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Leaving State Employment and Returning to Work Before Retirement Eligibility
Sep 12, 2024, 9:00 AM By MOSERSIf I leave my job and I am vested but not able to retire, less than 62 and I don't meet the other requirements, and I return to work before I am 62 would I be able to retire once I turn 62 or would I have to wait until I am 67?If you are a vested member of MSEP, MSEP 2000, or MSEP 2011 and leave state employment before you are eligible to retire, your pension stays secure with MOSERS and will be available to you when you meet the age requirement for your plan and complete the retirement process. Retirees receive a lifetime payment based on a.) a formula set by law and b.) the option they elect at retirement. See Leaving State Employment for more information.
If you return to work for the state at a later date, you will start earning service credit immediately and will be eligible to retire once you meet the following requirements based on your plan:
MSEP Normal Retirement Eligibility (Full/Unreduced Benefit)
- Age 65 with 5 years of service or
- Age 60 with 15 years of service or
- At least age 48 with the sum of your age and years of service equaling 80 or more (Rule of 80)
MSEP 2000 Normal Retirement Eligibility (Full/Unreduced Benefit)
- Age 62 with 5 years of service or
- At least age 48 with the sum of your age and years of service equaling 80 or more (Rule of 80)
MSEP 2011 Normal Retirement Eligibility (Full/Unreduced Benefit)
- Age 67 with 5 years of service or
- At least age 55 with the sum of your age and years of service equaling 90 or more (Rule of 90)
Please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor. They can review your individual circumstances and tell you specifically when you will be eligible to retire based on different scenarios.
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Leaving State Employment and Your Pension
Feb 26, 2024, 8:32 AM By MOSERSI started with the State of MO in 2008. If I leave before my early retirement, do I simply walk away from any pension, or is there some type of pension available to me when I reach a certain age? Basically, is my pension an all-or-nothing situation?If you are a vested member of MSEP or MSEP 2000 and leave state employment before you are eligible to retire, your pension stays secure with MOSERS and will be available to you when you meet the age requirement and complete the retirement process. Retirees receive a lifetime payment based on a.) a formula set by law and b.) the option they elect at retirement. See Leaving State Employment for more information.There are no forms for you to complete with MOSERS when leaving your position; however, we ask that you keep your contact information current with us as you will receive periodic mailings regarding your retirement information. If you have address, email, or phone number changes, please log in to myMOSERS and to update your personal information or contact our office at (800) 827-1063.If you are a vested member of MSEP 2011 and leave state employment before you are eligible to retire, the above information is true unless you take a refund of your employee contributions. If you take a refund, you will forfeit your future rights to receive a pension (lifetime monthly retirement benefits) from MOSERS. Missouri law requires MOSERS to pay your refund within an administratively reasonable period but no sooner than 90 days from the date your state employment ended.
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Withdrawing Funds
Jul 14, 2023, 1:44 PM By MOSERScan we withdraw from retirement?If you are actively employed as a state employee, you cannot opt-out or withdraw any funds from your MOSERS defined benefit retirement plan. If you participate in MO Deferred Comp (the supplemental savings program), you may contact them at (800) 392-0925 or (573) 893-1053 to ask about making an emergency withdrawal from your savings.
Members of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011 who leave state employment may choose to either request a refund of their employee contributions (if they don’t anticipate returning to state employment) or leave their contributions with MOSERS (if they do anticipate returning to state employment).
Please note that, there is a 90-day waiting period and if you take a refund, you will forfeit all your credited service. Alternatively, you may leave your contributions with the System if you think you might return to work for the state at some point in the future and would like for those years of service to count toward an eventual retirement benefit. To learn more, please visit our Refund of Employee Contributions page.
If you saved money with the MO Deferred Comp Plan while employed with the state, you do have the option to withdraw your 457 savings penalty-free upon leaving state service or you may roll your savings balance to another qualified retirement savings plan. Please visit www.modeferredcomp.org for more information.
We encourage you to contact a tax professional or financial advisor for advice specific to your situation.
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Updating Your Beneficiaries
Jun 1, 2023, 12:00 AM By MOSERSNot a comment, but a question. How do I change the beneficiary of this pension? I didn't see an online form to make changes.
