No, we are not aware of any legislative proposals related to a “75 and out” retirement. MOSERS administers retirement benefits, but we do not have the authority to change plan provisions. Any change to the Rule of 80/”80 & Out” (or any other state employee pension provisions) would require a change in the law. Anytime the Missouri General Assembly is in session, you can follow any bills affecting MOSERS on our Legislation page.

NORMAL RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for General State Employees

MSEP Members

• Age 65 + 5 years of service
• Age 60 + 15 years of service
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2000 Members

• Age 62 + 5 years of service
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2011 Members

• Age 67 + 5 years of service
• “Rule of 90” – (at least age 55) when age + years of service = 90 or more at time of termination

No, the Temporary Benefit does not affect your Social Security benefit. The Temporary Benefit is a MOSERS plan provision only that is designed to provide you with a supplemental income until age 62 if you elect normal retirement prior to age 62.

The funding for it does not come from Social Security and it doesn’t impact your Social Security benefit amount. As a reminder, the Temporary Benefit is available to MSEP 2000 members but not MSEP members, so you must retire under MSEP 2000 to receive it. The Temporary Benefit and any COLAs earned on that amount will stop at age 62 regardless of whether you take early Social Security or not, but your base benefit will continue for life. For more information, contact a MOSERS benefit counselor or review the General Employees’ Retirement Handbook (MSEP & MSEP 2000).

When you make an application to retire with MOSERS, you will have options regarding how your retirement benefit will be paid. BackDROP is simply another payment option available to you if you have worked at least 2 years beyond eligibility for normal retirement (“Rule of 80” or any other age & service eligibility criteria).   

If you work beyond when your reach eligibility for normal retirement (under the “Rule of 80” or any other eligibility criteria), your pay can be included in your highest 36 months of pay IF it is not in your BackDROP period.

Any pay or service you get during your BackDROP period is not counted when calculating your monthly benefit payment. If you become eligible for and elect the BackDROP upon retirement, your highest 36 consecutive months would be determined from your MOSERS-covered work history prior to your BackDROP date.

But keep in mind, you are not required to take BackDROP, regardless of how long you work beyond normal retirement eligibility, and you don’t have to notify MOSERS of any decisions about BackDROP until you retire.

Options:

• You may elect not to take BackDROP, if you want all your service and pay to count and, likely, increase your monthly benefit, or,
• You could elect to take a shorter BackDROP period, or
• You could work additional years, if you want to take advantage of a significant increase in pay being included in your Final Average Pay.

Our BackDROP page, with a BackDROP graphic near the bottom, may help you visualize how it works or you can read the BackDROP brochure for more information. BackDROP can be complicated to understand, so MOSERS benefit counselors are available to help by phone or through an in-person appointment.

Note: BackDROP is available only to general state employees (including university employees) in MSEP and MSEP 2000. 

This is a great question. Below is a breakdown of the benefit formula.

If you are a general state employee (including college and university employees), when you apply for retirement, your monthly base benefit* is calculated using a formula, as defined by law, that takes into account the following factors:

• Final Average Pay (FAP) – The average of your highest 36 consecutive months of compensation
• Multiplier – The multiplier established by the legislature (1.6% or 0.016 for MSEP; 1.7% or 0.017 for MSEP 2000 and MSEP 2011)
• Credited Service – Your years and months of credited service earned, purchased, or transferred, and unused sick leave (if applicable)

* Base benefit is the amount before any reductions, taxes, or other deductions.

Examples - Using the multiplier for MSEP 2000 or MSEP 2011 retirees:

$3,000 (FAP)   x   0.017 (Multiplier) 15 years (Credited Service)   =   $765 monthly base benefit

$3,500 (FAP)   x   0.017 (Multiplier) 17.5 years (Credited Service)   =   $1,041.25 monthly base benefit

$4,000 (FAP)   x   0.017 (Multiplier) 30 years (Credited Service)   =   $2,040 monthly base benefit

$_____ (FAP)   x   ____ (Multiplier) x ____ years (Credited Service) = $_______ monthly base benefit

There is also the Temporary Benefit, which is available if you retire under the "Rule of 80" (MSEP 2000) or the "Rule of 90" (MSEP 2011), and it provides you with an additional benefit until age 62 along with your base benefit. The formula for the Temporary Benefit is: Final Average Pay (FAP) x .008 (Multiplier) x Credited Service. At age 62, it ends but your base benefit continues.

