Yearly benefit = (contributory years x contributory multiplier + noncontributory years x noncontributory multiplier) x final average salary. ATRS pays it monthly. Members with 10+ years of actual ATRS service also get a $50 monthly stipend. Member Handbook p. 6, Retirement Benefit Calculation; p. 26, Benefit Amount; 24 CAR § 10-610(b)
- 27 years × 2.15% × $35,000 = $20,318
- 5 years × 1.39% × $35,000 = $2,433
The actuary's example doesn't date its noncontributory years. We treat them as earned before July 2019, the only way its $22,750 works out. Later noncontributory years earn 1.25%.
Multipliers
- Contributory: 2.15% a year if you retire with 10+ years.
- Noncontributory: 1.39% through June 30, 2019; 1.25% after.
- Under 10 years: service from July 1, 2018 earns 1.75% contributory or 1% noncontributory. Earlier service keeps 2.15% or 1.39%.
Members who retire with 10 or more years of actual/reciprocal service get the standard multipliers on all their service. Members with fewer than 10 years get the lower first-10-year multipliers on service after July 1, 2018. 'Once a member accrues 10 years of service, all service including the first 10 years is then credited at the standard multiplier rate in place at the time the service was earned.' artrs.gov/multiplier (retrieved 2026-11-11); Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-3, item 6 (Board Resolutions 2017-31 and 2017-32)
artrs.gov/multiplier counts 'actual/reciprocal service' toward the 10-year threshold; the planner says '10 or more years of service credit'. Our calculator uses actual + reciprocal (purchased excluded) and needs the member's service split by date (before/after July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2019); if no split is given it assumes contributory service and, under 10 years, service after July 1, 2018.
What would settle it: A.C.A. § 24-7-705 or the ATRS annual statement / benefit estimate showing the multiplier split.At 28 years of service you 'take home approximately 60% of what you made while working' (28 x 2.15% = 60.2%). Member Handbook p. 49, The Ultramarathon: 28 years of service credit
Contributory or noncontributory? The full multiplier table →
The $50 stipend
A retiree with at least 10 years of actual ATRS service gets a $50 monthly ($600 a year) retirement benefit stipend on top of the benefit. Actual ATRS service only; purchased and free military service don't count. Member Handbook p. 26, What is a retirement benefit stipend?; p. 12; 2026 Retirement Planner p. 10
The stipend is outside the base benefit: it isn't reduced by an annuity option and gets no COLA (removed from the base for all retirees from FY 2019). Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-6, item 14 (Resolution 2017-34: stipend removed from the base amount from FY 2019, $50 from FY 2020, with a hold-harmless for retirees); p. C-11 sample (option adjustment applied to the benefit before the $600 stipend; yearly increase $536 = 3% of the option annuity only)
Final average salary (FAS)
Effective July 1, 2018, the FAS is the average of the 5 highest salary years from any point in the career (from ATRS employers). Member Handbook p. 6; p. 26; General Info pamphlet p. 2, Using your Final Average Salary (FAS); 24 CAR § 10-612(c)(2)
The 3-year benchmark. A benchmark 3-year FAS (highest 3 full service years through FY 2018, anti-spiking applied) is compared with the 5-year FAS and the higher is used. Who gets it: active in ATRS (or a reciprocal system / ARP, with documentation) on June 30, 2018 with at least 3 full service years. 24 CAR § 10-612(e); Member Handbook p. 6 (footnote); artrs.gov/fas; Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-2, item 5
Anti-spiking. Rank the FAS years from lowest to highest salary. The lowest is the base. Each next salary (if less than 8 years from the base salary year) may not exceed the greater of 110% of the base or base + $5,000; it is reduced if needed and becomes the new base. FAS = sum of the (adjusted) salaries / number of FAS years. Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-2, item 5 (steps a-g; Resolution 2017-13 set 110% and $5,000); artrs.gov/fas ('No salary shall exceed 110% of the previous highest salary ... unless the differential between the salaries is less than $5,000.00'); General Info pamphlet p. 2 ('the greater of either 110% of the previous highest salary, or over $5,000 more than the previous highest year's salary')
See conflict anti-spiking-wording; also how the '8 years from the base salary year' test and partial years interact.