The number and types of beneficiaries you have depends primarily on your employment status and eligibility for MOSERS benefits:
- Actively employed as a state employee or
- Inactive-vested (worked long enough to earn a future pension benefit but no longer employed by the state and not yet retired) or
- Retired
ACTIVE: You may have beneficiaries for life insurance (if provided through MOSERS) and/or employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011).
INACTIVE-VESTED: You may have beneficiaries for employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011). However, you won’t make decisions about your future MOSERS defined benefit pension benefits, including those about survivor beneficiaries, until you apply for retirement.
RETIRED: You may have beneficiaries for life insurance (if provided through MOSERS and you retained life insurance coverage in retirement) and/or employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011). You may change the above beneficiaries at any time. You are allowed to change your survivor beneficiaries for your MOSERS defined benefit pension only under the following circumstances:
- You were married at retirement, elected a joint & survivor benefit payment option and your spouse passes away. See more information about reporting a death.
- You were married at retirement, elected a joint & survivor benefit payment option and you get divorced after retirement. Go to the Life Events page and scroll down to Divorce.
- You were single at retirement, elected the Life Income Annuity benefit payment option and then got married. Go to the Life Events page and scroll down to Marriage.
- You elected one of the “life income with guaranteed payments” benefit payment options at retirement and want to change your beneficiary(ies).
Log in to myMOSERS and go to Forms. If any of the above apply to you, you will see the forms to update your beneficiaries. If you still have questions, please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at mosers@mosers.org, (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100.
If you participate in MO Deferred Comp, which is a supplemental savings plan separate from your MOSERS defined benefit pension plan, you may update your beneficiaries with MO Deferred Comp, on their website.
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Leaving State Employment after Becoming Vested
Dec 14, 2022, 11:41 AM By MOSERSHello, I wanted to know ...Now that I am vested if I leave my employment and take my MOSERS money how much would that be? Also, currently, I contribute .4 percent, can I increase that amount? Thank you!Once you are vested (5 years of service for general state employees), you are eligible to receive a future pension benefit from MOSERS, even if you leave state employment. Once you reach retirement age and complete the retirement process, you will receive a monthly pension payment for your lifetime.
You cannot increase your 4% employee contributions that go into the MOSERS trust fund, but you can certainly increase the amount of supplemental savings that you put in MO Deferred Comp. For many state employees, income in retirement comes from three sources:
- Your MOSERS defined benefit pension (based on your years of service and final average pay)
- Social Security retirement benefits
- Supplemental personal savings, such as with MO Deferred Comp
Another thing to consider is that, even if you aren’t vested, you may leave your employee contributions with the System if you think you might return to work for the state at some point in the future and would like for those years of service to count toward an eventual retirement benefit.
However, if you leave state employment, you may request a refund of your employee contributions plus any credited interest. By law, there is a 90-day waiting period before we can issue a refund. By taking a refund, your forfeit all your credited service. You can log in to myMOSERS and find your total employee contributions plus any interest. Once logged in, click on the Personal Information tab. Then, click on Contribution Calculator. Scroll all the way to the bottom for your accumulated balance. If you are unable to log in, you may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for your balance. See our Employee Contributions brochure for more information.
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Leaving State Employment Before Retirement Age
Oct 13, 2022, 8:23 AM By MOSERSWhat happens to my MOSERS retirement benefit if I leave employment before retirement age?If you are a vested member of MSEP or MSEP 2000 and leave state employment prior to retirement, your pension stays secure with MOSERS and will be available to you when become eligible and complete the retirement process. See Leaving State Employment for more information.
Keep in mind that any benefit estimates you may have received assume you worked until your normal retirement date. If you leave employment, you will stop accruing service credit. As a result, your first eligible normal retirement date may be later and your benefit amount will be less. You may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor to get a revised estimate of your future benefit.
If you are a member of MSEP 2011, the same is true. Alternatively, you have the option to request a Refund of Employee Contributions. If you elect a refund, there is a 90-day waiting period and you will forfeit your future rights to receive a pension from MOSERS.
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Receiving a Refund of Employee Contributions
Jul 5, 2022, 2:06 PM By MOSERSI recently had my last day of employment on June 30, 2022 and want to know what the next steps are to cash out my contributions.Members of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011 who leave state employment may choose to either request a refund (if they don’t anticipate returning to state employment) or leave their contributions with MOSERS (if they do anticipate returning to state employment).