You can log in to myMOSERS to generate a benefit estimate or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor. 

Since you are only two years from retirement, we encourage you to attend a Ready to Retire session to learn about the process. Registration is now open for 2022 sessions. Log in to myMOSERS to sign up. You can also contact a MOSERS benefit counselor to make a 1-on-1 appointment. Check out our Ready to Retire page and the Retirement Guide for more information.  

It is possible this employee may have prior state service or may have purchased or transferred service in order to meet the requirements for “80 and Out” or they may be misstating or misunderstanding the terminology. Also, it is important to remember that, in order to retire, members are not required to have age and service equal 80 (or 90 for MSEP 2011) if they meet another set of age and service requirements first. If you or your co-workers have any additional questions about retirement eligibility, see the requirements and click on the plan information below or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor.  

NORMAL (UNREDUCED) RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY  REQUIREMENTS:

MSEP Members

• Age 65 + 5 years of service or
• Age 60 + 15 years of service or
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2000 Members

• Age 62 + 5 years of service or
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2011 Members

• Age 67 + 5 years of service or
• “Rule of 90” – (at least age 55) when age + years of service = 90 or more at time of termination

EARLY (REDUCED) RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY  REQUIREMENTS:

If you elect early retirement, your base benefit will be reduced by one-half of one percent (0.005) for each month your age at early retirement is younger than your normal retirement age.

MSEP: Age 55 with 10 years of service

MSEP 2000: Age 57 with 5 years of service

MSEP 2011: Age 62 with 5 years of service

In the scenario you describe, the answer is yes, a vested member of MSEP 2000 who leaves state employment and returns to state employment will still be in MSEP 2000. Their prior service would immediately be reinstated upon reemployment. They would be eligible for normal retirement under the Rule of 80/”80 and Out” or age 62, whichever came first. As a member of MSEP 2000, they would not be required to make the 4% employee contributions.  

In the scenario you describe, if the employee did not return to work, they would be considered an inactive vested member of MSEP 2000 and would become eligible for normal retirement at age 62.

Note: If an inactive vested member of MSEP or MSEP 2000 elected a buyout in 2017 or 2018 then returned to state employment, they would be a member of MSEP 2011, would be required to make the 4% employee contributions and would have to meet the retirement eligibility for MSEP 2011.

We encourage members to contact a MOSERS benefit counselor to discuss their individual situation and learn how various scenarios would impact their benefits. 

We are unaware of any legislative proposals related to changing MSEP 2011 normal retirement eligibility from “90 and out” to “80 and out”. Members of MSEP 2011 reach normal retirement eligibility when they have at least 5 years of service and are age 67 OR under the “Rule of 90”. Under the “Rule of 90”, they must be at least age 55 and their age plus years of service must equal 90 or more at the time of termination of employment. For example, if someone leaves employment at age 60 and has 30 years of service, they would meet the Rule of 90.

RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY  REQUIREMENTS:

MSEP Members

• Age 65 + 5 years of service or
• Age 60 + 15 years of service or
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2000 Members

• Age 62 + 5 years of service or
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more at time of termination. 

MSEP 2011 Members

• Age 67 + 5 years of service or
• “Rule of 90” – (at least age 55) when age + years of service = 90 or more at time of termination

Not sure if you are in MSEP, MSEP 2000, or MSEP 2011? See What’s My Plan? with information about plan membership, retirement eligibility requirements, and other plan provisions.

No, we are not aware of any legislative proposals related to a “70 and out” retirement. MOSERS administers retirement benefits but we do not have the authority to change plan provisions. Any change to the Rule of 80/”80 & Out” (or any other state employee pension provisions) would require a change in the law. Anytime the Missouri General Assembly is in session, you can follow any bills affecting MOSERS on our Legislation page.

RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY  REQUIREMENTS

MSEP Members

• Age 65 + 5 years of service
• Age 60 + 15 years of service
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2000 Members

• Age 62 + 5 years of service
• “Rule of 80” – (at least age 48) when age + years of service = 80 or more

MSEP 2011 Members

• Age 67 + 5 years of service
• “Rule of 90” – (at least age 55) when age + years of service = 90 or more at time of termination