What would settle it: A.C.A. § 24-7-736 text or an ATRS FAS worksheet.Reciprocal service. With reciprocal service, ATRS uses the highest FAS calculated by ATRS or a reciprocal system in which the member has at least 2 years of service. 24 CAR § 10-612(f); General Info pamphlet p. 2, Reciprocity; Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-3
Short careers. If the member has fewer credited years than the FAS period, FAS = total salary / total credited years. 24 CAR § 10-612(d)(1); Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-2, item 5
Pay that doesn't count. Retirement incentives, separation or buyout payments offered to two or more members, and similar 'special payments' aren't salary for the FAS. 24 CAR § 10-611(e)
From the sources
- Yearly benefit = years of service x multiplier x final average salary. Contributory service earns 2.15% a year for members retiring with 10 or more years of actual (or reciprocal) service.Member Handbook p. 6; artrs.gov/multiplier; 2026 Retirement Planner p. 10
- Noncontributory service earns 1.39% for service through June 30, 2019 and 1.25% for service from July 1, 2019, for members with 10 or more years.artrs.gov/multiplier; 2026 Retirement Planner p. 10
- If you retire with fewer than 10 years of actual and reciprocal service, service earned after July 1, 2018 counts at lower rates: 1.75% contributory and 1.00% noncontributory. Once you reach 10 years, all of it counts at the standard rates.artrs.gov/multiplier; Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-3, item 6
- At 28 years of contributory service, the benefit is about 60% of your final average salary (28 x 2.15% = 60.2%).Member Handbook p. 49
- With at least 10 years of actual ATRS service, retirees get a $50 monthly ($600 a year) benefit stipend on top of the benefit. Purchased service doesn't count toward those 10 years.Member Handbook pp. 12, 26
- The actuary's example: $35,000 final average salary, 32 years (27 contributory), age 60. The benefit is $22,750 a year plus the $600 stipend. Taking Option A with a 55-year-old spouse makes it $18,475 a year.Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-11
- Your final average salary is the average of your 5 highest salary years, from any point in your career (since July 1, 2018).Member Handbook pp. 6, 26; General Info pamphlet p. 2
- If you were active on June 30, 2018 with at least 3 full years, ATRS also figures a 'benchmark' 3-year average from your salaries through then and uses whichever is higher.24 CAR § 10-612(e); artrs.gov/fas
- Check with ATRSAn anti-spiking cap applies. ATRS ranks your salary years lowest to highest, and each can't exceed the previous one by more than the greater of 10% or $5,000.General Info pamphlet p. 2; artrs.gov/fas; Actuarial valuation 2025 p. C-2
- With reciprocal service, ATRS uses the higher of its own average and the other system's, if you have at least 2 years there.24 CAR § 10-612(f); General Info pamphlet p. 2
Questions
What is my final average salary (FAS)?
The average of your 5 highest salary years from ATRS employers, from any point in your career. If you were active on June 30, 2018 with 3 full years, ATRS also works out a 3-year average through then and uses the higher one.
Why might ATRS lower one of my salary years?
Anti-spiking. Each salary year used can't be more than the greater of 110% of the year below it or that year plus $5,000.
What is the $50 stipend?
$50 a month on top of your benefit if you retire with 10+ years of actual ATRS service. It isn't reduced by a payment option and doesn't grow with the COLA.
Source: ATRS Member Handbook, 2026-2027 school year (current as of July 2026), pp. 6, 12, 26, 49. Also: artrs.gov/multiplier; Actuarial valuation 2025 pp. C-2, C-3, C-6, C-11; General Info pamphlet p. 2; artrs.gov/fas; 2026 Retirement Planner p. 10; ATRS rules, 24 CAR §§ 10-610, 10-611, 10-612. Last reviewed .