Three ways a year helps
- More service. Each year adds 2% of your AFC to your yearly benefit. Handbook pp. 16-17, How MainePERS Determines Your Service Retirement Benefit
- A smaller early cut. Retiring before your normal retirement age with 25 years costs 6% a year (about 2.25% in the age-60 group). A year closer is that much less. Handbook p. 17, Note
- Reaching 25 years. Below that, there's no early retirement at all. Handbook p. 16, Qualifying to Receive a Service Retirement Benefit
Example (our numbers)
A teacher in the age-62 group, 57 with 25 years and a $60,000 AFC, starting July 1 each year.
| Start | Age | Keep working | Stop now, wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 57 | $1,750 25 yrs, −30% | $1,750 25 yrs, −30% |
| July 2027 | 58 | $1,976 26 yrs, −24% | $1,900 25 yrs, −24% |
| July 2028 | 59 | $2,214 27 yrs, −18% | $2,050 25 yrs, −18% |
| July 2029 | 60 | $2,464 28 yrs, −12% | $2,200 25 yrs, −12% |
| July 2030 | 61 | $2,726 29 yrs, −6% | $2,350 25 yrs, −6% |
| July 2031 | 62 | $3,000 30 yrs, full | $2,500 25 yrs, full |
Working one more year raises this teacher's check from $1,750 to $1,976 a month. Waiting a year without working gets $1,900. At 62 the cut is gone either way. Full Benefit, average held the same; raises would add more.
MainePERS's sample estimate shows a member 61 years 10 months old as age 62 with no reduction, so it rounds age. No source states the rule (for example, whether exactly 6 months rounds up).
What we do: We round to the nearest year, with 6 months or more rounding up.
What would settle it: A MainePERS rule or estimate for a member exactly 6 months short of a birthday.Unused leave
Up to 5 years of military service if you left to serve and return within 90 days of discharge; up to 30 days a year for an unpaid leave of absence; up to 90 days of unused, unpaid sick and/or vacation leave at final termination; sabbatical credit at twice the fraction of salary paid. Handbook p. 7, Receiving Additional Service Credit
From the sources
- Each extra year of service adds 2% of your AFC to your yearly benefit. If you have 25 years and are under your normal retirement age, a year of waiting also cuts the early reduction by 6% (about 2 1/4% in the age-60 group).Handbook p. 17
- Up to 90 days of unused, unpaid sick or vacation leave at your final termination counts as service credit.Handbook p. 7, Unused, Unpaid Leave Time
Questions
How much does one more year add to a MainePERS pension?
2% of your average final compensation a year: $1,200 a year on a $60,000 average. If you're retiring early with 25 years, it also takes 6 points off a 6%-a-year cut.
Does waiting without working help?
Only if you're retiring early: waiting shrinks the cut. Your service, and the 2% a year it earns, stops growing when you stop working.
What if I have 24 years?
Then one more year matters most: with 25 years you can retire at any age, with a cut. Without them you wait for your normal retirement age.
Source: MainePERS Benefits for Teachers: Teacher Member Handbook, 2026, pp. 7, 16-17. Last reviewed .