1, 2015. Full benefits at 62 with 10 years of contributing service.
West Virginia TRS Tier II brochure (2023), p. 1; W. Va. Code §18-7A-25bMore on this →Vested
Having enough service to keep a right to a pension if you leave: 5 years in Tier I, 10 years of contributing service in Tier II.
West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (2023), pp. 1-2; West Virginia TRS Tier II brochure (2023), p. 1More on this →Source: West Virginia TRS Tier I brochure (CPRB), September 2023, pp. 1-2. Also: West Virginia TRS Tier II brochure (2023); CPRB form WVTF0015; PEIA Benefits Guide, Plan Year 2027; CPRB form WVTF0255; CPRB web pages; W. Va. Code §§ 5-16-13, 18-7A-3, 18-7A-17, 18-7A-23, 18-7A-25, 18-7A-25b, 18-7A-26, 18-7B-7a, 18A-2-3; CPRB rule 162 CSR 4. Last reviewed .