The terms you'll see in myTRA, in TRA letters and on this site, each in a sentence or two, with its source.
These are the words you'll meet in myTRA, in Minnesota TRA letters and on these pages. To put them to work, try the Minnesota TRA calculator, or start with Tier I or Tier II and the formula.
Retiring at 60 or older with 30 years of service (on or after June 30, 2025) gets a much smaller Level formula reduction: 5% a year, with augmentation added back.
minnesotatra.org, Early retirement, Eligibility for the 60-and-30 provisionMore on this →A larger payment until 62, 65 or your Social Security normal retirement age, then a smaller one for life.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 20, Accelerated annuityMore on this →Service credit TRA counts toward eligibility and your benefit: up to 0.111 a month and one year in a fiscal year.
TRA Handbook (2022), pp. 4-5, Service creditAn increase of 3% a year (2.5% if you started work after June 30, 2006), compounded, as if your benefit had been deferred to 65. Today it's used only inside the 60-and-30 reduction; it no longer applies to deferred benefits or the regular early reduction.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e) (2026)More on this →In a survivorship plan, if your survivor dies first your payment goes up to the No Refund amount.
TRA Handbook (2022), pp. 18-19, Survivorship plansMore on this →A benefit from each Minnesota plan you have at least half a year in (TRA, SPTRFA, MSRS, PERA), using the same high-five salary, with retirement dates within one year.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 14, Combined service annuityMore on this →A TRA member who is also covered by Social Security; nearly all TRA members are.
Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), p. 71, Coordinated Members: EligibilityMore on this →When it applies, half of reemployment salary over $46,000 a fiscal year is held back from the next year's benefit. Suspended for PreK-12 work through June 30, 2030.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 5 (2026)More on this →The highest average salary over five successive years of service credit.
minnesotatra.org, Pension basics, High-five average salaryMore on this →The Tier II formula: the same rate for every year, 1.7% before July 1, 2006 and 1.9% after.
minnesotatra.org, Pension basics, Percentage multiplierMore on this →The single-life plan with the highest monthly payment; nothing continues to a survivor after the first two months.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 18, No refundMore on this →Age 65 for all members since July 1, 2024. Before then it was the Social Security full retirement age, up to 66, for Tier II.
Minn. Stat. 354.05, subd. 38 (2026)More on this →TRA's yearly January 1 cost-of-living increase: 1.3% in 2026, rising to 1.5% from 2028.
Minn. Stat. 356.415, subd. 1d(a) (2026)More on this →A benefit for members who reach normal retirement age with at least one year of service but aren't vested.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 15, Proportionate annuityA written agreement letting a PreK-12 member 59 1/2 or older start the pension and keep working for a covered employer.
Minn. Stat. 354.444 (2026)More on this →Tier I only: if your age plus your service adds up to 90 or more, the Step formula isn't reduced for early retirement.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 16, Under the Tier I provisionMore on this →TRA's Tier I formula: 1.2% a year (1.4% after June 30, 2006) for the first ten years, then 1.7% (1.9% after June 30, 2006).
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 15, Tier I (employed before July 1, 1989)More on this →Members who first joined TRA (or another listed Minnesota fund) before July 1, 1989. They get the greater of the Step and Level formulas.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 15, Tier I (employed before July 1, 1989)More on this →Members who first joined after June 30, 1989. Their benefit uses the Level formula only.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 16, Tier II (employed after June 30, 1989)More on this →Three years of service credit, enough for a lifetime monthly benefit.
minnesotatra.org, Pension basics, EligibilityMore on this →Source: TRA Handbook of Benefits and Services, April 2022, with 2023-2026 law changes from Minnesota Statutes 2026 and TRA's 2025-2026 publications, TRA Handbook (April 2022) pp. 4-5, 14, 15, 16, 18-19, 18, 20. Also: minnesotatra.org; Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025) p. 71; Minn. Stat. §§ 354.05, 354.44, 354.444, 356.415 (2026). Last reviewed .