STRS announced an early retirement incentive for members with the defined benefit (also known as the BD Plan, which is the pension plan) of any age and with 33 years of service, or those aged 60 and with at least 5 years of service between June 1, 2025, and July 1, 2027.
There are also options to take a reduced benefit, which I’m generally not a fan of, but can be evaluated if you have an estimate for a reduced age or amount to compare to an unreduced one.
Below is a table indicating the eligibility requirements:
So, the question is, should I take STRS up on this offer?
What you’d like to do may differ from what you can afford financially. To determine what you should do depends on the rest of your financial situation.
If you’d like to see which option is best for you, here’s what you’ll want to do.
Run your STRS pension (retirement benefit) estimate for:
1) the earliest age at which you’re eligible (when you have 33.0 years of service) or the end of the school year
2) when you hit 34.0 years of service (the normal years of service requirement) or the end of the school year after you hit
3) If you’d like to consider a third option for comparison, feel free to run that as well. (It’s very easy to run different estimates)
STRS has instructions on how to run an estimate here.
If your district has negotiated salary increases for the next several years, make sure to include those salary increases when running your retirement benefit estimate. If you’re not aware of what those are, you can contact your district’s treasurer’s office.
Next Steps for Retirement Planning
If you’d like help with running this estimate or have exceptional circumstances (eligible to buy back time), we recommend scheduling a meeting with an STRS counselor to discuss this further.
Once you have your estimates, you should reach out to your financial advisor at Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers to discuss the best option for you.
STRS Early Retirement Option Announced
April 8, 2025
Andrew Young
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