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Find your tier
Tier 1 if you joined before September 1, 2012; Tier 2 if you joined on or after it, or came back on or after it after taking a refund or before you were vested. You can also pick your tier.
Handbook p. 7, Benefit Tiers; Handbook p. 7, Benefit Tiers; p. 13, Important Tier 2 Rule; W.S. 9-3-402(a)(xxix); W.S. 9-3-415(d), (m)(vii) - 2
Use your service
We use the years you enter as your service at retirement. WRS gives a full month for 86 or more hours in a month and less for fewer hours; we don't count hours for you.
Handbook p. 9, Months of Service; W.S. 9-3-417(b) - 3
Check the retirement rules
Vested at 48 months. Unreduced at 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2), or when your age plus service reaches 85. Reduced from 50 (Tier 1) or 55 (Tier 2), or with 25 years at any age. We count your age in completed months.
Handbook p. 11, Retirement Eligibility Ages and Understanding the 'Rule of 85'; Handbook p. 11, Taking a Reduced Retirement Benefit; Handbook p. 9, Months of Service, and p. 10, Vesting Requirements; W.S. 9-3-415(a), 9-3-416 - 4
Apply the formula
Your highest average salary × your benefit percentage ÷ 12. Tier 1: 2.125% for each of the first 15 years and 2.25% for each year after. Tier 2: 2% a year. No cap.
Handbook p. 9, Estimating Your Benefit and Public Employee Pension Benefit Table; W.S. 9-3-418(a), (g) - 5
Cut it if you retire early
5% for each year you are under 60 (Tier 1) or 65 (Tier 2), counted by the month. No cut if you meet the Rule of 85. Under 50 or 55, we keep counting at the same rate, with no floor, and label it.
Handbook p. 11, Taking a Reduced Retirement Benefit; WRS Board Rules ch. 14, sec. 2(a)(i) and 3(b) - 6
Options and the COLA
Only Option 1 is in dollars; WRS publishes no option factors. The self-funded COLA (1%, 2%, 3%) is shown as a range from the handbook's approximate starting cuts.
Handbook pp. 17-18, Benefit Options and Benefit Payout Options; Handbook p. 19, Self-Funded Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) Feature and How the Trade-off Works; p. 20, Timeline & The Break-Even Point
In short: the calculator finds your tier, applies the formula (2.125% then 2.25% a year in Tier 1, 2% in Tier 2), checks the Rule of 85, and takes off the 5%-a-year early cut where it applies. Try the calculator.
What the calculator doesn't cover
- Your actual highest average salary. We use the average you enter; WRS figures it from your pay records (36 months for Tier 1, 60 for Tier 2) and can limit unusual raises.
- Dollar amounts for Options 2 to 5 and for the self-funded COLA: WRS publishes no factors.
- The money purchase benefit for members who started before July 1, 1981. We flag it, but show only the formula.
- The cost of buying service, and disability benefits beyond the basic rule.
- Health insurance premiums and your taxes.
- Other WRS plans and the University of Wyoming and community college alternative plans. This site covers the Public Employee Pension Plan, which school district teachers are in.
How we check the math
The calculator runs on a small engine that reads every rule from one data file, with a source for each. Automated tests check it against the benefit table and examples in WRS's handbook, and against the edges of each rule (the September 1, 2012 date, the 15-year step, birthdays, the Rule of 85, 25 years, 86 hours). The tests run every time the site is built.
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Things to check with WRS
The sources don't settle these points. Each is labelled "Check with WRS" where it shows up on the site. In plain English: what's unclear, and what would settle it.
How a part month early is counted
The handbook counts the early cut by the month but doesn't say how part of a month counts. We count it as a whole month, which gives the slightly bigger cut.
What would settle it: A WRS estimate for a retirement date that is not on the birthday day of the month, or written confirmation from WRS.How your age counts toward the Rule of 85
We add your age in years and months to your service. WRS might count age differently, which could move your Rule of 85 date by up to a month.
What would settle it: A WRS Board rule or a WRS member statement showing the Rule of 85 date for a member whose birthday falls mid-year.Very large cuts under age 50 or 55
If you retire under 50 (Tier 1) or 55 (Tier 2) with 25 years, the cut can be very large. We apply 5% a year, but WRS might handle it another way. Ask WRS for an estimate.
What would settle it: A WRS estimate or Board rule for an early retiree under age 50 (Tier 1) or 55 (Tier 2).Option amounts aren't published
WRS doesn't publish how much each option reduces your check. Your online account or a WRS counselor can show the amounts.
What would settle it: A WRS option factor table or several WRS estimates with options for known ages.The exact self-funded COLA cut and start date
We show a range for the smaller starting check with a self-funded COLA, based on the handbook. WRS will give you the exact amount.