If you decide to request a refund of your employee contributions, please be aware that there is a 90-day waiting period from the date of termination before MOSERS can issue a refund. You must complete the Member Request for Refund of Employee Contributions form, get it notarized, and submit it to MOSERS.
Please note that, if you take a refund, you will forfeit all your credited service. Alternatively, you may leave your contributions with the System if you think you might return to work for the state at some point in the future and would like for those years of service to count toward an eventual retirement benefit. To learn more, please visit our Refund of Employee Contributions page.
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Working in a Different State
Jun 1, 2022, 9:07 AM By MOSERSI am currently working in a different state and want to pull my MOSERS retirement account and place it with my current retirement account. How do I get that done?You are not able to access your MOSERS defined benefit pension until retirement and it is not transferable to a pension plan in a different state. However, if you are no longer working in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position, and you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011, you may be eligible to request a refund of your employee contributions. By taking a refund, you will lose all your credited service and future rights to receive pension and LTD benefits from MOSERS. By law, there is a 90-day waiting period before we can issue a refund.
If you saved money with the MO Deferred Comp Plan while employed with the state, you do have the option to withdraw your 457 savings penalty-free upon leaving state service or you may roll your savings balance to another qualified retirement savings plan. Please visit www.modeferredcomp.org for more information.
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Reemployment and Your Pension
Mar 4, 2022, 3:22 PM By MOSERSHello. I do have a question about working part time in state government after retirement. I know that a job with a state agency is limited to less than 1000 hours annually, and I did that for awhile right after retirement. I have been offered a part time job with a private consulting firm that is contracted with a state agency. Since my employer would be a private firm, not state government, these hours would not count towards a 1000 hour limit, correct? Thanks!You are correct. Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position (i.e. a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours a year).
Contracted employees working directly under a private firm are not typically classified as state employees. Such employment should not interfere with your ability to receive your MOSERS benefit, however, we recommend that you contact the employer to confirm that anyone employed as such would not be considered a state employee.
If you return to work for the state of Missouri in a MOSERS or MPERS benefit-eligible position:
- Your monthly pension payment will stop.
- Depending on various factors (your plan, how long you work, etc.), you may or may not earn additional credited service during reemployment.
- When you retire again, your monthly pension payment will equal the amount you were receiving when you returned to work plus any additional benefit you may have earned during reemployment.
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Termination & Reemployment with a MOSERS Covered Employer
Oct 25, 2021, 10:17 AM By MOSERSI'am retired on mosers and now working MOA at the University, how many hours can I work per year.It is the responsibility of your employer, not MOSERS, to determine if the position you are working in is a MOSERS benefit-eligible position. Generally speaking, an employee must work in a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours per year to qualify for MOSERS benefits. If your employer determines that the position is not benefit-eligible and you have followed the termination and reemployment rules outlined below, you may work in that position and still get your MOSERS pension benefits.
Termination and Reemployment Rules
Before receiving a benefit payment from MOSERS, IRS rules require a “bona fide termination” of your employment. For purposes of MOSERS Board Rules, a "bona fide termination" occurs when:
- You have completely severed employment;
- You have not entered into a prearranged agreement (written or oral), prior to retirement, with the State of Missouri or any MOSERS-covered employer for subsequent employment on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other); and
- You are not subsequently employed with the State of Missouri or any MOSERS-covered employer on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other) within 30 days after your employment with your prior employer has ended.
See FAQs on Termination and Reemployment Rules and a flyer on Termination and Reemployment Rules for more information.
Reemployment
Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position.
If you return to work for the state of Missouri in a MOSERS or MPERS benefit-eligible position:
- Your monthly pension payment will stop.
- Depending on various factors (your plan, how long you work, etc.), you may or may not earn additional credited service during reemployment.
- When you retire again, your monthly pension payment will equal the amount you were receiving when you returned to work plus any additional benefit you may have earned during reemployment.
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Disclaimer
We strive to provide the most accurate information possible in our answers to Rumor Central questions. However, occasionally, laws, policies or provisions change and individual circumstances may vary. Please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor or see the handbooks in our website Library for more detailed information. If there is any difference between the information provided in this blog or on the MOSERS website and the law or policies that govern MOSERS, the law and policies will prevail. See our Privacy, Security & Legal Notices for more information.