The graded multiplier
Your total credited service picks the multiplier. It applies to all of your years, not just the years in each band.
| Total credited service | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Up to 19.99 years | 2.10% |
| 20 to 24.99 years | 2.15% |
| 25 to 29.99 years | 2.20% |
| 30 or more years | 2.30% |
Each month in which a member contributes counts as one month of service credit (the smallest unit is one month); school employees earn a full year in 9 months; no more than 1.0 year in a fiscal year. Service is awarded in the month contributions are reported. So the band edges never need rounding. ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; ASRS Estimate Your Benefits page, Years of Service; A.R.S. 38-739(A)-(C)
How much of your pay it replaces
ASRS's Wage Replacement Rates table: years of service x graded multiplier = percent of average monthly compensation paid. It assumes normal retirement; an early reduction lowers it.
| Years of service | Multiplier | Share of average pay |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2.10% | 10.50% |
| 10 | 2.10% | 21.00% |
| 15 | 2.10% | 31.50% |
| 20 | 2.15% | 43.00% |
| 23 | 2.15% | 49.45% |
| 25 | 2.20% | 55.00% |
| 27 | 2.20% | 59.40% |
| 30 | 2.30% | 69.00% |
| 32 | 2.30% | 73.60% |
Average monthly compensation
- Membership commenced before Jan. 1, 1984: the higher of the 36-month average and the highest 60 consecutive months within the last 120 months of contributions (ASRS: 'AMC=36 or 60 months, whichever is highest'); the 60-month figure includes termination pay. ASRS Retirement Eligibility page, Average Monthly Compensation; A.R.S. 38-711(5)(a)(i)-(ii)
- Membership commenced on or after Jan. 1, 1984 but before July 1, 2011: highest 36 consecutive months of compensation within the last 120 months of credited service. ASRS Retirement Eligibility page, Average Monthly Compensation; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; A.R.S. 38-711(5)(b)
- Membership commenced on or after July 1, 2011: highest 60 consecutive months of compensation within the last 120 months of credited service. ASRS Retirement Eligibility page, Average Monthly Compensation; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; A.R.S. 38-711(5)(c)
- Months with no contributions reported, or within a nonpaid or partially paid leave of absence or sabbatical, are excluded; the consecutive months may fall before, around, or after the excluded months. A.R.S. 38-711(5)(b)-(c), (31)(c)
- If the member worked fewer consecutive months than the window, AMC is based on the total consecutive months worked. A.R.S. 38-711(5)(b)-(c), (31)(c)
- For AMC, a service year counts as 12 months of compensation (so a 9- or 10-month school contract year still counts as a full year). A.R.S. 38-711(5)(b)-(c), (31)(c)
What counts as pay
- Membership through 2019: Gross salary or wages, including deferred compensation and tax-sheltered amounts, up to the 38-746 limit. For AMC under the 1984-2011 and 2011+ rules it excludes lump-sum termination payments for vacation, sick leave or comp time; settlement damages; cash in lieu of fringe benefits; and pay without employer contributions.
- Membership from 2020: Only gross wages for services rendered during credited service (W-2 wages incl. pretax deductions), excluding accrued leave payouts not replacing regular hours, termination payments or retirement incentives, allowances, reimbursements, employer plan contributions, insurance, workers' compensation and disability payments, and amounts over the IRC 401(a)(17) limit.
