Minnesota TRA's member handbook is dated April 2022, before the 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 law changes to normal retirement age, early-retirement cuts, 60-and-30, the first-increase delay and working after retirement. Where they differ, we use the 2026 Minnesota Statutes and TRA's newer publications (its website, newsletters, 2025 financial report and actuarial valuation).
TRA Handbook (2022), pp. 14-17, 21; Minn. Stat. 354.44 (2026); Minn. Stat. 356.415, subd. 1d (2026)This page explains the Minnesota TRA calculator. The rules it uses are in plain English on the formula, early retirement and 60-and-30 pages.
- 1
Find your tier
From the date you first became a member: before July 1, 1989 is Tier I, later is Tier II.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 15, Tier I (employed before July 1, 1989); TRA Handbook (2022), p. 16, Tier II (employed after June 30, 1989) - 2
Project your service
We add the time from today to your retirement date to the service you enter, one month of credit per month, and split it at July 1, 2006 (2013 for former Duluth members) unless you enter your own split. The work-longer comparison adds a year for each year.
Our assumption (see below) - 3
Check eligibility
Vested at 3 years (other Minnesota plans count); earliest age 55, or any age for Tier I with 30 years. Age is in completed months on your retirement date.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 4, Vested after three years of TRA service; TRA Handbook (2022), p. 14, Retirement eligibility - 4
Apply both formulas
Level: 1.7% / 1.9% a year. Tier I also gets Step: 1.2% / 1.4% for the first ten years, then 1.7% / 1.9%. Times your high-five average.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 16, Tier II (employed after June 30, 1989); TRA Handbook (2022), p. 15, Tier I (employed before July 1, 1989) - 5
Apply the early cuts
Level: 4% and 7% a year under 65, or 5% a year with augmentation under 60-and-30. Step: 0.25% a month under 65 (62 with 30 years), none under the Rule of 90. Tier I gets the higher result.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e)(2) (2026); Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e)(1) (2026); Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(2) (2026); Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(3) (2026) - 6
Add the dates
Earliest and unreduced dates, and the first postretirement increase: the January after you turn 65 if you retire on or after July 1, 2024.
Minn. Stat. 356.415, subd. 1d(d) (2026)
What the calculator doesn't cover
- Your high-five average. We use the number you enter; TRA figures it from your records.
- Payment plans other than No Refund, and the accelerated annuity. TRA doesn't publish the factors.
- The money-purchase (contribution-based) formula a few long-time members may get.
- Disability benefits, survivor annuities and the cost of buying service.
- Former Minneapolis basic members, St. Paul teachers (SPTRFA) and University of Minnesota faculty.
- Taxes, health premiums and other deductions, and future law changes to the increase rate.
How we check the math
The calculator runs on a small engine that reads every rule from one data file, with a source for each. Automated tests check it against Minnesota TRA's worked examples and published reduction tables, plus the edges of each rule (birthdays, the 1989 and 2006 dates, the Rule of 90, 60-and-30's dates, the first-increase delay). The tests run every time the site is built.
| Example | Source shows | Our engine | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 65, 20 years, $75,000 (a year) | $28,500 | $28,500 | minnesotatra.org, Pension basics, Calculation example Match |
| Age 65, 20 years, $75,000 (a month) | $2,375 | $2,375 | minnesotatra.org, Pension basics, Calculation example Match |
| Regular Level cut at 55 | 58% | 58% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| Regular Level cut at 58 | 46% | 46% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| Regular Level cut at 60 | 35% | 35% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| Regular Level cut at 62 | 21% | 21% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| Regular Level cut at 64 | 7% | 7% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 60, started before 2006 | 13.05% | 13.054% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 61, started before 2006 | 9.96% | 9.959% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 62, started before 2006 | 7.12% | 7.118% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 63, started before 2006 | 4.52% | 4.519% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 64, started before 2006 | 2.15% | 2.15% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 60, started 2006 or later | 15.14% | 15.144% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 61, started 2006 or later | 11.7% | 11.695% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 62, started 2006 or later | 8.46% | 8.464% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 63, started 2006 or later | 5.44% | 5.444% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 60-and-30 cut at 64, started 2006 or later | 2.63% | 2.625% | Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), pp. 74-75, Early Retirement Reduction Factors Match |
| 50% survivorship on $1,000 | $500 | $500 | minnesotatra.org, Annuity plans, Survivorship plans Match |
| 75% survivorship on $1,000 | $750 | $750 | minnesotatra.org, Annuity plans, Survivorship plans Match |
| 100% survivorship on $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 | minnesotatra.org, Annuity plans, Survivorship plans Match |
| Return date after last day January 1, 2027 | April 2, 2027 | April 2, 2027 | TRIB Fall 2026 (Active), p. 1, Mandatory break in service Match |
Things to check with Minnesota TRA
The sources don't settle these points, or disagree. Each is labeled "Check with TRA" where it shows up on the site.
