- Normal benefit = 2% x years of credited service x full-time equivalency (FTE) x average annual salary. The benefit cannot be more than 75% of your average salary (37.5 years at 2%).Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), pp. 21, 24; C.G.S. § 10-183g(a) (2026 Supp.)
- Example: 22.5 years at 2% is 45%; on a $100,000 average salary that is $45,000 a year, $3,750 a month.Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 24, Normal retirement examples (Member B)
The handbook's examples
- Member Q, age 59, 35 years at 85% FTE: 35 × 2% × 0.85 = 59.5% × $100,000 = $59,500 a year, $4,958.33 a month. Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 24, Normal retirement examples (Member Q)
- Member B, age 64, 22.5 years: 22.5 × 2% = 45% × $100,000 = $45,000 a year, $3,750.00 a month. Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 24, Normal retirement examples (Member B)
Your percentage by years of service
At a normal retirement, on a $90,000 average salary:
| Years | % of salary | A year | A month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 40% | $36,000 | $3,000 |
| 22.5 | 45% | $40,500 | $3,375 |
| 25 | 50% | $45,000 | $3,750 |
| 30 | 60% | $54,000 | $4,500 |
| 35 | 70% | $63,000 | $5,250 |
| 37.5reaches the cap | 75% | $67,500 | $5,625 |
| 40still capped | 75% | $67,500 | $5,625 |
Our arithmetic on the 2% rule. Connecticut TRB's Retirement Percentage Chart shows the same percentages at 60: 30 years 60%, 31 years 62%, 32 years 64%, 33 years 66%, 34 years 68%, 35 years 70%, 36 years 72%, 37 years 74%, 37.5 years 75%. Connecticut TRB Retirement Percentage Chart (AI_Rpc_200816)
No benefit, including COLAs, may exceed the IRC 415(b) dollar limit for the year. C.G.S. § 10-183g(r) (2026 Supp.); Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 21, Benefit Limits The yearly minimum for a normal retirement benefit is $3,600. C.G.S. § 10-183g(a) (2026 Supp.) (normal retirement benefit not less than $3,600)
The statute sets a $3,600 yearly minimum for a normal retirement benefit. It doesn't say whether the minimum also applies to early, proratable or deferred benefits. We apply it only to normal retirement.
What would settle it: Connecticut TRB practice or statute reading.
Your average annual salary
- Your average annual salary is the average of your three highest annual salaries as a Connecticut teacher. Extra-duty and coaching pay, unused sick or vacation pay, terminal pay, summer school and merit pay do not count.C.G.S. § 10-183b(4) (2026 Supp.); Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), pp. 10-11, Annual Salary
- Check with Connecticut TRBPay added to inflate your average, or paid because you are retiring, is excluded. We found no published rule capping final-year raises at a set percentage.Absence of a raise cap is inferred from the sources saved.Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), pp. 11-12; C.G.S. § 10-183b(3) (2026 Supp.)
The average of your three highest annual salaries as an active member (the handbook also calls this your three highest-paid years, "thirty (30) months"). The three years need not be consecutive in the statute's wording. With part-time service, Connecticut TRB uses your full-time annualized salary for the three highest years and reduces the benefit by FTE. C.G.S. § 10-183b(4) (2026 Supp.); Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 21, Your Retirement
These don't count: Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 11, Annual Salary
- Extra-duty and coaching pay (unless coaching pay was contributed on before July 1, 1971)
- Unused vacation or sick leave
- Terminal pay
- Expense reimbursements and allowances
- Fringe benefit costs
- Payments whose timing you direct
- Summer school pay
- Curriculum development pay unless part of regular duties
- Amounts meant to inflate the average, or paid because you are retiring
- Merit pay
Salary paid (or that would have been paid) during a leave of absence is not used in the average. Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 37, Approved Leave of Absence; Retirement Percentage Chart (AI_Rpc_200816) Sabbatical pay on which contributions were made counts only if you return to full-time teaching for at least five full years after the leave. C.G.S. § 10-183b(3) (2026 Supp.)
Some states cap how much a last-year raise can count. We found no such cap in Connecticut TRB's handbook, employer manual or the statute; the only rule is that pay added to inflate your average doesn't count. We use your average salary as you enter it.
What would settle it: A Connecticut TRB publication or regulation (Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 10-183b) that states a raise cap, or Connecticut TRB confirming there is none.
Credited service and part-time work
One month of credit for each school month (September-June) you are employed on the first working day of the month and contributions are made. Ten months = one year; at most one year per school year. Half-time or more earns credit at your FTE. Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), pp. 12-13, Credited Service; C.G.S. § 10-183e(a)(1) (2025 rev.)
Part-time service averaging at least half a school day counts as full-time for eligibility; benefit percentages are reduced proportionally (FTE). C.G.S. § 10-183gg (2025 rev.); Active Teachers' Handbook (2022), p. 7, Retirement Credit for Members Teaching At Least Half Time
Retiring before normal retirement swaps the 2% for a smaller percentage: see early retirement. Leaving with fewer years: see leaving teaching.
Questions
What is the Connecticut TRB formula?
2% × years of credited service × full-time equivalency × average annual salary. The result is capped at 75% of your average salary, which you reach at 37.5 years.
What is my average annual salary?
The average of your three highest annual salaries as an active member. Coaching, extra-duty, summer school, merit and unused sick or vacation pay don't count.
Is there a minimum benefit?
Yes. A normal retirement benefit is at least $3,600 a year.
Source: CTRS Active Teachers' Handbook, July 1, 2022, pp. 7, 10-11, 11, 11-12, 12-13, 21, 24, 37. Also: Retirement Percentage Chart; Connecticut TRB Retirement Percentage Chart; C.G.S. §§ 10-183b, 10-183e, 10-183g, 10-183gg. Last reviewed .