Minimum and maximum
A retired member who is at least 75 and retired with at least 20 years of credited service gets at least $600 a month. A beneficiary aged 75+ of such a member gets $600 reduced by the option's actuarial figure and percentage. Not available after a 38-764(C) lump sum. A.R.S. 38-768(A)-(D)
Federal IRC 415(b) limit: the employer-provided straight life annuity may not exceed $160,000 a year as adjusted by the U.S. Treasury, with reductions for under 10 years of membership and for benefits starting before 62, and increases after 65. Compensation counted is capped at $200,000 (from July 1, 2002) as adjusted under IRC 401(a)(17), or $235,840 (adjusted) for members who joined before July 1, 1996. A.R.S. 38-769(A)-(C); A.R.S. 38-746(A), (D)-(E)
On reaching the normal retirement date the right to the normal retirement benefit is nonforfeitable by an employer or ASRS (except under A.R.S. 13-713). A.R.S. 38-757(A)
From ASRS and the law
- Your monthly benefit is your years of service x a graded multiplier x your average monthly compensation.ASRS Estimate Your Benefits page, Benefit Formula; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 8; A.R.S. 38-757(B)
- The multiplier is 2.10% with up to 19.99 years, 2.15% with 20-24.99 years, 2.20% with 25-29.99 years, and 2.30% with 30 or more years. It applies to all your years, not just the years in each band.ASRS Estimate Your Benefits page, Graded Multiplier Table; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; A.R.S. 38-757(B)(1)(a)-(d)
- Example: 30 years x 2.30% x $5,000 average monthly compensation = $3,450 a month for life.A.R.S. 38-757(B)
- The formula amount is a straight life annuity. Choosing a survivor or period-certain option lowers it.A.R.S. 38-757(B); A.R.S. 38-760(B)
- ASRS uses average monthly compensation: the highest 36 (joined 1984 to June 2011) or 60 (joined July 2011 or later) consecutive months of pay within your last 120 months of service.ASRS Retirement Eligibility page, Average Monthly Compensation; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; A.R.S. 38-711(5)(b)-(c)
- Months with no contributions, unpaid or partly paid leave, or sabbatical are skipped. The consecutive months can fall on either side of the skipped months.A.R.S. 38-711(5)(b)-(c)
- School employees earn a full year of service after nine months of contributions (for example, August to April), and no one earns more than one year in a fiscal year.ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; A.R.S. 38-711(31)(a)-(c); A.R.S. 38-739(A)
- Lump-sum payouts of vacation, sick leave or comp time when you leave do not count as compensation for the average (for members who joined from 1984 on).ASRS Retirement Eligibility page, Average Monthly Compensation; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; A.R.S. 38-711(7)(a)(i), (7)(b)(i)-(ii)
- ASRS's own example: 21 years x 2.15% x $2,800 average monthly compensation = $1,264.20 a month.ASRS Session 1, slide 21; A.R.S. 38-757(B)
- Service is counted in months: each month you contribute counts as one month of service, so the multiplier bands (19.99 / 20.00 years) never need rounding.ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 9; ASRS Estimate Your Benefits page, Years of Service
- ASRS's wage replacement table: 20 years x 2.15% = 43% of your average monthly compensation; 30 years x 2.30% = 69%. It assumes normal retirement.ASRS Estimate Your Benefits page, Wage Replacement Rates table; A.R.S. 38-757(B)(1)
Crossing a band is why one more year can be worth so much. Retiring before your normal retirement date adds an early-retirement cut, and the straight life amount is what the payment options are reduced from. Try the calculator with an example already filled in.
Questions
Does the higher multiplier apply to all my years?
Yes. Your total credited service picks one multiplier, and it applies to every year (ASRS Estimate Your Benefits page, Benefit Formula; ASRS Employer Basics 2025, p. 8; A.R.S. 38-757(B)(1)). So crossing 20, 25 or 30 years raises the rate on all your service.
Is there a cap on my ASRS pension?
The ASRS law sets no percentage-of-AMC cap on the formula; the only maximum is the federal IRC 415 limit in A.R.S. 38-769. (A.R.S. 38-757(B); A.R.S. 38-769)
Source: ASRS Employer Basics 2025 handbook, March 2025 edition, saved Nov. 12, 2026; with other ASRS publications and the Arizona Revised Statutes, pp. 8, 9. Also ASRS Basics for Employers, Session 1: Intro to ASRS (slides), slide 21. Also ASRS web page: Retirement Eligibility. Also ASRS web page: Estimate Your Benefits. Also A.R.S. 38-711, 38-739, 38-746, 38-757, 38-760, 38-768, 38-769 (Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 38, Ch. 5, Art. 2). Last reviewed .