TRA's member handbook is from April 2022, before several law changes. Where it's out of date we use the 2026 statute and TRA's newer publications.
Minnesota Statutes 2026 and TRA's 2025-2026 website, newsletters, ACFR and valuation.
TRA Handbook (2022), pp. 14-17, 21For Tier I members with 30 years, the law says the Step formula reduction stops at 62. TRA's 2025 financial report and actuarial valuation say 60.
We use the statute (62).
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(2) (2026)One label in TRA's 2025 financial report attaches the 60-and-30 table to the wrong group. The numbers match the 60-and-30 rule.
We use the table as the 60-and-30 table.
ACFR FY2025, p. 122, Plan StatementThe law gives the early reduction per year of age. It doesn't say how TRA handles a retirement partway through a year of age.
We prorate by completed months of age (and compound augmentation over fractional years). At whole ages this matches TRA's tables exactly.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(e) (2026)If you left TRA work on or before May 24, 2023 and deferred your benefit, TRA says your normal retirement age is still 66.
We use 65 for everyone; the calculator is for current members.
minnesotatra.org, Nearing retirement, Retirement eligibilityThe extra conditions for 60-and-30 (active on May 23, 2025; service in other Minnesota plans counting) come from TRA's website rather than the statute text.
We apply them as TRA states them.
minnesotatra.org, Early retirement, Eligibility for the 60-and-30 provisionThe law doesn't spell out how TRA counts age for the Rule of 90, or whether service in other Minnesota plans counts.
Age in completed months plus TRA service only.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(3) (2026)The sources don't say how TRA counts a partial month for the Tier I reduction.
Months between your age in completed months and 62 or 65.
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(c)(2) (2026)The Tier I formula pays less for your first ten years. We assume your first ten years are your earliest ones.
Chronological order; the service-before-July-2006 figure is yours to enter (default: assumes continuous service up to retirement).
Minn. Stat. 354.44, subd. 6(b) (2026)People who retired between July 2024 and June 2025 under the Rule of 90 or 62-and-30 may not have their first increase delayed.
We apply the exemption for that window.
Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025), p. 76, Benefit increasesTRA's sources disagree on the interest added to a lump-sum death benefit (3% or 4%).
We don't calculate it.
ACFR FY2025, p. 125, Survivor Benefits of Members Prior to RetirementThe $46,000 earnings limit is suspended for PreK-12 work through June 30, 2030.
No deferral for PreK-12 salary through fiscal year 2030; the $46,000 rule after.
TRIB Summer 2026 (Active), p. 3A few long-time members may get a slightly higher benefit from a contribution-based formula we can't compute.
We show Step and Level only.
ACFR FY2025, p. 122, Plan StatementOnly Tier I members can retire before 55, and only with 30 years.
Tier I: Step formula only before 55. Tier II: earliest age 55.
TRA Handbook (2022), p. 14, Retirement eligibilitySources
- TRA Handbook of Benefits and Services April 2022 (file Member-Handbook-4-26-2022.pdf; linked from minnesotatra.org Pension basics and New to TRA pages as the current handbook, fetched 2026-11-11)
- Minnesota Statutes 2026, chapter 354 (Teachers Retirement Association); sections 356.30 and 356.415 2026 Minnesota Statutes as published by the Revisor of Statutes (includes 2026 c 106), fetched 2026-11-11
- TRA Actuarial Valuation Report as of July 1, 2025 (Cavanaugh Macdonald), Appendix B Summary of Plan Provisions July 1, 2025 valuation
- TRA Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 FY2025 ACFR (posted 2026-04)
- minnesotatra.org pages: Pension basics, Early retirement, Nearing retirement, New to TRA, Annuity plans, Postretirement increases, Payments, Taxes fetched 2026-11-11 (site footer: Drupal, last-modified 2026-11-10)
- TRIB (Teachers Retirement Information Bulletin) newsletters, Fall 2025 to Fall 2026, active and retiree editions Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Summer 2026, Fall 2026
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Schedule M1QPEN, Qualified Public Pension Subtraction (2025; 2026 final draft 10/1/26) 2025 form (posted 2026-07) and 2026 final draft
We cite the page number printed on each document page. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.
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, 14, 14-17, 15, 16, 21. Also: ACFR FY2025 pp. 122, 125; minnesotatra.org; Actuarial valuation (July 1, 2025) pp. 74-75, 76; TRIB Summer 2026 (Active) p. 3; TRIB Fall 2026 (Active) p. 1; Minn. Stat. §§ 354.44, 356.415 (2026). Last reviewed .