What would settle it: The WRS Board rule on the self-funded COLA option, or WRS estimates with and without the COLA.Part-time work after retirement
The rules for going back to work cover full-time jobs. They don't say what happens with part-time work, so check with WRS before you take a part-time job with a WRS employer.
What would settle it: WRS guidance for retirees working fewer than 86 hours a month for a participating employer.Retiree health through your school district
WRS doesn't run retiree health insurance. Whether you can keep your health plan after retiring depends on your school district. Ask your district's HR office.
What would settle it: State of Wyoming Employees' Group Insurance retiree rate sheet and list of participating school districts, or the district's own retiree insurance policy.The handbook's state tax sentence
Wyoming law exempts WRS benefits from Wyoming taxes. If you live in another state, that state may tax them. Ask a tax professional.
What would settle it: WRS clarification of the handbook sentence.Contribution rates after June 2028
Contribution rates can change every two years. The current rates run through June 2028.
What would settle it: The WRS contribution rate sheet for July 1, 2028.Where sources disagreed
- The law leaves the early-retirement cut to WRS rules. The written rule is from 1995 and only covers Tier 1. The handbook says 5% a year before 60 or 65, counted by the month. We use the handbook. W.S. 9-3-415(b), (k); WRS Board Rules ch. 14, sec. 3(b); Handbook p. 11; Actuarial valuation (2026) pp. 8, 51
- The handbook says only a spouse named as sole beneficiary can choose monthly payments instead of the lump sum, starting at 60 or 65. The law seems to allow any beneficiary and names no age. We describe the handbook rule. Handbook p. 15, Spousal Exception; W.S. 9-3-421(a)
- If you weren't vested and had left your job when you died, the handbook says your beneficiary gets your balance, not double. The law says that applies only if you were first hired on or after July 1, 2019. Handbook p. 15, Non-Vested Members; W.S. 9-3-421(a), (e)
- The handbook says interest on your account compounds monthly; the law says yearly. It doesn't affect your monthly pension. Handbook p. 6, Account Management and Information; W.S. 9-3-402(a)(i)(A), (xii)
- The handbook says you wait two years after coming back before you can redeposit. The law says you must earn two years of service, which takes longer if you work part time. Handbook p. 12, Redeposits; W.S. 9-3-424(a)
- WRS documents describe the Tier 2 start slightly differently (hire date, join date, first contribution). They all point to September 1, 2012. Handbook p. 7; Actuarial valuation (2026) pp. 8, 51; WRS Pension Plan Characteristics; W.S. 9-3-402(a)(xxix)
- An older WRS chart still shows the rates from before July 2026. We use the current ones. WRS Pension Plan Characteristics; WRS rate sheet (2026) p. 1; WRS Summary Report (2026) p. 4
- A sentence in the handbook's after-retirement death section is copied from the before-retirement section by mistake. We use the sentence that follows it. Handbook p. 16, If Death Occurs After Retirement
Sources
- WRS Public Employee Pension Plan Handbook Updated August 2026 (back cover)
- State of Wyoming Retirement System - Public Employee Plan, Actuarial Valuation Report for the Year Beginning January 1, 2026 Letter dated June 2, 2026; benefit provisions in effect Jan. 1, 2026
- WRS Pension Contribution Rates - 2026 2026 (rates from July 1, 2026)
- WRS 2026 Summary Report 2026 (figures as of Dec. 31, 2025 and June 2026)
- WRS Pension Plan Characteristics Undated; says 'as of July 1, 2022' and shows the pre-July 2026 rates (18.62%). Superseded for rates.
- WRS Board Rules, Chapter 14: Early Retirement Benefit Reduction Effective 06/20/1995 to current (Wyoming Administrative Rules printout generated 06/15/2025)
- WRS Board Rules, Chapter 12: Reemployment of a Retiree Effective 04/07/2015 to current (printout generated 06/15/2025)
- WRS Rehired Retiree Fact Sheet and Rehired Retiree Election Form Undated (blank form)
- Wyoming Statutes, Title 9 (Administration of the Government), Wyoming Legislature compilation PDF created May 8, 2026 (includes 2026 session laws, e.g. W.S. 9-3-413.1 as amended by HEA 41)
- WRS Public Employee Pension Plan Handbook (previous edition) Updated October 2025 (superseded by the August 2026 edition)
We cite the page number printed on each WRS document, the section of the WRS Board Rules, or the section of the Wyoming Statutes (W.S.). The handbook says it is a summary, and WRS Board rules and Wyoming law govern if they differ. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.
Source: WRS Public Employee Pension Plan Handbook, Updated August 2026, pp. 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17-18, 19, 20. Also: WRS Board Rules ch. 14; W.S. §§ 9-3-402, 9-3-415, 9-3-417, 9-3-418, 9-3-419. Last reviewed .